BUDA — Last week against Harlan, varsity basketball exploded in the second half, putting the game out of reach into the third and fourth quarter.
Last night, it was a fiery first half that propelled them to a 10 point win over Clemens.
The Chaps (30-6) went into the break holding a 21-point lead and survived a comeback bid to finish off Clemens (27-9), 56-46, at Buda Johnson High School in the Region IV semifinal. After putting up 42 points in the first two frames, Westlake was held to only six points in the third, and held on for a season-extending win in the fourth.
“We didn’t come out well in the second half,” junior guard Mack Martin said. “We got lackadaisical, and we got complacent. We bounced back and got it done.”
The Chaps went on a quick 7-0 run to take a five point lead out of the gates. Martin controlled much of the game early. He finished with 12 points in the first quarter, knocking down two 3-pointers and getting fouled on two as well, going 6-6 from the line.
“[Martin] is an excellent shooter,” head coach Robert Lucero said. “If he gets a matchup where they are switching everything, he needs to be able to break people down off the dribble.”
It was that same shooting that continued in the second frame. Senior guard Bo Ogden caught fire, scoring 12 of his own with a pair of triples. Four points came off of an off-balance three from the wing, which he drilled, absorbing contact and finishing the and-one at the line. He finished with 17 first-half points. The Chaps took a 42-21 lead into the break, an explosive shooting performance that was their highest in one half through the playoffs.
“We were guarding so well, getting rebounds, running and hitting shots down there,” Ogden said. “We were playing together, and everyone was hitting shots. It was really fun.”
The starting five came out in the second half and went through their typical warmups. One thing was different – there wasn’t a team across the court from them. The Clemens coaching staff chose to hold their team in the locker room for a lengthy speech. The officials had to run back into the locker room to get them out.
Whatever the coaching staff may have said to their team at the break paid off. They outscored the Chaps 14-6 in the third quarter. According to Lucero, it was the Buffaloes full-court pressure and constant trapping that made the difference, causing significant turnover issues for the Chaparral offense.
“At the start of the third quarter, they took it to another gear,” Lucero said. “There were a couple opportunities for us to score some layups in the first couple minutes of the third that we missed. They got a couple, and kept chipping away.”
Ogden and sophomore guard Hayes Goldman kept the Chaps afloat with two 3-pointers in the third, accounting for all of their points. Ogden’s triple, specifically, ended a 15-0 run for the Buffs.
It was Ogden who eventually closed out Clemens in the fourth quarter. He took off a few steps inside the charity stripe, lifting off of one foot and finishing a one-hand dunk over a Buffalo defender, sending the Chaparral crowd into a frenzy and extending their lead to seven.
A few possessions later, he cut down the baseline, this time lifting off of two feet and finishing a ferocious two-handed dunk, hanging onto the rim and taking a hard fall, popping right back up. The two dunks gave the Chaps a 57-48 lead and enough momentum to close out Clemens.
“We had some big emotional plays down the stretch,” Ogden said. “That helped get back to what we were doing in the first half.”
Varsity basketball will hit the court in the Region Finals Friday against Judson, who took down Vandegrift 52-47. The Chaps met the Rockets in their second game of the season, prevailing 58-40. A win there would propel Westlake to make their first state semifinals in five years.
“We have to play a really good Judson team,” Ogden said. “We played them earlier this year, and they have gotten some football guys back since then. They’re gonna be a really good team. We’re going to have to get back in the gym and start watching them.”
