Westwood Baptist takes down state-ranked Risco

Westwood Baptist's James Hawley leads the Eagles to a 40-37 win over Risco after dropping 17 points on Monday in their last regular-season game of the season.

DAR/D'Courtland Christian

An evenly matched basketball game goes down to the wire at Westwood Baptist Academy.

After claiming the Metro Atlantic Conference championship, the Westwood Baptist Eagles looked to close out the regular season on a high note.

The Eagles are the defending MCSAA state champions, and before they could set their sights on making a repeat, they took on the Risco Tigers on Monday as their last test before the state tournament.

With a close battle for most of the game, the Eagles prevailed in the final seconds to defeat Risco 40-37. The Eagles stood tall to protect their home court and finished the regular season 21-3.

Senior James Hawley has led the Eagles every step of the way this season, and he closed out their regular season in the same fashion. Hawley led the Eagles with 17 points.

“It feels really good to get a win going into our state tournament,” Hawley said. “That’s a really great basketball team, but we just put forth a really good team effort. I can’t say enough about my teammates. Everyone came to play, and everyone put in maximum effort, even when our shots weren’t falling and that’s what won us the game.”

Both teams entered the matchup with similar records, but with Risco stepping into the game on a 12-game winning streak and winning their Tri-County Conference Tournament championship, the chances for the Eagles to walk away with the victory were going to be challenging.

The game kicked off with a steady pace as both teams relied heavily on the zone defense, forcing each other to win from around the perimeter. Though both teams average over 60 points a game, the scoring in the first quarter was minimal compared to most matchups.

After a few missed opportunities to jump out front, Risco answered first with a quick jumper from guard Sammy Smith. The Eagles didn’t waste any time responding with a basket of their own and quickly found their rhythm by penetrating the zone.

Midway through the second quarter, Risco saw an opening to take the lead from the free throw line and second-chance baskets, making the Eagles pay for their inconsistency on defense. Despite the quick run, the Eagles kept the score close and would go into halftime trailing 21-17 after a last-second drive from Hawley.

After a few trips of trading baskets for most of the third quarter, the Eagles took their first lead of the game after a quick surge on defense to close out the quarter. While holding a 30-29 lead to start the final period, the Eagles needed to limit any mistakes to get past a state-ranked Risco squad.

The energy quickly picked up as Risco came out with a dagger from three to tie the game up once again. The Eagles did not become rattled as they responded with back-to-back threes to extend the lead to six in the final three minutes of the contest.

Risco began to make a run in the game’s final minute, utilizing their intense defense to make easy shots at the rim. With one more shot to take the game, the Eagles shut it down with a clutch steal to seal the win.

Ben Jones added to the Eagles’ win by dropping 14 points, while Alexander Carson chipped in with four. Landon Baker led Risco with 15 points.

Head coach Josh Hawley said getting the win is a good momentum booster heading into the state tournament, and he credits Risco for pushing them to their limit.

“Risco is an unbelievable team, so for us to beat them is just an awesome night for us,” Hawley said. “I thought we played extremely good defense because our offense wasn’t always there. But when you play defense, you can stay in a game, and that’s what we did. It’s just an unbelievable win.”

The Eagles will hit the road on Thursday as they gear up to defend their state title in the

MCSAA Basketball Tournament in Joplin, MO.