By Dean Hensley
Last Modified: Saturday, December 13, 2008 at 11:17 a.m.
West Henderson boys basketball coach Rob Bliss said his speedy Falcons are at their best when they are in transition.
On Friday night against visiting Enka, it seemed like West stayed in transition — highlighted by a two-handed slam by Adam Troutman in the closing minutes — as the Falcons pulled away to an easy 91-71 victory.
“We knew it was going to be a physical game. They are big, so we were hoping to counteract their size with our speed and transition game,” Bliss said.
It worked.
By the end of the first period, the Falcons (4-2) had built a commanding 27-12 lead after an offensive rebound and put back by Troutman, followed by a quick steal and layup by Kagan Williams.
The Jets (3-3) had a brief comeback in the second period, thanks to an offensive spurt by 6-foot, 8-inch junior Corey Hensley. He scored 11 of his game-high 24 points in the first three minutes of the second period. His old-fashioned three-point play at the 4:15 mark cut the Falcon lead to five at 29-24.
But West countered with a quick 10-1 run and never looked back.
Young led the Falcons with 23 points, and Troutman was close behind with 19. Williams and Kevin Thomas each added 16.
Hensley led the way for Enka, and Alex Gaddy was the only other Jet in double digits with 16.
The opening girls’ contest was a little closer, but it was the same result — a West home win. The Lady Falcons and Lady Sugar Jets were close for three periods, but the Lady Falcons, led by Summer Kremer, pulled away to earn a 42-30 victory.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we’ll take it,” West girls coach Stephanie Scott-Gaddy said. “It was real physical, but we felt like we handled their man defense pretty well.”
Kremer added nine rebounds to her game-high 16 points. She was the only player for both teams that reached double figures.
In jayvee action, the West girls and Enka boys won.
West’s boys and girls return to the court Tuesday when they travel to R-S Central.
Summaries
BOYS
ENKA (71) — C. King 3, Gaddy 16, C. King 6, Hensley 24, Sawyer 9, McCarson 6, Waddell, Mashburn.
WEST HENDERSON (91) — Thelen 4, Young 23, Williams 16, Keeves 2, Troutman 19, Thomas 16, Hyatt 9, VanWingerden, Roberts, Shaw.
Halftime: West, 44-29.
GIRLS
ENKA (30) — Smart 7, McCurry 8, Norton 1, Bridges 6, Burleson 7, Bosma 1, Crowe, Hyatt.
WEST HENDERSON (42) — Kremer 16, Cantrell 4, Burton 3, Turlington 7, Bishop 4, Stewart 8, Rogers, Dinardo.
Halftime: West, 18-16.
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