West's Lowrance picks up win at his former school

By Dean Hensley
Times-News Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 11:04 p.m.

It was a homecoming for first-year West Henderson girls basketball coach Robbie Lowrance on Wednesday night at Hendersonville High, his old stomping grounds during the late 1990s.

He made it his stomping grounds again, as his Lady Falcons cruised to a 65-21 win.

“This is my home school, so it felt good to come in here and get a win for the first time as a coach,” the 1997 Hendersonville High graduate said. “The girls wanted this one bad, and they got the job done.”

Summer Kremer, West's lone double-digit scorer, led the Lady Falcons (2-3) with 20 points.

In the much-anticipated nightcap, visiting West handed the Bearcats their first loss of the season, thanks to a game-high 25 points from senior Keenan Young. The Falcons went on two big runs in the second half and went on to win 73-52.

“That was Keenan's best game he's played since he's been with us the past two years,” West boys coach Rob Bliss said. “He was playing aggressively defensively, and that was big. He had to contain the Wilkins kid (Sam), who is a great shooter, and for the most part, he did that. That allowed him to make some baskets in transition.”

In the girls opener, the Lady Falcons were up by as many as 40 at one point, limiting the Lady Bearcats to just two third-quarter points. But one of Hendersonville's floor leaders, Brooks Walz, left the game early with a hand injury.

“She tried to get back out there, but it just hurt her too bad. We didn't want to risk hurting her hand even more,” HHS girls coach Mike Norman said. “Having Brooks out forced other girls to step up, and they didn't quit.”

The Lady Bearcats (2-3) had one double-digit scorer — sophomore Dominique Thompson with 10.

Late in the second half of the boys game, the Hendersonville players were showing their frustration after allowing easy layups on transition by Young.

“Defensively, we weren't supposed to let Keenan touch the ball that much. It might have been because of our close game the night before (against North Henderson). It is tough to play back-to-back nights like that,” HHS coach Rob Strong said after his team dropped to 4-1.

The game was close until the start of the third quarter when West went on a 9-2 run to take a 37-28 lead after a steal and layup by Young. The Falcons kept building on the lead and went up by 17 after Young's 3-pointer with 5:50 left.

The other player Hendersonville had a tough time inside with was Kevin Thomas, who finished with 15 points.

“I said early in the year that we are not as physical as some teams. West outplayed us,” Strong said. “We are going to take our lumps, and we took one tonight.”

Desmond Whiteside led Hendersonville with 19 points, and Wilkins, who hit four 3-pointers, finished with 14 points. Keyvon Young was the only other double-digit scorer for the Bearcats with 12.

West returns to action Friday night at North, while Hendersonville plays again Tuesday at Madison.

Copyright © 2009 BlueRidgeNow.com — All rights reserved. Restricted use only.