By Chris McCarthy/Editor
It wasn’t quite the homecoming that Ashville High boys head basketball coach Seth Ford envisioned on Tuesday (Dec. 1) in Rainbow City.
Ford, who coached the Westbrook Christian boys the past seven seasons before leaving for Ashville in May, watched his former team dismantle his current squad by a score of 83-30.
On the other hand, it was a successful home opener for Ford’s successor, Donny Pruitt, the former longtime basketball coach at Glencoe.
With the Warriors on top 69-21 at the end of the third quarter, both coaches agreed to use a running clock for the final eight minutes.
The Warriors improved to 6-0 overall and 1-0 in Class 3A, Area 11.
“We kind of got off to a good start and it probably shocked [Ashville] at little bit,” said Pruitt. “But I was real tickled with how well we played tonight. We’ve got some unselfish kids who work hard and look for each other and try to do things the right way. I think the tournament that we won at Lincoln (on Nov. 25) really did a lot for us in terms of helping us grow and building an identity. Every possession was important and you had to execute, because if you didn’t, you got beat.”
The Warriors shot 60 percent from the field and 57 percent from three-point range. Westbrook knocked down eight treys on the night, including three each by Kyle Leonard and Cameron Migliore.
Leonard and Will Jones each scored 17 points, with Jones adding six assists and five rebounds.
Migliore finished with nine points, followed by Braden Beecham and Kyle Edward with eight each. Edwards also had six rebounds and thee assists, while Luke Graham grabbed 10 boards.
Westbrook opened the game with a 17-0 run on the way to an 18-3 lead after one quarter, and Leonard’s 3-pointer with a minute left in the half sent the Warriors into the locker room with a comfortable 48-9 lead.
Noah Cater led the Bulldogs with 13 points, while Hunter Huckabee scored five.
“Coach Ford’s got a young team, but he’ll do real well [at Ashville],” said Pruitt. “He’ll get it going for them.”