By Gene Stanley/Sports Correspondent
The proof is in the pudding.
Westbrook Christian’s boys basketball team proved a lot last Friday (Feb. 14) in the Class 2A sub-regionals.
First, the Warriors proved that their No. 2 state ranking is no fluke, as they ran up an 88-49 victory over Section in Rainbow City.
Secondly, Westbrook (23-4) proved it can win without Colin Edwards scoring a lot of points – he scored 10 against the Lions.
“Colin is a great facilitator,” Westbrook coach Seth Ford said. “He can do a lot more than score. When the other team is collapsing on him, he’s great at getting the ball to other players.”
The main recipient of Edward’s selflessness was Chandler Richards, who racked up 21 points.
“It’s tough when they crash on Colin,” Richards said. “But he knows he can dump the ball down low and we have the teamwork to make it work.”
In a show of the teamwork, all 12 players scored against Section.
Austin Lockridge netted 12 points and Kyle Edwards had nine. Noah Hunt and Jerryn Migliore each scored eight.
“We were blessed to come out as a team,” said D.J. Williams, who posted four points. “We’re brothers and it doesn’t matter which of us gets the glory because our glory goes to God.”
Coming out as a team may be an understatement, as the Warriors scored 24 first-quarter points and had 55 by intermission.
The first half saw an almost flawless execution that had Section using all three of its timeouts by the 3:31 mark of the first quarter.
Westbrook scored the first six points and owned an 18-2 lead when Section called its final timeout of the half.
“We truly anticipated a tooth-and-nail fight to the end,” Ford said. “This was the most intense defensive effort we’ve had this year. Add that to the great crowd and it added up to a terrific game.”
The crowd was definitely a factor, as the gym was filled to overflowing. The stage was full of a great student section that rocked it all game.
“The fast start was key, no doubt,” Colin Edwards said. “But the biggest factor was our sixth man. The students were very important tonight. Without them, it would’ve been a closer game.”
This was by far the highest scoring game of the season for Westbrook. There were a couple of times the Warriors broke the 70-point barrier, but no game saw 88 points – until Friday.
The 10 points scored by Edwards put him over the 2,000-point mark for his career.
Cody Goff led the Lions with 10 points. Tristan Webb netted eight.
Westbrook will play Lafayette on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in the Northeast Regional Tournament at Jacksonville State.