BATH – You don’t have to be around basketball for a very long time to realize that if you can’t rebound and don’t pass well, you typically don’t win many ball games.
After a solid first quarter by Morse, Westbrook closed out the half on a 14-2 run and continued to sail in the second half, cruising behind Mike Connolly’s 42 points en route to an 83-71 victory over the Shipbuilders in boys basketball play Friday night.
Westbrook earns its first win of the season (1-2), while Morse falls to 1-2.
“We didn’t execute,” Morse coach Tom Maines said. “You’ve got to be able to make passes and not turn the ball over, and we did that a lot tonight after the first quarter.”
The first quarter looked promising for the Shipbuilders and Maines in the coach’s first home game in his return. The home team raced out to a 12-6 lead midway through the frame and led by as many as eight (16-8) points, getting three’s from Kaleb Jackson, Josh Ter Mors and Tom Warren.
The Blaze cut the deficit to three points late in the quarter behind Chuil Bayak’s six points, but Warren’s second trey of the game fell at the buzzer for a six point Shipbuilder lead after eight minutes.
“He can shoot,” muffled Maines, who still has no voice for the second straight week. “When he has a good look, he knows what to do.”
Following an Ethan Richardson three-point basket for the visitors, Jackson answered with a basket from behind the arc to push the Morse lead back to six. After each team traded hoops, including another three from Ter Mors, for a 32-26 Morse lead midway through the quarter.
After the Blaze tied the score at 32-32, Warren connected on another basket from behind the three-point line and after a Westbrook turnover resulted in another Morse hoop, the home team lead, 37-32.
Already proving to be a force underneath, Connolly made his presence known in the second quarter, grabbing missed shots and putting them back in, registering 15 points in the quarter as the Blaze closed out the half with a fury.
“I didn’t want to lose again,” Connolly said, “I knew I had to take things into my own hands.”
Westbrook outscored Morse 28-15 in the second quarter, also getting eight points from Kevin Malonda and took a 46-39 lead into the intermission.
Both teams played inconsistent basketball in the third quarter, each turning the ball over, resulting in the other team getting fast-break points as a result. Each team scored 16 points in the quarter, with Connolly only getting six, missing some time in the middle of the quarter due to a bloody nose.
“I didn’t want to come out,” said the junior, who tried to stay in the game with a his nose clogged with a tissue. “I was happy to finally get back in.”
Two minutes into the final quarter, Morse cut the Westbrook lead to 62-58 and had possession. But the Shipbuilders were unable to convert and following a pair of turnovers, Westbrook jumped back out to a 73-58 lead just a few minutes later.
“It got away from us, we need to play better basketball,” Maines said.
Connolly put an exclamation point with a one-handed dunk with 30-seconds left to seal the victory.
“It feels great,” Connolly said of his team picking up it’s first win.
Warren finished with a team-high 28 points for Morse, followed by Jackson’s 12 and Ter Mors 10.
Malonda finished with 16, followed by Kyle McKone’s nine for Westbrook.
Morse returns to action on Tuesday when they host Medomak Valley (6:30 p.m.) and will close out the week with a home date against Freeport on Friday (6:30 p.m.)
Westbrook travels to York on Dec. 21 for its next contest.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
