Westminster Christian rolls; North Shore stops Elgin Academy
It was clear from Monday's opening tip that No. 8 Roycemore was no match for the top-seeded Westminster Christian boys basketball team.
Playing on their home floor in a quarterfinal of the Class 1A Westminster Christian regional, the Warriors blew out Roycemore 76-10 to advance to a regional semifinal against No. 4 North Shore Country Day on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
The Warriors (20-8) outscored the Griffins (6-10) 18-2 in the first quarter and took a 31-9 lead to the intermission.
"We didn't come out as strong as we wanted to, but we still came out pretty strong," said Westminster junior center Ian Dutcher, who had 12 points and 8 rebounds. "We didn't hold back. That's what we want to do the whole tournament, just keep on playing hard and not worry about the other team. We just want to play our ball."
The defensive-minded Warriors allowed only a single point in the second half.
"This was a tough situation in terms of wanting to show good sportsmanship while also wanting you team to have a little bit of an edge out there," Warriors coach Bruce Firchau said. "We got a chance to play our guys who have been coming off our bench a lot tonight."
Dutcher scored the opening basket of the game, followed by 3 straight baskets from senior guard Ryan Beachler (13 points). Sophomore Josh Beachler added 11 points, all in the second half.
The victory put Westminster in the 20-win category for the season.
"It's a nice thing for the team, but we're only 1-0 right now," Firchau said, referring to the postseason record.
No. 4 North Shore Country Day 72, No. 5 Elgin Academy 38: North Shore used first-quarter runs of 7-0 and 12-0 to bolt to a lead the Hilltoppers could never challenge in a quarterfinal of the Class 1A Westminster Christian regional on Monday.
Elgin Academy (4-21) had no answer for North Shore center Eric Van Wart (6-foot-8). The senior held a minimum 6-inch height advantage on every Hilltopper, and he used it to score 13 field goals en route to a game-high 28 points.
It was the third time NSCD (6-15) defeated Elgin Academy this season.
"He's a tough player and he made a lot of good moves down there," Elgin Academy coach David Vogt said. "He took advantage of the height he has. We were hoping for a good shooting night. We've played in this gym a lot more time than North Shore has, but it didn't seem to play to our advantage tonight."
The Hilltoppers shot just 9 of 55 from the field (16.4 percent).
"(Van Wart's) overall presence makes it hard to shoot around him in the lane," said EA senior Paul Leonardis, who capped his career with an 18-point night. "I thought we played pretty well this year for only having six guys on the varsity."