George Defeats Westtown 70-39 in League Playoff Semifinal: Kehler on Hoops
Written by: Dell Jackson on February 8, 2023
George Defeats Westtown 70-39 in League Playoff Semifinal
Perennial Friends Schools League power Westtown was out-manned and out-gunned on Tuesday afternoon at George and lost 70 to 39 in a league playoff semifinal. With three regular starters unavailable—including their tallest player (6’ 11” Matt Gilhool, from Elizabethtown), their highest scorer, and their top defender—Westtown lacked the firepower to keep pace with George. These Friends Schools League teams are not part of the PIAA, although both have been among the best high school squads in Pennsylvania in recent years.
Westtown scored the first basket in this game, then George went on a 9 to 0 run, consisting of a putback by 6’ 3” senior Carson Mastin, a putback by 6’ 11” sophomore Luke Bevilacqua, a 3-pointer by Mastin, and a jumper by Bevilacqua. Westtown was never really in the game from that point.
Westtown had won the regular season meeting between these teams, 59 to 51, on January 6, in a game that was also played at George. In that January contest, Westtown used a combination defense keying on 6’ 4” George junior Christian Bliss. This afternoon, Westtown tried a combination defense again, but, with key personnel unavailable, their box-and-one and diamond-and-one defensive approach was ineffective.
George, for their part, constantly switched defenses keeping Westtown off balance by going from man-to-man, to 1-3-1 zone, to 2-3 zone and back again to great effect.
George has one of the tallest teams in Pennsylvania, and they used their height advantage throughout the contest. Westtown didn’t have an offensive rebound in the first half of this game, while George’s inside attack was very productive, including several spectacular ally-oop dunks by 6’ 10” senior Kachi Nzeh.
Recognizing early on that attacking the basket would be difficult, Westtown’s offense was perimeter-oriented in the last three quarters of the game. Westtown did not attempt a free throw in the first half. In George’s balanced attack, four players finished in double figures.
George out-rebounded Westtown 36 to 15. Each team committed nine turnovers. George was six of eight from the free throw line, while Westtown was four of seven. George made 10 3-pointers, and Westtown made seven shots from beyond the arc. There was one tie and one lead change.
George scoring: Luke Bevilacqua 19, Carson Mastin 13, Christian Bliss 10, Kachi Nzeh 10, Dante Weise 8, Max Kipper 5, Luke Melniczak 3, and Ivan Ryabov 2.
Westtown scoring: Malik Rasul 11, Cam Wallace 9, Jayden Kelsey 9, Jahmare Memphis 4, Jayden Forsythe 3, Kocheyion Sanders 2, and Noah Cloud 1.
Westtown 6 9 9 15-39
George 11 14 27 18-70
George will play Academy of the New Church in the Friends Schools League championship game on Friday night at LaSalle U. George defeated Academy of the New Church 75 to 52 during the regular season in a game played at George on January 24.
George and Westtown will compete for the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association state championship in a tournament to begin on February 17.
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