Wildcats fall against Gaston Day
By MICHAEL LINDSAY ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Westchester Country Day stayed within reach much of the game, but it couldn’t make enough shots to make its move.
The Wildcats fell behind double digits in the first quarter but kept their deficit under 20 late into the third quarter before falling 63-35 against Gaston Day in nonconference boys basketball Friday at Westchester’s Brooks Gym.
In the girls game, Westchester started strong before eventually the Spartans pulled away and handed the Wildcats a 61-31 defeat.
“Defensively we did the things we asked our kids to do,” Wildcats boys coach Brook Patterson said. “We really tried to focus in defensively. But offensively we couldn’t get the ball in the basket. We just kept telling our guys to relax and it’s going to come. We kept holding them off, but we could never get over that hump.
“Our kids were working hard, which is what our goal was. We really tried to throw the kitchen sink at them — tried to play behind him and get him off his spot, tried to play in front and make them throw over. At times we did both of those well, but obviously he’s really big.”
Griffin Powell scored 12 points to lead Westchester (1-1), which struggled against Gaston Day’s 6-foot-11 sophomore forward Callum Richard — who scored 22 points, including 15 in the second half. Tyler Matthews added seven for the Wildcats, followed by Myles Patterson and Jacob Johnson with five each.
The Spartans used an early push to lead 16-6 with three minutes left in the first and led by as many as 16 before taking a 31-20 lead into halftime. The Wildcats stayed within 10 early in the third and 11 midway through the quarter, but Gaston Day went on a 15-3 run over the final 41/2 minutes to lead by 23.
The Spartans — who also got 17 points from Colin Fayed and 12 points from Dean Hunter — stretched their lead to as large as 28 inside the final minute of the game. But the result wasn’t particularly negative heading into the Thanksgiving break, Patterson said. It’s just part of the building process early in the season.
“This is probably a top-five team in the state,” said Patterson, who is in his first year as head coach. “It was a test for us. I’m obviously disappointed by the amount of points we lost by. But in the grand scheme we were OK holding them to that 10- to 13-point deficit. Again, we couldn’t get through that wall.
“We played hard — that’s what we’re trying to do. Our mantra is: Work harder every day. If we can get better every day, then we’ll be where we want to be. We’ll probably see these guys again — we’ve seen these guys the last two years in the state tournament and had some really close games.”
By MICHAEL LINDSAY ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Westchester Country Day stayed within reach much of the game, but it couldn’t make enough shots to make its move.
The Wildcats fell behind double digits in the first quarter but kept their deficit under 20 late into the third quarter before falling 63-35 against Gaston Day in nonconference boys basketball Friday at Westchester’s Brooks Gym.
In the girls game, Westchester started strong before eventually the Spartans pulled away and handed the Wildcats a 61-31 defeat.
“Defensively we did the things we asked our kids to do,” Wildcats boys coach Brook Patterson said. “We really tried to focus in defensively. But offensively we couldn’t get the ball in the basket. We just kept telling our guys to relax and it’s going to come. We kept holding them off, but we could never get over that hump.
“Our kids were working hard, which is what our goal was. We really tried to throw the kitchen sink at them — tried to play behind him and get him off his spot, tried to play in front and make them throw over. At times we did both of those well, but obviously he’s really big.”
Griffin Powell scored 12 points to lead Westchester (1-1), which struggled against Gaston Day’s 6-foot-11 sophomore forward Callum Richard — who scored 22 points, including 15 in the second half. Tyler Matthews added seven for the Wildcats, followed by Myles Patterson and Jacob Johnson with five each.
The Spartans used an early push to lead 16-6 with three minutes left in the first and led by as many as 16 before taking a 31-20 lead into halftime. The Wildcats stayed within 10 early in the third and 11 midway through the quarter, but Gaston Day went on a 15-3 run over the final 41/2 minutes to lead by 23.
The Spartans — who also got 17 points from Colin Fayed and 12 points from Dean Hunter — stretched their lead to as large as 28 inside the final minute of the game. But the result wasn’t particularly negative heading into the Thanksgiving break, Patterson said. It’s just part of the building process early in the season.
“This is probably a top-five team in the state,” said Patterson, who is in his first year as head coach. “It was a test for us. I’m obviously disappointed by the amount of points we lost by. But in the grand scheme we were OK holding them to that 10- to 13-point deficit. Again, we couldn’t get through that wall.
“We played hard — that’s what we’re trying to do. Our mantra is: Work harder every day. If we can get better every day, then we’ll be where we want to be. We’ll probably see these guys again — we’ve seen these guys the last two years in the state tournament and had some really close games.”
