McCoy, Wildcats trip Warriors
BY MICHAEL LINDSAY
ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Westchester Country Day got a big win and a big boost heading into postseason play.
The Wildcats overcame a 15-point deficit in the third quarter to lead in the final minutes of the fourth and rallied past state-ranked St. David’s 60-56 in NCISAA nonconference boys basketball Wednesday on Senior Night at Westchester’s Finch Center.
In the girls game, Westchester continued to improve with a young team but fell 46-19 against St. David’s.
“I’m really happy for our four seniors,” Wildcats boys coach David Carrier said. “This was a game we’d circled because they’re one of the better teams in the state. We felt like coming in here on Senior Night we’d have a chance to get them. So, this will go a long way toward our goal of making the state playoffs ....
“I feel like we’ve been playing great. We needed a signature win, and this was a signature win against one of the best teams in the state. I feel like we can beat anybody. We just don’t have a lot of margin for error, and the guys are starting to figure that out.”
L.J. McCoy scored 25 points, making 14 of 15 free throws, to lead Westchester (9-11), which will be either the No. 3 or 4 seed in next week’s Triad Athletic 1A/2A Conference tournament. Syrus Sadler added 13 points, followed by Lantz Lowe with 11 points.
After trailing 37-25 at halftime, the Wildcats fell behind 43-28 with 5:21 left in the third. But they answered with a 15-1 run to pull within 44-43 with 2:20 left in the quarter. They trailed 51-45 with 5:35 left in the game but again rallied with an 8-0 run to lead 53-41 with 3:27 left.
The Warriors, ranked No. 5 among state 2A teams, re-tied the game 53-53 with 2:12 left. But Westchester, which hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 1:14, scored five straight points to lead 58-53 with 21.7 seconds left and held St. David’s to just a 3-pointer in its final six possessions.
“It feels great,” McCoy said. “It’s Senior Night, and we were big underdogs coming in. We always want to play our hardest and play team ball. That’s how you get the win.
“Coach was telling us to keep our heads up, don’t let our guard down, and keep shooting the ball. So, we justlistened to him and played hard, and the shots kept going in.”
Kris Monroe, who’s received a number of offers from schools including N.C. State, scored 20 points to lead the Warriors (16-6), who used a 12-3 run early in the second quarter to lead 26-14 and extended their lead to as large as 13 in the first half. Darion Green added 11 points.
“We played a 2-3 and a 3-2, and we were just aware of where Monroe was,” said Carrier, who highlighted his team’s ability to win loose balls in the second half. “So, if he was in the area, we were going to face-guard him. It wasn’t really a junk defense, but we knew they wanted the ball in his hands.
“I think he was tired, and we limited his 3s. He’s a great 3-point shooter, and we said: ‘Let’s don’t let him catch and shoot.’ And, for the most part, he didn’t, especially in the second half. It was just a great team win. Our team did it out of respect for our seniors. So, that was probably our best game of the year.”
BY MICHAEL LINDSAY
ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Westchester Country Day got a big win and a big boost heading into postseason play.
The Wildcats overcame a 15-point deficit in the third quarter to lead in the final minutes of the fourth and rallied past state-ranked St. David’s 60-56 in NCISAA nonconference boys basketball Wednesday on Senior Night at Westchester’s Finch Center.
In the girls game, Westchester continued to improve with a young team but fell 46-19 against St. David’s.
“I’m really happy for our four seniors,” Wildcats boys coach David Carrier said. “This was a game we’d circled because they’re one of the better teams in the state. We felt like coming in here on Senior Night we’d have a chance to get them. So, this will go a long way toward our goal of making the state playoffs ....
“I feel like we’ve been playing great. We needed a signature win, and this was a signature win against one of the best teams in the state. I feel like we can beat anybody. We just don’t have a lot of margin for error, and the guys are starting to figure that out.”
L.J. McCoy scored 25 points, making 14 of 15 free throws, to lead Westchester (9-11), which will be either the No. 3 or 4 seed in next week’s Triad Athletic 1A/2A Conference tournament. Syrus Sadler added 13 points, followed by Lantz Lowe with 11 points.
After trailing 37-25 at halftime, the Wildcats fell behind 43-28 with 5:21 left in the third. But they answered with a 15-1 run to pull within 44-43 with 2:20 left in the quarter. They trailed 51-45 with 5:35 left in the game but again rallied with an 8-0 run to lead 53-41 with 3:27 left.
The Warriors, ranked No. 5 among state 2A teams, re-tied the game 53-53 with 2:12 left. But Westchester, which hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 1:14, scored five straight points to lead 58-53 with 21.7 seconds left and held St. David’s to just a 3-pointer in its final six possessions.
“It feels great,” McCoy said. “It’s Senior Night, and we were big underdogs coming in. We always want to play our hardest and play team ball. That’s how you get the win.
“Coach was telling us to keep our heads up, don’t let our guard down, and keep shooting the ball. So, we justlistened to him and played hard, and the shots kept going in.”
Kris Monroe, who’s received a number of offers from schools including N.C. State, scored 20 points to lead the Warriors (16-6), who used a 12-3 run early in the second quarter to lead 26-14 and extended their lead to as large as 13 in the first half. Darion Green added 11 points.
“We played a 2-3 and a 3-2, and we were just aware of where Monroe was,” said Carrier, who highlighted his team’s ability to win loose balls in the second half. “So, if he was in the area, we were going to face-guard him. It wasn’t really a junk defense, but we knew they wanted the ball in his hands.
“I think he was tired, and we limited his 3s. He’s a great 3-point shooter, and we said: ‘Let’s don’t let him catch and shoot.’ And, for the most part, he didn’t, especially in the second half. It was just a great team win. Our team did it out of respect for our seniors. So, that was probably our best game of the year.”
