BLYTHEWOOD – Senior Night at The Castle also featured a couple of basketball games Tuesday night.
The Westwood boys and girls teams’ lopsided wins over West Florence did not overshadow the honors.
After the Westwood girls dominated the Knights 63-21, seniors Laura Entzminger, Kalen Green, and Kamirra Clarke were honored on the floor, along with seven seniors from the boys team, Jayden Crews, Quentin McGill, D.T. Cockfield, Bryson Hardy, Jessie Omeire, Jaylen Donaldson, and D’Marcus Thomas.
Thomas, who averages 13.1 points per game, was also honored for surpassing the 1,000-point mark for his career. Thomas joins Russell Jones Jr. (2019), Arden Conyers (2023), and T.J. Bell (2024) in the boys’ 1,000-point club.
The Redhawks (21-2, 10-1 Region 5-5A) followed up on the girls’ win with a 65-35 defeat of West Florence. They secured their third 20-win season and second in a row with their 66-52 victory at Lugoff-Elgin Friday night.
“Tonight being senior night, my goal was to play all the seniors and allow everybody else to chip in, so that was cool,” head coach Trent Robinson said. “This is the first senior-night win since I’ve been a head coach and I definitely enjoyed every bit of it.”
Thomas led Westwood with 12 points, but Tuesday’s scorers were up and down the roster. McGill scored eight points, A.J. Veal chipped in seven, and Crews, who is the team’s leading scorer with 14.1 points per game, was one of three players who scored six points. All but two players on the roster sank a basket.
Bryant Graham and Aiden Greenway scored 10 points apiece to lead West Florence (4-19. 0-9).
With a game at Sumter (16-9, 6-5) Friday night before the 5A Division 2 playoffs open, Robinson said the team needs to clean up a lot on defense.
“I want our defense to be a lot better. We suck at defense,” he said. “Offensively the guys are together and we’re gelling in the locker room. We’ll have a first-round bye, we’re waiting to see who we get, so for this Friday game I’m hoping we’ll show up because it’s going to be hard.”
The Gamecocks will have their senior night in addition to fighting for a strong finish in the region. The Redhawks, who split games with Ridge View (22-3, 10-1) are tied for first place in the region.
“They’re (the Gamecocks) are playing for a lot, I guess we’re playing for a share or a tie of the region championship,” Robinson said. “We’re not playing for much, but we’re not going to have another game for a week. We’re playing to go into the playoffs well.”
In the girls game, Lyric Rogers led the way with 13 points and Amari Alexander put up 10 points. The Westwood defense gave up 11 points to West Florence’s Josie Hewitt, but kept the other four scorers to four points or less. The Knights fell to 0-10, 0-19.
I think we’re finding our mojo at the right time,” head coach Gregory Bauldrick said. “I think we’ve learned a lot of lessons over the course of the season.”
The Redhawks (15-10, 6-5) beat Lugoff-Elgin (7-16, 4-8) 58-48 last Friday night and will wrap up the season at Sumter (12-9, 4-6) Friday.
“I think we need to continue to compete hard against Sumter regardless of outcome, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in the playoffs.”
The girls open the 5A Division 2 playoffs at home Tuesday. The Westwood boys have a bye and will play at home Feb. 20.
Boys
West Florence – 5-6-12-12 — 35
Westwood – 13-18-17-17 — 65
West Florence
Bryant Graham 10, Aiden Greenway 10, Benjamin 4, Folse 4, Dickerson 3, Wilson 2, Bridges 2.
Westwood
D’Marcus Thomas 12, McGill 8, A.J. Veal 7, Crews 6, McLeod 6, Huell 6, Hardy 5, Cockfield 4, Donaldson 4, McClain 3, Grant 2, Hudson 2.
Girls
West Florence – 6-3-10-2 — 21
Westwood – 19-10-26-8 — 63
West Florence
Josie Hewitt 11, Dowdy 4, Rowe 3, Fluharty 2, Gregg 1.
Westwood
Lyric Rogers 13, Amari Alexander 10, Clarke 9, Green 6, Heath 6, Dugger 6, Entzminger 5, Pickett 4, Cummings 3, Davis 1.
