Downingtown West thumps Oxford in semifinal
EAST MARLBOROUGH — Downingtown West and Oxford played two completely opposing games in the second half of Saturday afternoon’s Ches-Mont League Final Four semifinals at Unionville High School.
West played good defense, shot a high percentage from the field, rebounded the ball well and scored at will.
On the other hand, Oxford shot 12 for 58 (21 percent) from the field, allowed the taller Whippets to dominate the glass and penetrate for a number of buckets. When the carnage was over, Downingtown West rolled with a resounding 66-29 win. The Whippets will now play American Division champion Octorara in the final Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Unionville.
“That was about as bad as we could shoot,’ Oxford coach Sean Harvey said. “We had had an up-and-down year, and this was down. Downingtown West just took us to the woodshed tonight.’
The Whippets (19-4) scored the game’s first 10 points over a four-minute span. Josh Warren led the way with six quick points on his way to a superlative 20-point, eight-rebound performance. Warren had plenty of help as George Gordon had 15 points and nine boards and Dom Guerera added 10 points, including two 3-pointers.
“We got out early and that is always good,’ Warren said. “We had to really keep our focus because we had a big lead, but we were able to do that. To play in, and win a Ches-Mont title would be an unbelievable thing. It would show the other teams that we are a real good thing and it would be big for the program.’
Oxford (15-8) was down 22-4 after the first period after making just one of 13 shots in the period. They went scoreless until two Tyler Farr free throws with 3:21 left.
The lead ballooned to 32-11 at halftime as the taller Whippets were having their way on the glass and scoring at will.
“It is always imperative to get out quick in a playoff game,’ Downingtown West coach Jason Ritter said. “We are not 40 points better than Oxford. They just could not buy a basket and had one of those nights. I have had them before. And we did not lose our focus. We just do what we do and we try to just concentrate on the next play and not worry about the score or who we play. We just try to control what we can control.’
Oxford received a faint glimmer of hope as Ryan Hubley scored on the first possession of the half. However, West went on 16-2 run to end any doubt.
Warren scored on a three-point play to get the run going. Gordon took a nice feed from Warren and rolled down the lane to score. After an Oxford miss, Gordon scored from Betley to make it 42-13. Dom Guerera then took over and hit two consecutive threes from the left side for a 48-13 advantage.
“We really kept our focus even with the big lead,’ Guerera said. “We just kept playing hard and playing good defense.
“Octotara is a very good team. They are very quick and they look tough to defend. We are looking forward to it.’
Ritter cleared his bench to start the fourth to give his reserves a chance to play in a Final Four. West sophomore Matt Acarson took advantage by scoring four points in the period as Oxford ‘ s shooting struggles continued.
“Oxford did not shoot well, but our defense had something to do with that,’ Ritter said. “We just look at the next play and not look too far ahead. This is another step on the journey.’
NOTE: Downingtown West put nine players in the scoring column, shooting 46 percent (26 for 56) from the field.
Downingtown West 66, Oxford 29
