West Chester East’s Andrew Carr scores 1,000th points as Vikings down D-East

DOWNINGTOWN >> Thursday night marked a big milestone for West Chester East boys basketball senior Andrew Carr, who scored his 1,000th career point in the Vikings’ 62-51 Ches-Mont National Division win against Downingtown West.
Carr, who led the Vikings to the District 1 5A title game last year and is averaging over 20 points per game this season, scored his 1,000th point with 59.9 seconds to go in the third period, taking an inbounds pass from Tym Richardson and throwing down a monster slam.
Carr led all scorers with 18 points to go along with 11 rebounds, and was the point man in West Chester East’s 1-3-1 zone defense Thursday against Downingtown West.
The Whippets were playing without senior forward Will Howard, who was accepting the Maxwell Award Thursday night for his exploits on the football field as quarterback of the Whippets District 1 6A championship.
“It felt great to get it on a slam,” Carr said. “Tym Richardson made a great inbounds pass and coach (Tom Durant) drew up a great play, so yes, it was great to get it in such an important game. And i feel we are coming together now as a team. We had two really great practices this week and came out and played well tonight. I like being out front in the zone. It bothers the guards with my length and it is something we do.”
West Chester East (5-1 Ches-Mont National, 10-1 overall) took control of a close game in the third period, outscoring the Whippets (3-2, 5-5) 19-13 to take a 45-35 lead after three periods. The Viking defense forced Downingtown West into 15 turnovers and a 20-for-51 shooting night from the field.
Mike Dedda drained a long trey to start the fourth period, and the Vikings’ lead went to 48-35. Dedda had a big night, scoring 15 points, including three long three-pointers. Ryan Dever answered with a jumper to make it a 48-37 game with 5:54 to play.
Jack Kushner drove the lane for a tough inside bucket and the Vikings lead swelled to 51-38. Dedda scored on a runout and it was a 55-38 Viking advantage.
“My game is shooting the outside shot and I have not been doing that to much lately,” Dedda said. “Tonight, my shot was on and we needed it because Downingtown West is a real good team and they were very tough. Andrew getting his 1,000th point is a great milestone for him and we are all happy for him.”
The game took an odd turn with 3:38 left as Carr was called for his fifth personal foul on a call that was not popular with the Vikings’ bench or fans. Downingtown West saw an opening and Jackson Luneberg, who poured in 12 points on the night, scored in tight to make it a 52-46 Vikings lead with 2:43 to play.
West Chester East brought the ball up, Destined McCray got fouled, and the Vikings guard drained both free throws for a 54-47 lead with 2:12 to play.
The Whippets then missed their next four shots and when Kieran Heffernan scored in tight it was a 56-49 game with 1:43 to play and the Vikings just needed to hit their free throws to win.
Dedda drained two from the charity stripe and the Vikings had a very tough Ches-Mont National Division win in their pocket to keep them one game behind Coatesville in the Ches-Mont National standings.
“We like to put Andrew up top in our zone and it drives the guards nuts with his size,” Durant said. “But, give Downingtown West credit. Their guards started using the dribble drive on us, and to give the kind of effort they did without Will Howard is a credit to them.”
West Chester East 62, Downingtown West 51
WC East 10 16 19 17 – 62
D-West 13 9 13 16 – 51
WC EAST (62): McCray 0 3-4 3, Dedda 5 2-2 15, Kushner 4 0-1 8, Carr 7 3-4 18, Richardson 5 3-8 16, Heffernan 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 13-18 62.
DOWNINGTOWN WEST (51): D.Blair 4 1-2 11, H. Blair 6 3-4 16, Dever 4 0-0 9, Luneberg 5 2-4 12, Miree 1 0-0 2, Primanti 0 1-2 1, Schwab 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 7-12 51.
3-point goals: WC East – Dedda 3, Carr, Richardson. D-West – D.Blair 2, H. Blair, Dever.