Hot start leads West Chester East to comfortable win over Downingtown East

UWCHLAN >> West Chester East started so fast Thursday night that any suspense all but disappeared after just a few minutes of action.

The Vikings jumped out to an 11-0 lead at Downingtown East on Thursday and rolled to a convincing 62-48 win over the host Cougars in a Ches-Mont League National Division contest.

The Vikings (4-2 Ches-Mont National, 5-2 overall), who led 18-6 after one quarter, shot a torrid 22 for 45 from the field, including going 15 for 24 in the first half. Sophomore Jack Kushner had a big game, leading all scorers with 24 points while senior Kieran Hefferan added 16. Along with senior point guard Mike Dedda, who ran the Vikings’ offense to near perfection, the trio was key in the outcome.

West Chester East only turned the ball over six times on the night.

“We preached all week to come out with energy,” Kushner said. “We ran our offense well but I think it was our defense that gave us that burst of energy early in the game. Defense wins games and we needed this kind of effort. We lost a close game to Bishop Shanahan last Saturday and without fans we needed to create our own energy and our bench really helped us tonight. They were into the game from the start.”

West Chester East held a 37-24 lead at halftime as the Cougars’ (1-4, 1-4) only bit of first-half offense came from junior center George Bousum, who banged his way to a team-high 16 points to go along with seven rebounds. But, the Vikings were getting good open looks at the basket and heading into the third period, one had to feel the Cougars were facing a stiff battle to get back into the game.

But, Downingtown East played hard and in the third quarter, after a Bousum basket, had the Vikings’ lead down to 40-30 with a little over three minutes left in the period. But, Kushner, off a Cougar turnover, went strong to the basket and then Hefferan drained a long 3-pointer, and the Cougars were back on their heels again.

“We really ran the offense well tonight,” Hefferan said. “And getting out to that big early lead really takes the pressure off you and you can play a little easier. Tonight, though, our defense was the difference and that is something we talked about after the Shanahan loss.”

Downingtown East would not go away easily, however, as the Cougars kept fighting at the start of the fourth quarter. Joe Belbin, who drained three long 3-pointers for the Cougars, hit one from the right corner to pull Downingtown East within 52-39 with 5:07 to play. The next time down the floor, the Vikings turned the ball over, and Connor Shanahan drove hard to the basket and all of a sudden it was a 52-41 Viking advantage.

But five fourth-quarter Cougar turnovers stopped the Downingtown East rally and Kushner finished the Cougars off by scoring down low for a 54-41 Viking edge. After a Bousum basket in tight, the Vikings rattled off six straight points and both coaches cleared their bench for the final two-plus minutes of play.

“We did not match West Chester East’s energy to start the game,” said Downingtown East coach John Goodman. “I maybe should have called a timeout at 5-0, but give them credit. They played very well. We will bounce back and be ready for Downingtown West on Saturday.”

WC East 62, Downingtown East 48

WC EAST (62): Kushner 9 5-8 24, Heffernan 7 0-0 16, Kulp 2 0-0 5, Hedda 2 4-6 9, Ramos 3 0-0 6, Kelly 1 0-0 2, Sherlock, 0 0-0 0, Cox 0 0-0 0, Dutton 0 0-0 0, Price 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 9-14 62.

DOWNINGTOWN EAST (48): Bousum 7 2-6 16, Shanahan 4 1-4 9, Belbin 3 0-0 9, Suthakar 1 1-2 3, Milon 3 2-2 9, Delphais 0 1-3 1, Hallinan 0 0-1 0, Datil 0 1-2 1, D’Addezo 0 0-2 0, Duncheskie 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 8-20-48.

West Chester East 18 19 15 10 – 62

Downingtown East 6 18 12 12 – 48

3-point goals: Heffearn 2, Kulp, Kushner, Dedda, Belbin 3, Milon.