Dylan Blair’s big night leads Downingtown West over WC East

DOWNINGTOWN- Special players never cease to amaze. They usually shine the brightest on the biggest stage against the best opponents. Tuesday night at Wagner Gymnasium Downingtown West senior point guard Dylan Blair put on a virtuoso performance as he scored 27 points, dished out eight assists and he also got plenty of help from his teammates as Downingtown West downed West Chester East 65-48, in a key Ches-Mont National Division game Included in Blair’s 27 points were four three-balls.

Downingtown West (4-1 Ches-Mont, 10-2 overall) had a five point lead at halftimes but the Whippets pulled away in the second half outscoring the Vikings (4-2, 10-3) 31-19 in the decisive second half.

The Whippets held Vikings big man Jack Kushner to just six points and West controlled the glass at both ends of the floor complimenting Blair’s terrific performance.

“For the past couple years Dylan has been our catalyst and we usually go like he does,” Downingtown West coach Stu Ross said. “And tonight was no different. But I felt this was a total team effort. We got big games from a lot of people that may not show up in the box score. Things like boxing out and making good passes.

“Antonio Lewis has been doing a great job in his first year as a varsity player. And Kelly Bell really rebounded and boxed out tonight and he is doing a great job in his first year as a starter and Donovan (Fromhartz) career is just shooting to the top. We knew we had to rebound against a great team like West Chester East and the guys did a great job tonight.”

Lewis had 10 points off the bench for the Whippets while Fromhartz added 16 points while Bell chipped in with seven points and eight rebounds.

The Whippets were up by 10 points early in the second period but West Chester East went on an 11-0 run to take a one point lead. That would be the only lead the Vikings would have and it lasted seven seconds. Froamhartz ended the run with an inside basket and West took a 34-29 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Whippets went right back to work in the third period as Alex Neuhas got things going with an inside basket for a 36-29 Whippet lead. But, Jose Ramos drained a three-ball and it was game on as East cut the Whippets advantage to 36-32.

But the Whippets put the ball in Blair’s hands and he scored two baskets on driving layups in a row and the Whippets had forged a 48-40 lead after three periods. Downingtown west was hot from the field as the Whippets shot 25 for 49 from the field on the night.

“I knew against a real good team like west Chester East I had to bring my A game. We all had to bring our A game and we remember what happened last year at West Chester University against them in the Ches-Mont finals. They are three time defending Ches-Mont League champs and they are always very tough.”

With an eight point lead, the Whippets blew things open to start the fourth period. After Kushner scored in tight o cut the Whippets lead to 50-44, the Whippets went on a 8-0 run to put the game away.

Then Blair took a feed from Lewis to score in tight to make it a 52-44 game with 5:40 to go in the fourth period. After a Vikings turnover, one of 15 on the night, Blair went coast to coast to score and it was a 54-44 game.

After A KJ Cochran miss, Blair fed Lewis, who scored on the baseline for a 56-44 lead with just 4:19 to play in the fourth period. After another Vikings turnover, Fromharctz went inside, missed, but tipped in a follow  and suddenly, in the space of two minutes, the Whippets had the game in hand at 58-44, with 3:02 to play in the fourth period and the Vikings were done for the night.

“We knew they are a physical team that attacks the glass,” Blair said. “We knew we had to match them physically and box out and our big guys did a great job of that. West Chester East is a premier team in the area and we know they will be ready for us when we go play them other court.”

Downingtown West 65, WC East 48

WEST CHESTER EAST (48) Cochran 8 2-2 18, Price 2 0-0 6, Sherlock 1 0-0 2, Ramos 5 1-2 14, Kushner 3 0-0 6, Gallagher 1 0-0 2, Porter 0 0-0 0, Bronzall 0 0-0 0, Williams 0 0-0 0. Kulp 0 0-0 0. Totals  20 3-4 48.

DOWNINGTOWN WEST (65) Blair 9 5-6 27, Lewis 4 2-4 10, Bell 3 1-1 7, Lasher 0 0-0 0, Neuhas 1 0-0 2, Fromharctz 7 0-0 16, Suarez 1 0-0 3. Totals 25 8-11 65.

West Chester East   12 17 11 8-48
Downingtown West   18 16 14 17-65
3-point goals: Ramos 3, Price 2, Blair 4, Fromhartz 2, Suarez