WESTLAKE — It appears Westlake is handling the high life quite well.
Fresh off one of the biggest victories in school history — a one-point upset of perennial Southwestern Conference power Olmsted Falls last weekend — the Demons returned to the win column Friday night, drubbing Amherst 65-46.
It was Westlake’s fourth win in the last six games after the Demons began the season 1-6. They are 5-8 overall and tied for the SWC lead at 5-2.
Westlake quickly answered any questions as to how it would handle its big win over Falls, scoring 16 of the game’s first 18 points and rarely facing a challenge from the Comets, who managed just two points in the opening quarter.
“I was happy with the way we responded,” said Demons coach Bob Patton. “I always worry how you’re going to come out after something a little different happens during the week.
“The first part of our schedule (North Ridgeville, Rocky River, Avon Lake, Glenville, Lakewood, North Olmsted) was brutal. Once we got through that, we learned a little bit about ourselves.”
Amherst learned that it’s tough to win when you go through extended spells where you can’t put the ball in the basket.
The Comets (4-7, 3-4 SWC) were done in by miserable shooting in the first and final quarters, where they combined to score just 12 points on 7-of-22 shooting from the field — 1-of-5 in the first quarter.
“We can’t have those two breakdowns and expect to win games,” said Amherst coach Phil Schmook, whose team also toppled an SWC heavyweight in North Olmsted recently, but has lost its last two. “This has been a problem for us all year. We go through spells where we don’t score.”
“Defensively, we were real good,” Patton said.
Amherst got back in the game after the lopsided first period and trailed by just six (27-21) at the half. But Westlake dominated the early portion of the third quarter and led 44-29 when Scott Bishop hit a
3-pointer with 40 seconds left.
Bishop led a trio of double-figure scorers with a game-high 19 points. Alex Pandrangi and Ouddi Hamdan scored 16 and 13.
Contact Chris Assenheimer
at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.
Westlake 65, Amherst 46
AMHERST (46): Ryan Rua 2-2-6, Alex Endrai 2-0-4, Brandon Coulter 1-0-2, Jake Diaz 0-2-2, Adam Crnobrnja 2-0-5, Kyle Jacobs 3-0-6, Nick Diaz 1-0-2, Zane Papay 2-0-4, Larry Scheiferstein 2-0-5, Nick Hurst 2-0-4, Conner Weir 2-0-6. Totals 19-4-46.
WESTLAKE (65): Ouddi Hamdan 5-3-13, Mike Connolly 3-0-7, Scott Bishop 7-3-19, Chris Considine 1-0-2, Alex Pandrangi 5-4-16, Dave LeBeau 0-0-0, Shane Skelly 1-0-2, Jason Labroo 0-1-1, James Taylor 1-0-2, Chris Schwinkendorf 0-0-0. Tim Weiskittel 1-0-3, Stephen James 0-0-0. Totals 24-11-65.
Amherst 2 19 10 15 — 46
Westlake 14 13 17 21 — 65
Three-point goals: Amherst 4-17 (Weir 2, Crnobrnja, Scheiferstein), Westlake 6-14 (Pandrangi 2, Bishop 2, Connolly, Weiskittel). Field goals: Amherst 19-46 (41 percent), Westlake 24-45 (53 percent). Free throws: Amherst 4-7 (57 percent), Westlake 11-13 (85 percent). Rebounds: Amherst 19, Westlake 27. Turnovers: Amherst 15, Westlake 13. Total fouls: Amherst 13, Westlake 12.
Junior varsity: Westlake, 51-31.

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