Was Westhill basketball coach Kevin King presaging an inevitability following last year’s state regional finals? Or was King exhibiting graciousness in victory when he told Norwich coach Tom Collier in the handshake line, “see you next year.”
Whatever the case, two of the top three ranked Class B basketball teams in the state will meet again, this time at the Binghamton University Events Center, Saturday at 1:45 p.m. Westhill survived Norwich’s full-throttle, second-half comeback effort last year to hold on for a 59-58 victory.
While the Warriors’ 2012-2013 season ended the next week in the state semifinals, they haven’t lost a game since that defeat, and bring a perfect 22-0 mark – and the state’s top ranking – into this weekend’s contest. Norwich, number three in the state, has run off 20 victories with nary a loss
Doing the easy math, that is 42 straight combined victories for two of the remaining four unbeaten public high school teams in the state. “The other three unbeaten teams are all ranked number one in the state in their classification,” said Norwich third-year coach Tom Collier.
Few teams in Central New York execute their offense as well as Westhill, and the Warriors’ 74-plus points per game average is the highest of any opponent Norwich has faced this season other than Union-Endicott.
Westhill retains the bulk of last year’s lineup led by all-state junior guard Jordan Roland. Lanky forward Tyler Reynolds, and starting point guard Jeff Lobello. Those three scored 49 of the Warriors’ 59 points in last year’s game, and the trio again leads the team in scoring.
Lobello is more of the distributor in the offense, while Roland and Reynolds combine for nearly 40 points a game. Roland has proven a difficult cover by every team he has faced this season. Collier thought Utica Notre Dame did a good job defending the junior guard in last week’s 63-60 Section III final, and Roland still finished with 31 points. He averages better than 24 points a game this season, and is adept at every offensive aspect from outside shooting and driving to the basket, to moving without the ball.
