Westbrook boys rout Gaston 51-21

Fri. January 11, 2013 at 10:55 p.m. | By J.J. Hicks Staff Writer

Westbrook's DeVernon Marshall drives past Gaston's Josh Bogle defends during Friday's game. (Photo by Dave Hyatt | Gadsden Times)

Class 2A, No. 3 Westbrook Christian overpowered Gaston for a 51-21 Area 11 victory in boys high school basketball Friday.

The Warriors used pressure defense to stifle the Bulldogs for much of the night, while Colin Edwards singlehandedly outscored Gaston by pouring in 23 points despite sitting out most of the fourth quarter.

Westbrook coach Seth Ford said that his team’s defense has played a big part in the Warriors’ 17-2 record this season. That held true against Gaston.

“Our defense is what turned the corner for us tonight,” he said. “Our full-court pressure, our trapping, the defense creating the offense. I felt good about that because that’s something you can rely on every night. At this point in the season, that’s what you want your strength to be.”

Edwards was the team’s lone double-digit scorer, and he also grabbed 18 rebounds. Alex Perkins finished with nine points, six rebounds and five steals for the Warriors.

“I thought we were a little sloppy offensively, but they (Gaston) do a pretty good job defensively, too,” Ford said. “They really get after it and play hard. Our free throws were horrible. We didn’t shoot the three as well as we normally do.”

Gaston mananged to get to within 8-5 after a 3-pointer by Jordan Douglas early in the fast-paced first quarter. After that, though, it was all Westbrook. Keyed by 10 points in the period from Edwards, the Warriors went on a 13-0 run to end the quarter with a 21-5 advantage. Evan Gregerson hit a pair of free throws to cap the spurt.

Douglas scored early in the second quarter to end the run, but the Bulldogs scored only once more in the quarter. A bucket by Edwards pushed the lead to 23-7 with 4:41 on the clock. He scored seven of his team’s 10 points in the quarter as the Warriors went into halftime up 30-9.

Westbrook extended its lead in the third quarter. Perkins enjoyed a 7-0 run heading into the final period, helping Westbrook take command 44-15.

Javonte Pope and Albert Douglas, who led the Bulldgos with 10 points, drained a 3-pointer apiece for Gaston in the final quarter when a running clock was used. Jordan Douglas had eight points and Pope’s 3-pointer accounted for the remainder of Gaston’s scoring.