Lakewood Boys Win At Westlake With Big Second Half

It took a trip to the locker room at halftime for 's boys basketball team to finally understand coach Phil Argento's message.

Trailing by seven points after two quarters and with Argento's pleas to play defense going unheeded, the Rangers suddenly scored easy points off forced turnovers in a rollicking second half to win at Westlake, 67-53, on Tuesday night.

"It has taken three months, almost four, for them to realize that defense jump-starts the offense," Argento said after the Rangers closed with a 19-5 flurry to improve their record to 5-14.

Westlake coach Bob Patton couldn't quibble.

"We forced the tempo in the first half by playing sound defense," Patton said. "The momentum changed in the third quarter. We regrouped, then started taking quick shots, just giving in to their defense."

Conor Mabry led Lakewood with 16 points, Pete Nelson scored 14 and Chris Bielopetrovich had 12 — but it was two defensive plays by Jay Andreani that really got the Rangers rolling.

Lakewood outscored the Demons in the third quarter 20-9 to take a 45-41 lead, but Westlake opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run to regain command. Max Rodriguez hit a 3-pointer from the corner, then Jason Labroo and Shawn Turk tallied on consecutive fastbreak layups to make it 48-45.

The Demons were looking to extend the lead, but Andreani stole the ball and Bielopetrovich hit a three to tie it at 48. Another three by Nelson put Lakewood ahead to stay.

Seconds later, Andreani blocked a shot by Grant Gase. Bielopetrovich scored on a layup, then Andreani and freshman Jason Schmidt, off a nifty pass from Mabry, converted fastbreak layups, too.

The 12-0 run put Lakewood ahead 57-48 and left the Demons (10-9) gasping for air.

"We were a little bit out of gas," Patton understated.

Not a good sign for a team with only nine varsity players and one senior, Labroo, who led Westlake with 15 points.

Westlake had taken control late in the first quarter with a 7-0 run to lead, 19-12. Rodriguez, who finished with 10 points, scored the first five.

"We were taking good shots, playing defense, playing smart," Patton said.

Meanwhile, Argento was yelling out defensive instructions -- to no avail. Westlake led at halftime, 32-25.

Dan Mazzeo and Nelson hit consecutive 3-pointers to open the second half. After Westlake hit one free throw, Bielopetrovich drove down the lane to tie it at 33.

Game on.

"Their coach came over afterwards and gave us the best compliment when he said, 'You guys played so darned hard,' " Argento said.

"We do play hard. We're young (only three seniors), but we have a lot of kids who give maximum effort in games, in practice.

"Fans get a little frustrated that it hasn't turned into wins, but it is not for lack of effort. Tonight, the effort was at both ends of the court and it did translate into a win. They matched their effort with some smart play."

Argento hopes the momentum continues with the regular-season finale Friday night.

"That's a big test with Medina," he said. "Let's see if what we did in the second half here can be done for an entire game. We have played defense here and there all season, but the key is doing it consistently."

Andreani finished with eight points, Devin Goddard and Schmidt scored six apiece and Mazzeo had five points to round out Lakewood's scoring.

Earlier, sophomores Brian Hrdlicka and Aaron Donahoe each scored nine points to lead the Rangers' JV team in a 54-39 loss.