Westlake squeezes by Lake Travis in rivalry game
AUSTIN, Texas — The storied rivalry of the Chaparrals of Austin Westlake and Cavaliers of Austin Lake Travis continued at Westlake High School Tuesday night. This was the second time these teams faced each other after Westlake closed out the Cavaliers…
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Continue ReadingAUSTIN, Texas — The storied rivalry of the Chaparrals of Austin Westlake and Cavaliers of Austin Lake Travis continued at Westlake High School Tuesday night. This was the second time these teams faced each other after Westlake closed out the Cavaliers at Lake Travis with a 57-54 win last month. Like their last meeting, this game was a barnburner. Lake Travis was without two of their star players in three-star power forward and California signee D.J. Thorpe and point guard Ryan Bormann. However, they still played hard to the end and lost the game in the final seconds by three points (54-51).
Player Breakdown
Will Baker / 7’0″ / C / Austin Westlake / 2019
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Baker’s ability to shoot the basketball at his size translates to the professional level. He will be able to get his shot off against other physical bigs in the Big 12 and beyond. Defensively, the five-star big man must improve on his timing. He is long but tends to swipe-and-miss instead of swat-and reject when trying to protect the rim and alter shots. However, he still showed the polished offensive game that has him in the McDonald’s All-American Game conversation. The Texas signee scored a game-high 22 points in the close win.
Darius McBride / 6’4″ / SF / Austin Westlake / 2019
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McBride was the most aggressive player on the floor offensively. Attacking the rim was the only thing on his mind last night. He put his head down and looked to get to the rim time after time. The SMU pledge is a quick two-foot leaper who explodes to the rim to score. He hit two game-winning free throws with eight seconds remaining to give the Chaparrals a two-point lead. McBride finished with 13 points in the win.
Bennett Mohn / 6’5″ / SF / Austin Lake Travis / 2019
The Longwood signee was giving Westlake problems throughout the night. He got off to a hot start scoring 13 of the Cavaliers’ first 16 points. Mohn simply came ready to play and took advantage of his great looks from the perimeter. He is a solid off-ball option because of his ability to move without the basketball and hit shots off the catch. The senior forward scored a team-high 21 points in the rivalry match.
K.J. Adams / 6’6″ / PF / Austin Westlake / 2021
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Adams finished strong at times in the paint and even scored while being fouled. But, he did force some attempts by trying to overpower defenders with his physicality. As he continues to get adjusted, Adams will learn how to let the game come to get him and it will result in comfortable looks from all three levels. Defensively, the sophomore was disciplined guarding on the low post. The four-star forward scored eight points on the night.