Westlake Defeats Thousand Oaks in Tournament Final

What the Westlake Warriors basketball team lacks in talent, they make up with depth.

It’s no secret, nothing complex. That non-stop traffic from their crowded bench onto a fast gymnasium floor Friday night was the obvious result of all 14 Warriors playing--and contributing--in an 83-68 victory over Thousand Oaks in the final game of the Thousand Oaks tournament.

Against an already weaker Thousand Oaks team (5-3), nine Westlake players scored, four reached double figures to help their team defend the tournament title.

“I’m confident in all my players,” Westlake Coach Roy Gillmore said of his 6-2 team. “It’s nice to know I can go so deep. Thay was basically the difference.” Simply, the Warriors ran Thousand Oaks--until the Lancers had little left.

“We love to run and gun,” said starting forward Paul Kennan, who scored a game-high 24 points. “Everybody was loose and we had a good time.” For the Warriors, the fun started after they trailed, 4-0. Their running offense finally moving at full speed, the Warriors jumped to a 16-14 lead after the first period.

A 23-10 scoring run in the second period gave Westlake a 43-18 halftime lead.

But Thousand Oaks center Jon Walker scored 10 of his team’s points in a 12-6 run to make it 49-40 with 6:05 left in the third period.

It became a game, then, until Walker, who finished with 14 points fouled out with 3:48 left in the third. His absence, coupled with the Lancers missing five consecutive front ends of a one-and-one, doomed Thousand Oaks’ chances of mounting a comeback.

In fact, Westlake regrouped and took command, leading by as many as 15 points after holding a 58-48 lead after the third period.

“It could have become a game before Walker fouled out,” Thousand Oaks Coach Ed Chavalier said. “But Westlake played well the whole game and we played kind of up and down.

In the third-place final, Chris Hantgin, an all-tournament selection, socred 16 points to lead Ventura to a 75-61 win over Calabasas.

In the consolation final, Gardena defeated 70-55. All-tournament guard Eddie Shannon scored a game-high 22 points.