BLYTHEWOOD – The Blythewood boys’ basketball team kept a small cushion of a lead on White Knoll for half of Tuesday night’s game. In the end the Bengals held off two second-half rallies and escaped with a 55-53 victory over the Timberwolves.
Senior T.J. Lewis led all scorers with 23 points on the night, but he scored 20 of them in the first half, which helped Blythewood to a 35-26 halftime lead. He accounted for two free throws in the third quarter and one of two foul shots in the fourth.
“Inexperience. We just have to develop some depth in a hurry,” head coach Zeke Washington said. “Even the guys who were on the team last year didn’t play that much, and they’re inexperienced. But we have to be able to do the small things and develop depth quickly. We didn’t play with a lot of depth tonight.”
White Knoll (1-2) held the Bengals (3-0) to just eight points in the third quarter, which started with a 12-4 Timberwolves scoring run. That rally cut Blythewood’s lead to 39-38 with 1:55 to go in the third quarter.
The Bengals got two foul shots from sophomore Terrion Mack and a basket from senior Tyler Stephens to go back up 43-38. Jackson Lorick got a basket and Peyton Jennings hit a basket at the third-quarter buzzer to cut the lead to 43-42 going into the fourth quarter.
Stephens stole the ball and passed to junior Javarius Wyche, who put it in to open the fourth-quarter scoring, and Blythewood built a 51-45 lead with 5:56 to go. A Lewis foul shot, a Stephens basket, and a Torrean Sims 3-point play gave the Bengals that 6-point cushion.
White Knoll worked some time off the clock on its end of the court, but got back within two points in the final 90 seconds. Freshman big man Bryan Schofield, who had 16 points on the night for the Timberwolves, came up with a basket, along with Lorick and Denzel Posey to make it 55-53 Bengals with 1:30 left.
After a furious battle for possession, Blythewood fouled McLeod on a White Knoll possession and he inbounded the ball from the baseline. Both teams fought for the ball but Mack came up with it in the final seconds before being fouled with one second left.
Lewis inbounded the ball from the scoring table sideline and the final second ticked away, securing the victory.
The game’s wild second half was discouraging for Washington, who lost five seniors from last year’s 21-7 season that included a Region 3-5A championship and a second-round appearance in the playoffs.
“We don’t pay attention to detail, and when you don’t pay attention to the small details, you struggle to win games,” he said. “And we have to develop more pride.”
The girls’ team had a much easier time with the Timberwolves. Blythewood (3-0) held White Knoll (1-2) to13 points in the second half and walked off the court with a 53-36 victory.
Junior returning starters Chase Thomas, Hayley Hightower and India Williams resumed their positions from last year’s 13-9 effort. Thomas led the way with 12 points, Hightower had 10 and Williams had 8 points. Senior Daniella Bosmans also had 8 points.
Blythewood’s boys and girls play host to River Bluff Friday.
Boys
White Knoll – 14-12-16-11 — 53
Blythewood – 18-17-8-12 — 55
W – Bryan Schofield 16, Rhyan Cepeda 11, Jennings 9, Lorick 7, McLeod 6, Anderson 2, Posey 2. B – T.J. Lewis 23, Stephens 9, Major 6, Little 6, Wyche 5, Sims 4, Mack 2.
