Warriors dismantle Bunker Hill
Dec. 23—GAMEWELL — It was by no means a textbook clinic in prep basketball, but West Caldwell was plenty good enough on Thursday night.
In a sloppy CVAC affair, the Warriors had little trouble whipping Bunker Hill 79-61 at Anderson/Trivett Court.
West (7-1) has nailed down a pair of dominant decisions following a heartbreaking loss at rival Hibriten, heading into next week's Freedom Christmas Classic.
"We spread the ball pretty well," West senior forward Mason Anthony said. "That was our problem last week. We couldn't spread the ball, but we did pretty well in the second half I think."
Anthony ignited the Warriors with 20 points, 13 rebounds and three steals. Jordan Patterson, who pleased the arena with a pair of thundering slam dunks, added 15 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Zion Thomas scrapped his way to 13 points, while Malek Patterson delivered 12 points, eight boards and four steals.
Malek Patterson, the team's top gun, went down with a leg injury and was helped off the floor with 2:15 remaining.
"I think we're more focused on getting Malek healthy, seeing where he's at with that," Anthony said. "When we've got our whole team, I think we're unstoppable — for real."
The Warriors were also without Coach Billy Anderson, who was under the weather and didn't make the game.
"We miss him, but we've got to have his back," Anthony said. "He's always got our back, so we had to have his back today."
Chris Witherspoon, the junior varsity coach, roamed the sideline with help on the bench from girls' coach Monte Simmons.
Anthony had the hot hand with eight points in the first quarter. Thomas scored after driving the length of the court, giving West a 21-19 edge heading in the second period.
That quarter saw Anthony hit six more points. Malek Patterson registered a two-hand dunk.
Zycobi Morrison's second 3-pointer saw the Warriors in charge 35-24. Elijah Boston's bucket at the buzzer brought the Bears (1-7, 0-2) within 45-33 at intermission.
Bunker Hill cut it to eight. Thomas hit nine points, including two treys, that period. The sophomore point guard's three-point play allowed West to enjoy a 64-46 cushion as the third closed.
Malek Patterson's tip-in opened the final period to make it a 20-point rout. Bunker Hill got as close as 10 with 2:30 remaining.
Jordan Patterson's second dunk, just after Malek's injury, made it 77-61.
The Warriors struggled at the foul line, going 7 of 16 (2 of 9 in fourth). West did rule the glass 43-31.
Bunker Hill was 4 of 11 on free throws. The Bears got 17 points apiece from Devin Brice and Kalen Bolick.
"I thought we gave up a lot of points," Anthony said. "I think they average 40 points, and we let them score 61. So we've definitely got to work on that tomorrow in practice, but besides that I though we did all right."
