Westminster Takes Down Whitfield in Big Victory

The Westminster Boys Varsity Basketball Team defeated the Whitfield Warriors by a score of 58-53 on Thursday night.The Warriors, led by Senior Mizzou-signee and area top scorer Torrance Watson, made it all the way to the state championship game last year where they lost to Northwest Academy in the final. The Warriors came into their Senior Night on a roll, having won their last three games in which Watson scored 29, 58, and 40 points in each game. They expected to roll over Westminster, but the Wildcats had a different idea.Levi Alldredge began the game guarding Watson, but picked up two quick fouls early as Torrance scored eight of Whitfield’s first 10 points, causing the Wildcats to have to switch their defensive assignments. “We were nervous at the beginning, but we got comfortable after that first timeout,” said Brennan Orf, Westminster’s 6’3” sophomore forward. The Wildcats switched defensive looks on Watson all night, guarding him using a host of different players and also playing a 3-2 zone at times. The different looks seemed to confuse Watson, and the Wildcats made it tough on him, although he still scored 29 points. Whitfield had the 17-13 advantage at the conclusion of the first quarter and a 29-24 lead at halftime.The second half started slow, but then Brennan Orf took control. Orf, who didn’t start and was questionable to play due to a chest injury suffered in Westminster’s last game at Borgia, scored 10 consecutive points, giving the Wildcats a 34-33 lead. Logan Montgomery knocked down two threes at the end of the third quarter, including one at the buzzer, to give Westminster a 40-34 lead heading into the fourth.The Wildcats never trailed again. Their lead fluctuated from three to 10 points throughout the fourth quarter. After a Torrance Watson three-pointer which cut the lead to three, Brennan Orf made two clutch free throws to seal the game for Westminster.Brennan Orf finished with his best game of the year, scoring 20 points while grabbing nine rebounds in the full team effort. Logan Montgomery scored 15 points, while Dominic Cusumano, Jerram Adams, Alex Token, and Luke Linam each scored six. The win brings the Wildcats’ record to 12-10, but a win against a team as strong as Whitfield could provide them with confidence as they look to finish the season stronger than they started it.