Westlake boys fall to No. 1 Duncanville in nondistrict boys basketball contest

BELTON Head coach David Peavy’s halftime message to Duncanville was simple. Teams that win championships make the right adjustments at halftime. The Panthers held a one-point lead at the break, but the score had swung both ways and they needed to rebound and push the ball.

At the end of the third quarter, Duncanville made the decisive run in the Panthers’ 77-67 win over Westlake Nov. 25 at Mary Hardin-Baylor University. Juan Reyna and Damon Nicholas Jr. both drilled a 3-pointer. And after a Westlake bucket, Ronald Holland rose above everyone for a putback slam. C.J. Ford applied the final blow, earning free throws with 0.2 seconds left in the period. Duncanville now led 58-49.

The Chaps were waiting for it to happen, said Westlake head coach Robert Lucero. They controlled the first-quarter tempo and even gained a five-point cushion in the second. For much of the second half though, Westlake came up with empty possessions and missed shots.

“We were just waiting for them to throw a punch at us,” Lucero said. “And it backed us off instead of continuing to say, ‘Hey, we can grow this lead. We can do some things to make sure it extends even more than it was.’ ”

In a holiday matinee nondistrict meeting between No. 11 Westlake (3-1) and top-ranked and unbeaten Duncanville, the Chaps came close to the upset. But what Lucero called a “passive” second half kept Westlake from getting to the “next level,” according to the coach.

Kansas-commit KJ Adams scored 34 points for Westlake, and point guard Eain Mowat added 13. No other Chap reached double-digits, and Adams, Mowat and Nehikhare Igiehon combined for all but two of Westlake’s points in the second half.

“We weren't really making shots (in the second half), that just happens with the game,” Mowat said. “Miscommunications, defense, we weren't boxing out.”

Duncanville applied the pressure early on and off the ball, much like Westlake had done in a win over Waco Midway a day earlier. The Panthers frustrated Adams, denying him access to the rim and keeping him scoreless through the opening quarter.

Forcing turnovers and grabbing offensive rebounds for easy second-chance buckets kept the Chaps in the game. Adams came out in the second quarter more aggressive, and his 16 points in that frame were enough to limit the Duncanville lead to just one point at the midway interval.

The defensive pressure and run-and-gun offense bothered the Chaps more in the second half. After Mowat felt he was fouled on a 3-point attempt, Duncanville ran the other way and hit a 3 of their own. Later, Mowat finished a nice off-hand layup but fell running back and Reyna hit a 3 before Mowat could recover. A soft pass to Adams at the top of the 3-point arc midway through the third quarter led to a steal and a dunk at the other end for Duncanville.

“I think it got into their tempo a little bit and as the game got up-and-down, we had some empty possessions,” Lucero said. “Not that we don't want to play up-and-down, because I think we wanted to, but at the same time, we got to make sure we're getting good possessions.”

When the Panthers built up a double-digit lead in the fourth, they were able to have the guards dribble out time. Westlake had yet to play an opponent that have been able to take late-game leads this season, nor were the Chaps accustomed to the playoff-like speed of the game which condenses decision-making time. In the Austin area, they rarely face teams that can do that.

The Chaps need to learn how to play better at that high pace, Lucero said, and execute better when able to get into halfcourt sets. The confidence in ball handling was also lacking at times against the tight on-ball defense. Mowat felt Westlake became “timid” at times in the second half.

“It shows us a team that's won their region in the (Dallas-Fort Worth) Metroplex the last two years, what we got to do to win that game,” Lucero said. “And so, I think it's a huge experience for us.”

Since Lucero’s tenure began in 2015, the Chaps have become not just a powerhouse in Central Texas, but a program recognized around the state and ranked as such. Lucero had amassed 183 wins coming into Wednesday with an an 85.1% winning rate. Westlake hasn’t lost a district game since January of 2017.

But Lucero’s Chaps were missing two markers all statewide powers share. The state title remains elusive. The closest they’ve reached was a 2018 state semifinal. And the marquee wins, ones against top-five teams and state title contenders, have remained few and far in between.

The game against Duncanville provided a platform to announce the Chaps are ready to make the leap to becoming a brand-name program. Instead, they learned what they’re missing to do so.

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