SAPPINGTON- Close games had not been friendly to the Westminster boys basketball team.
The Wildcats had lost their previous four games decided by four points or fewer dating back to last season, including a pair of one-possession losses at the Coaches vs. Cancer Holiday Tournament in late December.
“When you lose close games that you know are winnable, you either learn from it or you don’t learn from it,” junior Tobi Akinyede said.
Westminster used those valuable late-game lessons and passed a major test Tuesday, going 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to defeat Logan-Rogersville 44-41 in a semifinal of the Lindbergh Flyer Classic at Lindbergh High School.
Westminster (10-2) advanced to face De Smet (13-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday for the Lindbergh Flyer Classic championship.
Logan-Rogersville (11-3), which earned a third-place state finish in Class 4 last season, will face Lindbergh (6-6) in the third-place game at 5:30 p.m.
After a clinical display of half court defense by both teams, Westminster entered the halftime locker room clinging to an 18-17 lead and emerged with the necessary tweaks to establish its biggest lead.
Dribble penetration by sophomore Will Powers set up a 3-ball from senior Evan Montandon to open the second half scoring. Akinyede penetrated the paint and set up a triple by senior JD Robertson and another from Montandon as Westminster built a 27-19 lead three minutes into the third quarter.
“They tried to press up on us a little more in the second half, but we just played to our strengths,” Akinyede said. “We’re a good dribble penetration and kick out for 3 team. That’s our sweet spot.”
After a timeout, Logan-Rogersville found it own sweet spot. Consecutive threes by sophomore Chase Branham and freshman Jack Sutherland narrowed the deficit, and when 6-foot-7 junior Marcus Moore powered it home from in tight, it punctuated a 9-0 run to give Logan-Rogersville its first lead since the score was 5-4.
“Both teams were tough, both teams guarded well. I told our guys it was going to come down to who made their shots,” Logan-Rogersville coach John Schaefer said.
Montandon made an acrobatic shot to halt the Rogersville run, scooping in a reverse layup and converting the and-1 to regain the lead. A corner-3 from Powers, who scored a team-high 15 points, gave Westminster a 34-30 lead with 6:30 remaining in the game.
But it would be Westminster’s last field goal.
The Logan-Rogersville match-up zone limited dribble penetration and allowed perimeter defenders to stay close to Westminster three-point shooters.
“We adjust it and switch some things out based on the other team’s personnel,” Schaefer said of the matchup zone. “(Westminster) has a really nice team. They have five guys out there who are skilled, can shoot it and they play very well together.”
Branham, who scored 11 of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, deposited a floater and a putback to tie the game at 34, but thanks to perfect 10-for-10 free throw shooting, Westminster did not allow Logan-Rogersville to reclaim the lead.
Montandon and Powers went 4-for-4 from the line and Akinyede drained a pair as Westminster pulled ahead 44-41 in the final seconds.
“It’s all about mindset for me. I just know that I practice (shooting) every day. I feel like every time I step to the line, I’m going to make it,” said Montandon, who finished with 14 points, one point off his career high.
On the final Logan-Rogersville possession, Sutherland had a great look from straight-away, but his 3-point attempt circled the rim and spun out just before the buzzer sounded.
“We had a good shot at the end, we just ran out of time,” Schaefer said. “That’s two good teams playing and somebody had to lose.”
Westminster has not been losing much since the middle of last season. A 39-35 loss to Ladue gave the Wildcats a 6-6 record on Jan. 3, 2024. Since then, Westminster has won 21 of its last 28 games with an average margin of victory of 19.4 points.
“A ton of us have improved individually,” Montandon said. “We’ve all worked on our game over the summer and our chemistry is second to none.”
Akinyede added, “We like each other off the court, which makes us trust each other on the court.”
And Westminster can also trust in the fact that close games can go in their favor.
“We learned from those close games and fixed some little mistakes that we were making, and that’s what got us the ‘W’ tonight,” Akinyede said.
For a photo gallery from this game, visit: