TOWN AND COUNTRY- Westminster senior JD Robertson and junior Tobi Akinyede knew it was a tall task, both literally and figuratively.
Facing a John Burroughs’ front line that dominated the paint and the glass in their previous meeting, Akinyede and Robertson accepted the challenge of slowing down the Bombers’ skilled big men.
“They kind of killed us the first time,” Robertson said. “We watched some film, created a plan, and executed it.”
Robertson and Akinyede neutralized the Wildcats’ sizable disadvantage and sophomore Will Powers scored a career-high 29 points as Westminster defeated John Burroughs 50-46 Monday to win the Class 5 District 3 championship at Westminster Christian Academy.
Westminster (23-6), which won its fourth district title in the last six seasons, advanced to face McCluer North (12-12) at 7 p.m. Friday at Westminster.
Akinyede accepted the challenge of guarding Bombers’ 6-foot-9 junior Tristan Reed, who torched the Wildcats for 26 points and 15 rebounds when the teams met on Jan. 31.
Within the first minute, Reed caught the ball in the post, took a hard dribble and plowed over Akinyede for a charge. It was the first of three charges Akinyede drew against Reed.
“I knew I wasn’t going to out-strength him, so I tried to use his momentum against him. I had to be quicker than him, get in front of him and take a charge,” Akinyede said.
The 6-foot-4 Robertson, the tallest Wildcat, drew the assignment of guarding 6-foot-11 junior Sheek Pearson. Robertson often left Pearson alone at the high post to provide a lightning-quick double team on Reed.
Pearson led the Bombers with 14 points but struggled to get near the basket and was prevented from dominating the offensive glass by Robertson.
“We were really going to try to pack the paint the best we could,” Westminster coach Dale Ribble said. “(Reed and Pearson) are both great high school players. They’re big, strong, and skilled and they’re probably going to be playing in a high level in college. We knew we weren’t going to stop them, but we were going to try to make it hard on them.”
Reed was limited to four points and committed two fouls in the first half, but the rest of the Bombers made plenty of noise.
Senior DJ Johnson scored seven consecutive points early in the second quarter. Freshman Chase Williams drained a three, and when senior Max Steinbach finished a hard drive to the basket, the Bombers took a 31-24 into halftime.
“At halftime, I told our kids, as far as I was concerned, we were down seven because we really didn’t get in sync,” John Burroughs coach Darryl ‘Pee Wee’ Lenard said. “(Reed) got some early fouls that put him out of sync, and I thought we were forcing some things that we normally take our time and do.”
The effectiveness of the John Burroughs perimeter players forced Ribble to alter his gameplan a bit, installing a triangle-and-two defense on a few possessions.
“We tried to throw a couple curveballs in there,” Ribble said.
But ultimately, it was a highly-competitive, man-to-man defense that allowed Westminster to claw its way back.
And the brilliance of Will Powers.
Feeding off back-to-back threes by Robertson and sophomore Darrell Crump to start the game, Powers scored the Wildcats’ final 11 points of the first quarter, including three triples.
“My teammates were hitting shots, so (the defense) had to spread out. There were a lot of one-on-one opportunities, and I like my game when it’s one-on-one,” Powers said.
Powers, who scored 28 points in the district semifinal against Ladue, was equally sharp in the midrange, rising high to drain one-dribble pull-ups and fadeaway jumpers. He scored 22 points through three quarters and helped Westminster pull within three, 37-34.
Then he took over the fourth.
He rebounded an airball and dropped it in the hoop to open the quarter. Tied at 40, he sank a tightly-guarded corner three to pull the Wildcats ahead for the first time in over 17 minutes. On the following possession, he scored on a backdoor pass from Akinyede to give Westminster a 45-40 lead with 3:08 remaining.
“That’s a play we’ve been running for years. Will was hot, and they were pressing up on him and overplaying him. I pass-faked, he went back door and got the layup. I think that’s probably the play that sealed it,” said Akinyede, who recorded six assists.
Westminster had a chance to lock it up at the free throw line but made only three of six foul shots, and when John Burroughs senior Owen Walther drained a straight-away three, the Bombers cut the deficit to 48-46 with six seconds remaining.
Robertson was fouled after the in-bounds pass. He went to the line, swished both free throws and put the Wildcats in celebration mode.
“I know my teammates trust me,” Robertson said. “I stuck to my routine, and I shot them with confidence.”
In the Bombers’ 61-46 win over Westminster in late January, John Burroughs (21-7) outrebounded the Wildcats by 20 and became the first team to score 60-plus points against Westminster since Dec. 29, 2021 – a span of 94 games.
On Monday. Westminster gave up no dunks and went toe-to-toe with the bigger Bombers for 32 minutes.
“I thought in this game, compared to the one we played earlier in the year, we were much more competitive on the glass and much more competitive in the paint,” Ribble said. “I’m really proud of our team, the effort, the concentration level, how they competed, and the way they followed the gameplan. We’re excited about the opportunity to keep playing.”
Photo Gallery: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Boys-Basketball-Photos/Boys-Basketball-2024-25/John-Burroughs-at-Westminster-C5D3.