EUREKA – With his shot-blocking, charge-taking, and board-clearing prowess, senior Tobi Akinyede spearheaded a suffocating Westminster defense that earned third place in Class 5 last season.
But after the graduation of some impactful seniors, the Wildcats surprisingly struggled on the defensive end during consecutive home losses early in the season.
“We were still trying to jell together and we weren’t communicating as much, but after those two losses, we’ve been a lot better,” Akinyede said.
Akinyede shined in the first half, Will Powers starred in the second, and Westminster continued its resurgence with a 60-52 victory over Eureka in a battle of high-powered teams Wednesday at Eureka High.
Westminster (13-4), which received scoring from seven different players, earned its eighth win in its last nine games.
With Eureka (11-4) determined to limit the touches of Powers, who leads Westminster with 22.6 points per game, Akinyede provided the offensive punch in the first quarter. He hit a baseline jumper, scored in transition, and then found Savon Buford for a corner 3 to give Westminster an early 7-2 lead.
“I just wanted to be aggressive while letting the game come to me. I wasn’t trying to force anything.” said Akinyede, who leads the team in assists and blocked shots. “Mostly, I want to get my teammates involved, and once I do that, then it comes back to me. Luckily, it worked out.”
Akinyede placed his fingerprints on the first 11 points for Westminster, but led by senior Joe Rauls, the Wildcats of Eureka matched Westminster in more than just nickname.
Rauls hit a pair of threes in the first quarter, including a deep, straight-away triple that banked in. In the second quarter, he showed his ability to get to the rim, scoring on two putbacks and converting a three-point play to push Eureka ahead 27-24 at halftime.
Rauls scored 13 of his game-high 22 points in the first half.
Conversely, Powers was limited to only four points in the first half – all free throws – and attempted only two shots, but the prolific scorer contributed in a multitude of other ways, dishing out six assists and collecting six rebounds.
“(Eureka) did a good job guarding him and making him earn everything. They didn’t let him catch it a lot, and when they did, they were running two (defenders) at him,” Westminster coach Dale Ribble said. “I thought Will did a great job of not forcing stuff, and then he really got going in the second half.”
After a Savon Buford 3-pointer tied the score, Powers sparked a lightning-quick 13-2 run by Westminster. He drained a straight-away, 3-ball in transition, hit a right wing three on the next possession and then sank a contested, baseline jumper to earn eight points in in the opening three minutes. His one-foot, Jokic-like, fadeaway surged Westminster ahead 47-38 early in the fourth.
Strong interior play by John Haberkorn (13 points), Jaxson Joggerst (9) and Bodie Wilken (8) helped Eureka slice the deficit to 49-43 with 3:44 remaining, but Akinyede and Powers had one final act to unveil.
With players spread out around the three-point line, Powers drove the lane and found Buford in the corner for a wide-open triple. Then, Akinyede did the same, and delivered a perfect pass to Darrell Crump for the dagger 3.
“Whenever they press up, I love it,” Akinyede said. “I drive past them, get into the paint, bring two guys in, and kick it out. I know my teammates are going to hit the shot.”
Buford and Crump combined for five threes and 19 points, part of a balanced attack for Westminster that included scoring contributions from Andrew Walker, Gage Grewe and Brandon Gibson.
“Savon and Darrell hit big threes late, and we were able to make free throws down the stretch. I thought we finished the game well,” Ribble said.
In mid-December, Westminster lost consecutive home games to Marquette and St. Dominic. In the 70-52 loss to Marquette, the Wildcats yielded more points than they had in eight years.
Game story: Marquette 70, Westminster 52. https://metrosportsstl.com/2025/12/11/lemons-career-night-helps-marquette-squeeze-past-westminster-for-pbt-tourney-title/
Since those back-to-back losses, Westminster is yielding just 46.7 points per game.
“We’ve improved throughout the year defensively, but we can still get better. We missed a few assignments tonight, but some of that is because Eureka is a good team,” Ribble said.
And for Akinyede, the new and improved Westminster defense is rounding into form.
“After those two losses, (Coach Ribble) was definitely on us a lot, trying to get us to play more together on defense, move when the ball moves and communicate, and the last 10 games, we’ve played a lot better.”
He added, “We got the ‘W’ tonight and that always feels good. I hope we can keep this streak going.”
For a photo gallery from this game, click on this link: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Boys-Basketball-Photos/Boys-Basketball-2025-26/Westminster-vs-Eureka-1-22-25