West Side Christian wanted to strengthen its schedule by joining the Heartland Christian Athletic Association and adding some public school programs. The Warriors proved it was a good decision on Monday, downing Taylor 53-42 in their first game this season against a member of the Arkansas Activities Association.
The Warriors finished the game with an 18-4 run and ran their record to 8-2 on the season.
“We want to get better. We want to push ourselves. I think Taylor did that,” said West Side coach Randall Miller. “They’re physical and athletic. We need to prove we’re able to play with that. It also exposed some things that we need to do better on. It’s huge. We thought we were competitive with some teams. But, until you do it …”
The win was more impressive considering senior Stephfan Tabe was saddled with foul trouble throughout the game. Tabe missed the final six minutes of the second quarter and played less than two minutes in the third.
John Wylie and Zackley Pearson stepped up, combining for 32 points for the Warriors. Wylie had four 3-pointers with Pearson hitting three from beyond the arc.
“We’ve been talking having to have a couple more guys step up this year. Last year we were about six deep. We’re trying to spread that out to eight or nine. I feel like, honestly, our ability to stay even, maybe even pull ahead a little bit with him on the bench, that’s huge,” said Miller. “It’s just guys doing their job. We talked about it before the game. Just do your job really well. Don’t try to do a bunch of extra things in this one.”
The Tigers built a 38-35 lead on a 3-pointer by Gabe Smith with 6:42 left in the fourth quarter. West Side inserted Tabe, who went to the bench with his fourth foul at the 6:43 mark of the third.
As soon as the 6-foot-4 forward stepped on the floor, it was Tabe Time, immediately draining a 3-pointer to tie the game. On the next offensive possession, he caught a pass on the right wing, pump faked and then drove in for a two-hand dunk. Next, he yanked down a defensive rebound, rushed the ball up the court, penetrated and kicked to Wylie, who pumped home a 3-pointer for a 43-38 lead with 4:29 remaining.
West Side never looked back as Wylie scored seven more points down the stretch.
“I thought one of the biggest plays of the game was Spencer McNabb, flying off the weak side for a rebound and kicking it back out for a three,” said Miller. “We were up two and we missed one. He’s the smallest guy on the floor. He goes in and grabs an offensive rebound and kicks it back out, just a huge momentum play.”
Wylie led West Side with 19 points with Tabe and Pearson adding 18 and 13, respectively.
C.J. Randle scored 11 for Taylor (0-4).
The Warriors led 14-10 after one quarter and 26-22 at the half.
“Early on, I thought we were forcing shots,” Miller said. “We knew it was a big game for us. I feel like we were a little bit amped and took some quick shots. I feel like in the second half, we got rhythm shots.”