Westerville South 54, Mount Vernon 33
Strong defense and strong play from Xavier Jones and Hassan Kaba advance the 'Cats to the District Finals
Written by 270 Hoops staff writer Greg Glasser
WESTERVILLE, OH — When Westerville South finished the regular season 8-13, it’s fair to assume their journey had more of its share of downs than ups.
But the beauty of the postseason is it offers of a clean slate and the only game that matters is the one in front of you.
On Monday, Westerville South hosted Mount Vernon for a district semifinal bout to kick off tournament play in Division II and the Wildcats experienced a significant “up” as they comfortably defeated the Yellow Jackets 54-33 to advance to a district final on Thursday.
“This game was much needed, just going off our last couple of games and those losses, we knew what we needed to do and what was on the line,” Westerville South sophomore Xavier Jones said after the game. “We wanted to come back at 2:30pm tomorrow.”
That time indicated the extra day of practice Westerville South earned, as it appeared their practice and preparation towards the Yellow Jackets put themselves well positioned in a game where they allowed just 11 points in the second half.
“We lucked out, they had three open looks in the second half they weren’t able to cash in on and they typically have really good shooters,” Westerville South first-year head coach Trevor Kielmeyer said after his first-career postseason victory in his current role. “But we tightened down and understood our assignments a little better.”
