PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Westview earns first win of new year, beating East Noble 58-47

Jan. 2—EMMA — Tight from start to finish, Westview outdueled a nearly turnover-free East Noble squad to finish off the Knights 58-47 Tuesday night at Westview High School.

Westview (7-2, 3-1 NECC) was led by senior Wyatt Zepp who scored 18 points for the home Warriors. Nathan Bowker scored 13 for the Knights (7-5).

The action in Emma could be described as a clean, but a fast-paced style as both teams shared the ball quickly. East Noble was much cleaner with the basketball though, committing just four turnovers compared to the Warriors 10.

In terms of rebounding, Westview had a clear advantage and capitalized on several second chances.

"They're very physical and get downhill well so just rebounding against their physicality was difficult," Westview head coach Chandler Prible said about the challenge of playing East Noble. "I felt we were able to get some more stuff inside and it was more so off the dribble instead of throwing it to our post. That was really the difference for us."

Westview hadn't played since their 58-47 loss at home to Lakeland on Dec. 19. Getting a new win streak going and getting back to their winning ways was priority number one Tuesday night.

"Our guys were hungry to bounce back," Prible said. "We didn't feel like we played very well and that's a credit to Lakeland and the style they have. We had a rough couple weeks of practice so they were excited to go out and play against somebody different from themselves."

East Noble started off connecting on its first four shots from beyond the arc and it set the tone for a fast-paced game early. Bowker cashed in two for the Knights, but a pair of fouls on the other end tamed the Knights fire-starter.

"Part of it was me trying to get our guys to play a little harder so we tried pressing early which is not what we do," Prible said of why the Knights connected on all four 3-point attempts in the first frame. "We just had to take a little bit to adjust to see what they looked like. Our guys did a good job responding."

Westview meanwhile took on the brunt of the Knights offense early, waiting for the right moment to strike past it. Luke Helmuth watched his second basket of the game rattle off the rim and sink through before the horn for a 14-14 game after the first quarter.

The Warriors theme Tuesday night was ending quarter with high-momentum plays.

"We did a good job finishing quarters, starting quarters we weren't as great," Prible said. "That was a point of emphasis because last week at Lakeland we struggled doing that."

For as much success as East Noble had early shooting the deep ball, the Warriors chased them off the 3-point line in the second frame. When they were given the opportunity to shoot, it didn't make a difference, going 0-for-4 from behind the arc in the second quarter.

The Warriors took their first lead with a Helmuth layup to make it 16-14 and the home team didn't let up. Westview shot 10-of-20 from the floor in the first half. East Noble was 7-of-16 from the field. The two teams had also combined for just eight turnovers in the first half, a sign of how clean both schools had been to open.

In the second half, Prible and the Warriors watched East Noble regain momentum midway through thanks to a 6-0 run by Bowker. That cut Westview's lead down to 32-30 at the 4:09 mark of the third quarter.

Senior Wiley Minix didn't hesitate though, cashing in two treys from beyond the 3-point arc — the second while falling down. The Westview 6-0 run stirred a 37-30 lead and the home Warriors took a 37-31 lead into the final eight minutes.

Zepp and Helmuth came up big for the Warriors to finish out the first win of the new year as the former scored three layups and Helmuth knocked down 5-of-6 shots from the line to cap the 58-47 victory over the Knights.

"They're huge; they do a ton for us not just in the scoring column but they usually guard the other team's best player most of the time," Prible said about his two seniors Helmuth and Zepp. "They bring a lot of energy for us even if it's not a lot in the scoring column."

The Warriors shot 22-of-42 from the floor compared to the Knights 15-of-32. Westview and East Noble both finished 6-of-13 from the 3-point line. The Warriors sunk 8-of-9 free throw attempts as the visitors finished 6-of-12.

Westview scoring came from Zepp (18), Helmuth (15), Minix (13), Kaden Grau (5), Austin Schlabach (4) and Owen Brill (3).

East Noble was led by Bowker (13), Kobe Ritchie (11), Ryker Quake (7), Mason Treesh (6), Owen VanGessel (6) and Landon Swogger (1).

Westview now moves to 7-2 and sports a 3-1 record in the Northeast Corner Conference. With wins over NorthWood, among others, the Warriors look to lean on the seniority on the roster to pave the way for a successful second season under Prible. The starting lineup consists of four seniors, of which five don the Warriors colors this season.

Westview (7-2) will hit the road for the Warriors next contest at LaVille this Friday at 7:30 p.m.

PREP BOYS BASKETBALL

East Noble — 14; 6; 11; 16 — 47

Westview — 14; 11; 12; 21 — 58

JV score: East Noble def. Westview 35-32

Reach Matt Lucas at 574-533-2151, ext. 240325, or at matt.lucas@goshennews.com.