By Spencer Spilman
The Lehman Lobo basketball team hosted the Westlake Chaparrals in a tough district matchup Friday night in the Lobo Den.
Despite a strong Lehman first half, the Chaps pulled away in the second half and claimed a 63-37 win.
Early in the game, Lehman cranked up its defense and flustered the Westlake offense.
The Chaps played right into the Lehman press, which forced them to turn the ball over on several possessions.
Even with the turnovers, Westlake stayed close and eventually took a 7-6 lead after a low scoring first quarter.
The second quarter brought more scoring, but the Lobo defense continued to frustrate the Chaps. Lehman guard Aaron Rodriguez and post Kameron Edwards led the team in scoring. Rodriguez had a game high 15 points while Edwards finished with seven. The two players got Westlake into some early foul trouble which added to the Chaps’ frustration.
Westlake maintained a 23-17 lead going into halftime. The Chaps turned up the heat in the second half.
Lehman tried to keep up the pressure on defense, but Westlake exploited the openings for easy shots. The Lobos also struggled from the field, and couldn’t get much offense from anyone other than Rodriguez or Edwards.
Lehman was consistent from the free throw line but only took 15 shots despite the Chaps’ foul trouble.
The Chaps started lighting it up from the three point line as guards Jacob Fleschman and Joe Palmo couldn’t miss. Palmo had nine points in the game while Fleschman had a team high 14 points.
Westlake also got some good play inside from Brock Cunningham who finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The three players helped bring the Chaps to a 43-25 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Westlake continued to knock down shots and get easy layups in the paint in the fourth quarter. Lehman didn’t have an answer for the outside shots. While Rodriguez tried to bring the team back on offense, he was unable to single-handedly get Lehman back in contention.
Lehman outscored Westlake 12-10 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the large deficit.
Lehman had nine players score in the game, but three of those scorers had just one point each. Westlake on the other hand, had 11 players score, and they only took five free throws all game.
Lehman will have the entire week off and will not face Akins until Friday when they will travel to Austin. The Lobos host Hays High at the Lobo Den on Jan. 19.
