Westminster runs away with win

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:56PM

Backed by a staunch defense and a well balanced offense, Westminster Christian ran away with a 63-45 victory over Indian Creek to take home the Westminster Thanksgiving Tournament title.

The game was a defensive one from the on-set, and the Warriors led 19-10 at the half after holding the Redskins to just 4-of-20 shooting and a mere two points in the second quarter. However, the Warriors were not much better, shooting just 7-of-19 and tallying only seven points themselves in the second quarter.

"We were a little out of sync in the first half offensively, and I think that comes from the fact that Indian Creek does a good job setting the tempo on the offensive end," said Westminster coach Bruce Firchau.

The strong defense of the Warriors continued to start the second half, but they also found the offense they had been lacking, as they outscored the Redskins 24-12 in the quarter, thanks to a 17-5 run to open the second half, as the Warriors put the game away before the fourth quarter began.

Much of the damage came from beyond the arc during the Warriors decisive third quarter run, as they connected on four 3-pointers. That was due in large part to the Redskins collapsing their defense in on the Warriors 6-8 center Ian Dutcher.

"They did a nice job sagging down when we tried to get the ball inside to Ian, but we responded well and hit the shots that they were giving us," said Firchau.

Despite the constant defensive attention, Dutcher still managed a game-high 19 points, but the Redskins held him to just nine shot attempts. They couldn't keep him off the glass, however, as he recorded another double-double with 12 rebounds. Dutcher averaged 18.3 points per game for the tournament, and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Not to be out done, fellow post player Luke Carani joined him on the All-Tournament Team, as he tallied 12 points and seven rebounds in the game, and averaged 13.5 points per game over the four game tournament.

"This tournament was a lot of fun, and it is nice to get off to a strong start this season after we struggled to open the year last year," said Carani. "Coach likes to say that if we can get three guys in double figures, we're going to win a lot of games, and this is a team that doesn't mind being balanced on offense."

Sure enough, the Warriors did as Coach Firchau asked, as Brandon Cork joined Dutcher and Carani in double figures with 11 points, while Andrew Mason added nine.

The Warriors will now look to build off of this tournament victory, as they continue to prepare for what will be a tougher schedule than they have faced in recent years.

"We certainly have some things to work on moving forward, but I am very happy with our scoring balance right now, and with the way that we played defense tonight, we just have to keep working," said Firchau.

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