GRAY DEYOSports Writer

 The West Middle School boys’ basketball team turned in a dominant championship performance on Thursday, Jan. 22. They defeated North Middle School 61-16 and claimed the district 12 title.

The Bobcats wasted no time in breaking away from the opposing Gators. One look-up after the first quarter buzzer, and it was clear that this game was getting away from North. West, at that moment, had built a 19-7 lead. Their defense in this quarter and throughout the game began to wear down North.

The shot attempts the Gators were getting in this contest were either contested or non-existent, as the Bobcats did a great job of creating a ton of turnovers. For the remaining three quarters, West held North to just nine total points—this included a scoreless fourth quarter.

Offensively, West had a balanced attack. In the first quarter, most of their offense came from behind the arc. They score a total of four threes in the frame. These perimeter shots were scored by Dominic Treuhaft, who had two, and Josh Vincent and Jayden Behrendorff, who both had one make. Moving to the second and third quarters the Bobcats did all of their damage in the paint, making no long-range shots, but expanding their lead to a huge margin. The Bobcats had three players during this stretch score six or more points. These players were Vincent (8), Eli Hibdon (6), and Cam Hayes (6).

 Through these two quarters, West outscored North 27-9. This was more than enough to put this game out of reach.

It will be fun to see what this talented West team can accomplish for the rest of the postseason. They made it clear on Thursday that they have all the pieces they need to make a deep playoff run.