When it finally came to a resounding end, Darius Glover grabbed the game’s final rebound and flung the ball to the heavens as Westinghouse at long last attained fulfillment for its rich basketball legacy.
What past Westinghouse teams that featured Mark Aguirre, Eddie Johnson and Hersey Hawkins could never accomplish, Glover and his no-name teammates pulled off with a heart-pounding 76-72 victory Saturday night over an inspired Springfield Lanphier team for the Class AA championship.
It was the Public League’s first state title since Young won it in 1998.
“We made history tonight,” Warriors forward Richard Russell said. “We are the first team at Westinghouse to win a state championship. It feels so good.”
What made this success all the sweeter was the incredible turnaround by a Lanphier ballclub that 11,100 fans in Carver Arena had figured was, to borrow Russell’s word, history.
Obviously worn out from its narrow semifinal victory over Centralia, Lanphier (32-2) watched Westinghouse gradually build a 50-32 lead late in the third quarter.
“We weren’t prepared for the aggressiveness they came out with,” said Lanphier star Andre Iguodala, who led his team with 29 points. “It was a rude awakening, that run they put on us.”
With Glover (28 points, 10 rebounds), Russell (15 points) and supersub Anthony Bennett (11 points) dominating inside, Westinghouse (30-5) was on cruise control when Lanphier junior Richard McBride gave them a severe jolt back to reality.
After missing all eight of his shots in the first half, McBride fired in six shots from well beyond the three-point arc, including one from 28 feet. He had 22 points in the second half
Suddenly, with everyone in Carver Arena except the Westinghouse contingent screaming for the underdog, Lanphier made a dramatic comeback.
“All of a sudden, I looked up at the clock and they were ahead by one,” said Jamaal Brown, who scored 13 points. “It was frustrating. They were shooting long threes and McBride just kept hitting them.”
From the sideline, Warriors coach Chris Head wondered if this dream of a season was going up in smoke as Lanphier scored 40 points in the game’s final 9 minutes 28 seconds.
“Oh, yes, I was worried. Wouldn’t you be?” Head said. “But then I saw Darius motion over to me. He hit his fist on his chest and said, `Coach, I’ve got it.’
“I thought: `Fine, that lets me off. Go ahead Darius, take it over.”‘
Iguodala’s three-point play gave Lanphier a 70-69 lead with 1:33 left. Sophomore Jamarcus Ellis hit a pair of free throws that was then matched by Iguodala.
Then, from out of nowhere, came a play that symbolized Westinghouse’s season.
Yet another reserve stepped up with a big play, this time senior Randon Williams scoring on a layup for a 73-72 lead. Three foul shots by Brown and a huge Glover block spoiled Lanphier’s comeback bid.
“That comeback reminded me of the United Center when Farragut did the same thing,” Glover said, referring to his team’s Public League title game.
“But I knew we would be all right. I told Coach not to worry because I was still in charge.”
For all the hype surrounding the Red West section of the Public League, this is only the fourth team from that conference to win a state title in 42 years.
Marshall brought the biggest trophy home to the city in 1960, Manley won it 20 years later and Young, with Quentin Richardson and Cordell Henry, was the champ in ’98.
“I’ve been in touch with a bunch of my former players during this run,” Head said. “David Bailey calls all the time, and I’ve talked to Ralph Williams, Mark Miller, Dennis Trammel and Craig Franklin. Martell Bailey and Cedrick Banks were off in Dallas at the NCAA tournament (with Illinois-Chicago).
“They’re all a part of this championship. It’s for the guys that coached before me like Frank Lollino, Roy Condotti and Frank Griseto. It’s for the great players who have come through this program like Mark Aguirre, Hersey Hawkins, Eddie Johnson and Kiwane Garris.
“This is for all the people who have been a part of Westinghouse down through the years, for helping make this possible.”
