Westgate was able to overcome its inconsistent play, thanks in no small part to what has become an all-too typical slow start to the second half for the visiting Catholic High Panthers in their non-district basketball game at the Westgate Coliseum on Friday night.

The Tigers stretched a 29-23 halftime lead to 13 points with 5:52 to go in the third quarter, holding CHS scoreless for nearly three minutes at the start of the second half.

Westgate converted five of six free throws in that stretch to build its lead to double digits, and held on as Catholic High trimmed it to 4 points on three different occasions in the fourth quarter before WHS held on for a 61-53 win over their crosstown rivals.

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“We were able to get in a little better position in the third quarter off the adjustments we made at halftime,” said Westgate coach Oliver Winston. “We were able to expose their zone a little bit.

“We struggled against that zone.”

CHS also struggled to score against Westgate, particularly at the start of the third period. Panthers coach Billy Dreher said his team has faced that issue before.

“That has been a little bit of a problem for us,” he said. “For some reason we’ve come out (after halftime) and struggled for three or four minutes.

“I’m just disappointed we didn’t shoot the ball as well as we can. We had some good looks but some guys who usually score for us weren’t shooting as well as they can.”

Westgate’s Deon Anthony and Catholic High’s Derek Gaspard waged a scoring battle in the third quarter, with Anthony hitting five of six free throws and getting a bucket in traffic to score 7 of his 12 points in the quarter. Anthony also had two steals and grabbed four of his nine rebounds in the period, three on the offensive end.

Gaspard, meanwhile, came off the bench to spark the Panthers, draining a pair of 3-pointers and two other buckets to help CHS stay within striking range. Gaspard scored 10 of his 14 points in the third period but was forced from the game in the first 30 seconds of the fourth quarter after getting cut on his eyelid during a scramble for the ball.

“Luckily, little Derek Gaspard, who is a good shooter, came in off the bench and gave us a lift,” said Dreher. “Unfortunately, (he had to come out) right when he was getting hot. But some other people started scoring then.”

Westgate’s lead was still 9 points heading into the fourth quarter, 51-42, but the Tigers went the first 3:08 of the final period without scoring as Catholic High trimmed its deficit to 51-47 on a long 3-pointer by Quinn Lemieux and a floater in the lane by Dylan Vincent.

The teams exchanged baskets for the next several minutes, with WHS clinging to a 57-51 lead before both teams went cold for a 1 1/2 minute stretch. Westgate outscored CHS 4-2 over the final 1:23 to pull out the win and improve to 17-7 overall.

“We didn’t play very consistent, period, for the whole game,” said Winston.

“Consistency’s been an issue. It’s youth. People don’t realize how young we are.”

The Tigers went to the free throw line 22 times, compared to five for CHS, and converted 15 of those attempts, a result of Westgate’s aggressive play.

“That’s what we want to do,” said Winston. “We shot way too many 3’s. That’s the most we’ve shot all year long. I want to see us be even more aggressive. They don’t have the foot speed to defend us when we take it to the goal.”

“They’re going to pound it in a little more,” said Dreher. “I’m not complaining about the calls or the free throws.”

Jacoby Colbert led the Tigers with 17 points, hitting three 3-pointers, and finished with seven rebounds and three steals. Anthony added 12, going 6-for-8 from the line, while Leroy Charles and Josh Boutte scored 8 apiece and Courtney Wiltz added 7. Boutte blocked three shots, all in the third period, and had seven rebounds. Wiltz grabbed five rebounds, two on offense, while Fred Joseph had a team-high four steals.

CHS fell to 9-11, but Dreher said that record is deceptive.

“We’re a good team but we’ve played about 10 straight 5A teams with good records,” he said. “We’ve had some close ones.”

Jordan Jones kept the Panthers in the game early, scoring Catholic High’s first 4 points and finishing the first half with 9 of his team-high 19 points. Many of those opportunities came after offensive rebounds. Jones finished the night with 14 boards, seven on the offensive glass and four resulting in easy baskets. Jones also had two blocks and three steals.

“He was all over the boards,” said Dreher. “I couldn’t ask for any more from him.”

Quinn Lemieux finished with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, along with eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Nick Molbert went 4-for-4 from the foul line, finishing with 6 points, three assists and a couple of steals.

Westgate plays host to West St. Mary on Tuesday and to Franklin next Friday in a pair of non-district games before starting league play at Lafayette on Jan. 20. Catholic High plays host to Notre Dame on Tuesday and St. Thomas More next Friday before beginning district play at home against Erath on Jan. 20.