Sports blog: Stamford Sports Scene
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STAMFORD -- It had been four years since the Westhill boys basketball team had defeated Stamford, and with its three losses last year, including a bitter last-second loss in the FCIAC semifinals, the Vikings had plenty of pent-up emotion.

Westhill released that emotion and erupted for an 86-65 victory over the Black Knights at the Westhill Gym on Wednesday.

The Vikings' Chris Walters admitted he and his teammates were looking to settle the score from last year. The senior swingman led all scorers with 26 points and added that a few Black Knight pranksters added fuel to the fire before the game.

"They came to our school today and put flowers all over the cars and signs that said 'Black Knight Nation' is coming, and we just wanted to come out here and prove that we are the best team in Stamford," Walters said. "Last year, they were just a better team than us, but tonight we just wanted to come out and play hard and get revenge on them."

Payback was a theme, but Westhill coach Howard White has plenty of respect for the Black Knights, and he reminded his team in practice that they needed to control the tempo.

The Vikings had no trouble following the game plan because they are at their best when they can turn a game into a full-court sprint. Add to that their hot shooting (57 percent from the floor) and they were a force Stamford could not slow down.

"One thing I was concerned about was not letting Stamford get us to play their game. I did not want us to play into their hands," White said. "So, what we talked about all week was to make them uncomfortable and to not let them set up because that would allow them to dictate how this game was going to flow."

Black Knight coach Jim Moriarty is usually able to make adjustments on the fly to combat an opponent's strategy, but on this night the Vikings seemingly had all the answers.

The veteran coach went through a litany of defenses as he tried slow the Vikings down. None were effective for any length of time.

"I didn't think we matched up with them man-to-man," Moriarty said. "One of our goals was to get back on defense and we didn't do that effectively. The other was to box out because they were bigger than us and we didn't do that. So, they got more opportunities and they shot lights out."

The score was tied at nine in the opening frame when Walters hit a layup and followed it with a three-point jumper to give Westhill a 14-9 lead. The two teams traded three-point shots for the next four possessions with Tony Dobbinson dropping in a trey to push the Vikings lead to 20-15.

After two foul shots by Stamford's Shawn Padilla, Yves Cassamajor tossed in another trey and Walters hit one of two from the line to give Westhill a 24-17 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Vikings outscored the Black Knights 21-10 as they got their run-and-gun game in high gear. Walters brought the crowd out of their seats with a steal and dunk to give the Vikings a 30-20 edge.

Westhill kept pressing on defense, frustrating Stamford. Even when the Black Knights managed to score, the Vikings would throw long inbound passes which were turned into easy buckets at the other end. The Vikings closed out the half with a 45-27 advantage.

"We're a very good shooting team, and if teams are going to allow us to take a shot, then I told the kids we have to knock that shot down," White said. "We were hitting threes, they were hitting threes and then we stopped them. And that's what we wanted to do. And then we played the game the way we wanted to."

The Vikings did not back off after intermission, having learned against Fairfield-Warde how a lead can disappear. By the end of three, Westhill held a comfortable 66-47 advantage. The Vikings continued their tactics in the final frame and kept the Black Knights far in the rear view mirror.

With the victory, Westhill stood at 8-3 overall and 7-2 in the FCIAC. Besides Walters, they finished the night with four scorers in double-figures as Dobbinson and Cassamajor each scored 14 points while Sam Dorrisant tossed in 13.

"We wanted it bad for ourselves and we wanted it bad for the school," White said. "Stamford is a very good team and when you are playing your rival you have to be prepared and ready. So it's bragging rights."

Meanwhile, Stamford fell to 5-6 overall and 4-5 in conference play. Bryan Boderick led the Black Knights with 17 points while Sy finished with 13 points. Padilla and Laria finished with 11 points apiece.

"It's a tough, tough loss because it's in the city," Moriarty said. "I have to give them the credit, they made us play a lot faster than we wanted to and that's effective defense. No matter what we did, it was their night."

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