By Brad Morris
SportingPumpkin.com
Westfall had a difficult time on the glass containing the fifth-seeded Valley Indians on Saturday as it fell 65-44 in a Division III Southeast District sectional final.
“We ran into a great opponent,” Westfall coach Christian Meister said. “I thought our kids did a great job following our game plan defensively. We did a great job defending their actions and first shots but we struggled to hold them to one shot.
“They are a really athletic team and giving multiple chances was just too much for us to overcome. Our kids never quit and we came out of halftime with fight. Ultimately, we chose a bad night to go cold from the three-point line.”
Valley jumped out to a 14-7 lead after a period of play and extended its advantage to 32-16 at halftime. Westfall came out of the halftime break and scored the first six points to try and cut into its deficit, but Valley ultimately ended the third quarter still holding a 16-point lead.
Jace Copley led all scorers with 20 points, Levi Stewart had 16 points and George Arnett added 14 for the host Indians (18-6).
Brody Clark led the way for the Mustangs with 12 points, Blaec Bugher had eight points, Casey Cline had six points and Seth Gifford chipped in six points, five rebounds and five assists.
The Mustangs (14-10) completed back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the 1999 and 2000 seasons and won double-digit games in the Scioto Valley Conference for the sixth time in program history.
Jeremiah Layton shattered the program’s field goal percent record for a single-season, shooting 74 percent from the field.
Cline ends his career in the scarlet-and-gray with 948 points, which puts him sixth all-time in program history.
The Mustangs say thank you and goodbye to seniors Cline, Bugher, Gifford and Isaiah Browning.
“This group of seniors is a great group,” Meister said. “To have them for all four years of high school and to see their growth as people and players has been a joy for me. The sky is the limit for those kids, and I have no doubt they will be successful with whatever they choose do after high school.”
Clark is slated to lead a group of returnees for the Mustangs going into the 2024 season.
“We have four returning guys who played a bunch of minutes this season,” Meister said. “The core of those four juniors, who will be seniors next school year, returning is a great foundation for next season’s team.”
Division III Southeast District
sectional final
No. 5 Valley 65,
No. 12 Westfall 44
WESTFALL — Brody Clark 5-0-12, Casey Cline 3-0-6, Blaec Bugher 3-1-8, Isaiah Browning 2-0-4, Henry Barnes 2-1-5, Jerry Layton 1-1-3. Three-point goals — Clark (2) and Bugher. Total — 19 3-6 44.
VALLEY — George Arnett 5-0-14, Colten Buckle 3-2-8, Carter Nickel 0-2-2, Jace Copley 7-3-20, Levi Stewart 8-0-16, Hunter Edwards 1-0-2, Parker Lute 1-0-3. Three-point goals — Arnett (4), Copley (3) and Lute. Total — 25 7-8 65.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Westfall 7 9 14 14 44
Valley 14 18 14 19 65
