Warriors overcome slow start to handle Neoga, remain undefeated

Featured Photo Caption: Sophomore Landon Justice rises up to score over a Neoga defender. Justice dominated the JV contest with 20 points and 13 rebounds. —photo by Terri Cox

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By Terri Cox

CASEY – The Casey-Westfield Warriors overcame a sluggish offensive start Tuesday night to defeat the Neoga Indians 59-43 at Bob Durham Court. The victory keeps the Varsity squad’s record pristine at 7-0. The Junior Varsity team also secured a win, completing the sweep to improve to 4-1.

Varsity Action
The game began at a crawl for the Warriors, who did not score until more than five minutes into the opening quarter. Neoga capitalized early, posting the first points of the night and utilizing a turnover to take a 4-0 lead.

With 2:55 remaining in the first period, Jack Julius finally broke the ice for Casey-Westfield with a three-pointer off a feed from Nolan Clement. Jackson High followed up with an offensive rebound and bucket to give CW a 5-4 advantage. Clement then picked the pocket of a Neoga ball handler, leading to a possession where Leighton Jones crashed the boards for a put-back. The late surge gave the Warriors a 7-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The offense found its rhythm in the second quarter, erupting for 19 points. Julius sparked the run with another three, followed by a Landon Justice steal that set up a Jones basket for a 14-7 lead. After Neoga stopped the bleeding with a field goal, Jones drained two free throws and High hit a three-pointer to extend the margin.

The Warriors closed the half strong. Clement scored on a put-back and then assisted Jones on a bucket plus the foul. Jones converted the free throw to complete the three-point play, giving the Purple and Gold a commanding 23-7 advantage with 2:37 left in the half. Despite Neoga scoring late, CW took a solid 26-11 lead into the locker room.

Neoga opened the third quarter with a free throw, but Jones responded with back-to-back baskets to push the lead to 30-12. High added another second-chance bucket, and Jones converted a conventional three-point play followed by a steal and layup to make it 37-12. Daryn Hupp added five late points—two free throws and a three-pointer—to send the Warriors into the fourth quarter up 42-18.

With the game in hand, Casey-Westfield rotated lineups throughout the final eight minutes. Neoga continued to battle, outscoring the Warriors 25-17 in the fourth, but the deficit was too large to overcome.

Leighton Jones led the scoring effort with 22 points. Jackson High and Jack Julius joined him in double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Daryn Hupp contributed eight points, while Nolan Clement and Landon Justice added two each.

High led the team on the glass with seven rebounds. Clement pulled down five boards and dished out a team-high six assists. Defensively, Clement recorded five steals and Justice blocked four shots.

Junior Varsity Action
The Junior Varsity Warriors started fast and never looked back, taking an impressive 66-33 win to open the evening.

Landon Justice had the hot hand early, scoring the bulk of his points in the opening frame as CW jumped out to an 18-7 lead. Neoga increased its offensive production in the second quarter, but the Warriors maintained control to lead 34-18 at halftime.

CW continued to pour it on in the third, scoring 18 points to extend the lead to 52-29. With a running clock in effect for the fourth quarter, the Warriors’ defense clamped down, allowing just four points in the final frame to seal the victory.

Justice flirted with a triple-double, finishing with a game-high 20 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists. Drake Worby added 12 points, while Will Moore, Blake Burkybile, Ryan Hosfield, and RJ Simmons all chipped in seven points apiece.

Game Summary (Varsity)

Score by Quarters

Individual Statistics

• SCORING: Jones 22, High 13, Julius 12, Hupp 8, Clement 2, Justice 2.

• REBOUNDING: High 7, Clement 5, Thomas 4, Julius 4, Jones 3, Justice 3, Hupp 3, Moore 2.

• ASSISTS: Clement 6, Justice 2, Jones 1, Hupp 1, Moore 1, High 1.

• BLOCKS: Justice 4, Moore 1.

• STEALS: Clement 5, Jones 3, Moore 2, High 2, Thomas 2, Justice 1.

Game Summary (Junior Varsity)

Score by Quarters

Individual Statistics

• SCORING: Justice 20, Worby 12, Moore 7, Burkybile 7, Hosfield 7, Simmons 7, Stinson 4, Ramsey 2.

• REBOUNDING: Justice 13, Moore 7, Burkybile 2, Hosfield 1, Simmons 1, Stinson 1, Short 1, Phillips 1.

• ASSISTS: Justice 7, Stinson 3, Worby 2, Moore 1.