With two of the most potent offensive teams in the area squaring off for postseason positioning Friday at Westlake High School, defense seemed an unlikely source of victory.

But it took a third-quarter defensive stand for the Chaps to pull away for a 64-54 win over Akins that kept Westlake (20-4 overall, 5-0 in district) tied atop the District 25-5A standings with Bowie.

Akins (18-5, 2-3) entered halftime with a surge of momentum after a buzzer-beater by Knockus Sashington gave the Eagles a 31-30 lead and capped a rally from an early 11-point deficit. However, the Chaps responded to Westlake coach Tres Ellis’ exhortations and came out of the break intent on slowing down Akins’ guard-driven attack.

“They [Akins] play real hard and fast, and we had to match that,” Ellis said. “We had to come out with defensive energy, and we haven’t had that energy in a while. That second half was better, and that’s the way I like to see us get after it.”

Akins scored just six points in the third period as Westlake raced to a 43-37 lead by the end of the stanza. For the half, the Eagles made just six of 33 shots.

Led by Gus Leeper and Jason Powell, the Chaps also reversed the smaller Eagles’ domination on the glass. Akins outrebounded Westlake by eight in the first half despite having just one player taller than 6 feet, 2 inches. By the end of the game, the Eagles held just a one-rebound advantage.

“We had to rebound better [after the break], and we did that,” Ellis said.
Westlake also had to find room to shoot against the Eagles’ sticky man-to-man defense. The Chaps continued to pound it in to 6-foot-5-inch Carl Meyertons and 6-8 Leeper, and that post play opened things up on the wing.

“They’re pretty scrappy, so we had to work it around,” forward Jason Powell said. “When we worked it around, they had to scramble, and we got some open shots.”

With Akins keyed on Westlake’s high-scoring tandem of Cody Doolin and Conner Kemper, Powell took advantage by knocking down 12 points. Three of his buckets came in the fourth quarter, and they came at most opportune times.

The Eagles cut an 11-point Westlake lead to 48-42 after a three-pointer from Jeremy Mendez, but Powell calmly answered by draining a trey from the baseline.

After another Akins spurt trimmed the deficit to 53-47 with 3 minutes, 46 seconds left in the game, Powell clanked a three-pointer off the side of the backboard but hustled for the rebound and dropped in a floater. The basket triggered a 6-0 run that sealed the game.

According to Ellis, such offensive production will be needed for a short-handed Westlake bunch missing three players from its regular rotation.

“People know our top players and how they like to score, so it was good for someone else to get some points,” he said. “Jason hit some shots when we really needed it.”

Kemper led Westlake with 20 points, and Doolin delivered 10 points, four assists and five rebounds.

Leeper had a strong game in the paint with 12 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots.

Guard Yolonzo Moore led Akins with 21 points and 10 rebounds. However, the Eagles shot 28 percent from the floor with the absence of leading scorer Kevin McFarlane.

The Chaps host Bowie Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in a battle to determine sole possession of first place in the district race.

Westlake 64, Akins 54

Akins 11 20 6 17 – 54
Westlake 18 12 13 21 – 64

Akins (18-5, 2-3) – Canada 4-16 3-4 11, Moore 7-26 4-5 21, Habbit 1-4 0-0 3, Mendez 1-5 0-0 3, Morales 1-2 1-2 4, Rivera 3-11 0-0 10, Sashington 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 18-65 8-11 54.
Westlake (20-4, 5-0) – Powell 4-7 2-2 12, Meyertons 2-4 2-2 6, Kemper 5-9 7-8 20, Leeper 5-12 2-4 12, Doolin 4-5 2-2 10, Rowan 0-4 2-2 2, Payne 0-1 0-0 0, Cox 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 21-44 17-20 64.

3-Point goals: Akins 8-23 (Moore 3-7, Rivera 2-6, Morales 1-1, Habbit 1-2, Mendez 1-4), Westlake 5-13 (Kemper 3-6, Powell 2-4, Doolin 0-2, Rowan 0-1). Rebounds: Akins 34 (Moore 10), Westlake 33 (Leeper 8). Assists: Akins 5 (Canada 4), Westlake 9 (Doolin 4). Steals: Akins 4 (Canada 2, Morales 2), Westlake 3 (Leeper, Doolin, Rowan). Blocks: Akins 0, Westlake 5 (Leeper 5). Turnovers: Akins 8, Westlake 14. Total fouls: Akins 16, Westlake 13.