SEGUIN – In a stunning playoff upset that sent ripples through Region IV, No. 11 Westlake fell 84-77 to a red-hot San Antonio Churchill squad that played with an underdog’s abandon.

The Chargers (22-14), who finished fourth in District 26-5A, raced out to a 17-2 lead against a sluggish Westlake team struggling to shake off eight days worth of rust. The District 25-5A champion Chaps (28-7) made several runs that cut their deficit to single digits but never could capture the lead in a Class 5A first-round battle at Seguin High School’s Goldie Harris Gymnasium.

“It was just too big a hole,” Westlake coach Tres Ellis said. “We spent a lot of energy getting back into it, but we just couldn’t clear that final hurdle. It’s disappointing, to say the least.”

Churchill came out firing, hitting eight of 16 shots in the first period. In comparison, the Chaps had five turnovers, five fouls and four points in the opening quarter. The two divergent starts may have reflected the past week for the two squads; Westlake’s previous game came against Pflugerville on Feb. 16, while Churchill battled San Antonio Reagan in a district seeding game Friday.

“The fact that they played another game [since our last game] worked out to their advantage,” Ellis said. “They shot well, and we didn’t early on.”

Churchill shot 29-of-56 from the floor for the game and made 10 of 18 treys. Westlake almost matched that offensive display; after making just two of 12 shots in that miserable first period, the Chaps ended the game shooting 49.2 percent from the field.

However, a young Churchill backcourt that included a sophomore and a freshman refused to fold against a series of Chap runs.

Westlake’s first surge came in early in the second period. Guard Keaton Lancashire came off the bench with a burst of energy, converting a steal into a layup and nailing a three-pointer in a 14-4 run that trimmed Churchill’s lead to 23-18.

After Churchill built its halftime lead to 49-33, the Chaps reeled off a 13-4 run to open the third period. Again, however, some timely treys helped the Chargers fend off Westlake.

They’re a very good team and shot the ball well and jumped up on us,” Chap guard Cody Doolin said. “We couldn’t quite get over that hump. I thought that if we just cut it to three, we’d get that lead. But we couldn’t quite get there.

“To their credit, they didn’t panic and kept that lead.”

Doolin, Westlake’s all-time leader in points and assists, had 23 points, seven assists and seven rebounds in his final game as a Chap. His alley-oop pass to classmate Gus Leeper for a thunderous dunk cut Churchill’s lead to 76-70 with 2 minutes, 25 seconds left in the game, but the Chaps never got any closer.

Westlake senior Conner Kemper recorded 16 points and nine rebounds, and Leeper added 11 points, five rebounds and four blocks

Post Mark Byron had 26 points for Churchill, and Scott Mammel and Taylor Sutlive each scored 17 points.

News and notes

Churchill’s 84 points marked a season-high allowed by the Chaps. The previous high mark came in an 84-79 win over Pflugerville. … Twelve of the 6-10 Byron’s points came in the second quarter, when the 6-9 Leeper was tethered to the bench with three fouls. … Six of Westlake’s 13 turnovers came in the opening period. … Jason Powell made all three of his three-point shots for the Chaps. … Both benches combined for just 10 points.


Feb. 24



San Antonio Churchill 84, Westlake 77

Churchill 19 30 14 21 – 84


Westlake 4 29 23 21 – 77

Westlake (27-6) – Powell 3-4 0-0 9, Meyertons 4-9 1-4 9, Kemper 6-8 2-2 16, Leeper 5-9 0-0 11, Doolin 8-20 9-10 25, Cox 0-1 0-0 0, Lancashire 2-5 0-2 5, Rowan 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 29-59 12-18 77.

Churchill (22-14) – Salas 2-7 2-3 5, Mammel 5-14 5-7 17, Sutlive 5-9 3-4 17, Lammert 5-9 3-3 15, Byron 11-14 4-7 26, Woods 0-2 0-0 0, Sledge 0-0 0-0 0, Ogbonna 0-0 0-0 0, Douglass 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 29-56 18-24 84.

3-Point goals: Westlake 7-18 (Powell 3-3, Kemper 2-4, Lancashire 1-1, Leeper 1-3, Doolin 0-6), Churchill 10-18 (Sutlive 4-6, Lammert 2-4, Mammel 2-5, Douglass 1-1, Salas 1-1, Woods 0-2). Rebounds: Westlake 34 (Kemper 9), Churchill 31 (Byron 8). Assists: Westlake 14 (Doolin 7), Churchill 15 (Mammel 5). Steals: Westlake 2 (Doolin 1, Lancashire 1), Churchill 2 (Mammel 1, Salas 1). Blocks: Westlake 4 (Leeper 4), Churchill 3 (Byron 3). Turnovers: Westlake 13, Churchill 12. Total fouls: Westlake 23, Churchill 18.