SO. SEC. DIVISION II-A: WESTLAKE RUNS OUT OF STEAM WARRIORS SUCCUMB TO INGLEWOOD PRESS IN BIG TURNAROUND INGLEWOOD 84, WESTLAKE 67.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

WESTLAKE VILLAGE - It was all going so well for the Westlake High boys' basketball team Tuesday against Inglewood in a Southern Section Division II-A playoff game.

A double-digit lead midway through the third quarter, a well-devised zone defense that frustrated the favored Sentinels so much they forced ill-advised shots and couldn't get untracked offensively.

``We had them on the run,'' Westlake guard Jonathan Wiley said. ``I thought we had control of the game.''

Just when things looked the most promising, everything fell apart. Shots that were falling earlier clanked off the rim, and Inglewood, tired of playing passively against the zone, started driving hard to the basket to force the issue.

More importantly, the Sentinels went to a full-court press, deciding the best way to jump-start their offense was to rev up their defense.

By the time the Warriors knew what hit them, Inglewood had reeled of 15 consecutive points to erase a 12-point deficit, turning things around so much they eventually cruised to an 84-67 victory.

``Basically, we just decided we didn't want to lose,'' Inglewood guard Ray Reed said. ``We were getting frustrated early. That zone defense was giving us all kinds of problems, and we just didn't do a good job of reacting to it. But when it came right down to it, we decided our season wasn't going to end tonight. So we picked up out intensity and got after it.''

Reed was the catalyst, scoring 28 points while quarterbacking the Sentinels' offense, which got untracked after Westlake went cold and the press defense started taking full effect.

When Reed wasn't scoring, he was getting the ball to open teammates Jaron Kinsley (14 points), Jonathan Joshua (14) Yonas Michael (12) and Andre Foy, who also finished with 12.

``We knew they were capable of playing like that, but we had done such a good job defensively we were able to contain them,'' Wiley said. ``But when out shots weren't falling, we didn't do a good job defensively, and we gave up too many easy layups and second-chance points.''

It all happened so quickly Westlake (20-9) never fully recovered. Once the Sentinels (20-9) took control, they kept the pressure up and easily built a double-digit lead of their own in the fourth quarter.

``I wasn't really worried, even when we fell behind by 12 points in the third quarter,'' Reed said. ``We knew we'd eventually get on a roll, it just took us a little longer than we had hoped to get it going. But once we did, we were fine.''

Wiley had 23 points to lead the Warriors, who finished in third place in the Marmonte League, while Rob Daniel had 12 points and Amir Mazarei added 10. But Inglewood did a good job of slowing down P.J. Isaacson, who finished with just seven points.

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Photo:

Westlake's P.J. Isaacson, who was held to seven points, goes up for a layup against Inglewood's Ray Reed.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer