Dec 28, 2024
Westfield senior guard Carson Swanson soars for a dunk during the third quarter of a non-league boys basketball game against North Collins on Friday night at Westfield Academy. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.
WESTFIELD — Wolverines head coach Nolan Swanson was upset with his team Friday night because it did not play up to the standard Westfield has set in recent years.
It’s nice to have an off night and still win by more than 30 points.
Westfield outscored the visiting North Collins Eagles 27-6 in the opening quarter of Friday’s game en route to a 66-32 victory on the opening night of the Westfield Winter Classic boys basketball tournament, Friday, at Westfield Academy.
“The shooting really wasn’t there tonight. It was not good,” Nolan Swanson said. “The games get ugly when you just can’t make jump shots. We put in more work than that, and that’s what’s frustrating.”
While the ending was frustrating, the beginning was anything but that. Westfield (7-1) got on the board early as Carson Swanson found Zach Maguire in the paint for an easy layup just 30 seconds into the contest. The Wolverines added another bucket 30 seconds later from Grant Beadle, then stretched the lead to 8-0 less than three minutes into the game.
Westfield senior Carson Swanson rises for a layup against North Collins in a non-league boys basketball game on Friday night at Westfield Academy. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.
“Our transition offense was working just fine,” Nolan Swanson said. “The transition offense is really where we were getting all of our points.”
The Wolverines pushed the pedal down for the rest of the quarter, including a slam dunk from Carson Swanson through contact that left teammates and coaches snickering on the bench in amusement.
“I saw a guy in the middle and one on the right wing, then I saw a gap and I went to split it. I went between them, and as I was getting towards the rim, I just powered up and got one down,” Carson Swanson said.
“That was incredible athleticism,” Nolan Swanson said of his son’s highlight reel play.
The period closed with a deep 3-pointer from Carson Swanson just seconds before the buzzer sounded for a 27-6 lead after the first quarter. On a rough shooting night, it was Carson Swanson’s only bucket from beyond the arc on nine attempts.
“He couldn’t make anything called a jump shot. All of his makes were layups and dunks,” Nolan Swanson said. “Nothing was really falling.”
The Westfield offense went stagnant in the second quarter as Carson Swanson, Maguire and Beadle spent time on the bench. The Wolverines only scored seven points over the eight minutes of play in the period, but North Collins (1-4) couldn’t close the gap at all. The visiting Eagles managed just three points in the period and trailed 34-9 at halftime.
Westfield then welcomed members of last season’s team onto the floor at halftime to recognize their efforts as league champions a year ago. Carson Swanson was also singled out for his First Team All-State selection, which will receive a banner to hang in the gym next to the league championship banner the team claimed a year ago.
While the reigning All-State star didn’t have his best shooting night on Friday, he found other ways to score. Not many guards across western New York can pull off more slam dunks in a game than they hit 3-pointers, but that was the case for Carson Swanson on Friday. He followed his impressive dunk in the first quarter with two more in the third quarter as the Wolverines put the game out of reach.
“It can boost the energy and get our minds back to where we are,” Carson Swanson said of executing dunks in front of the home crowd. “An exciting play can boost moods, and hopefully that can be contagious and carry on to the next play.”
North Collins kept fighting as Westfield continued to struggle throughout the final period, but even an off night for the Wolverines led to a 34-point blowout of the visiting Eagles. North Collins claimed the fourth quarter 13-11 and was only outscored by 13 points in the final three periods combined, but it didn’t matter in the final outcome after such a dominant first quarter from the Wolverines.
“We executed pretty well in the first quarter,” Carson Swanson said. “We knew what we were going to do and we knew how to execute. We were moving and talking defensively, and that’s what really set us up for that good first quarter.”
The Wolverines were led by Carson Swanson with 28 points, along with five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Zach Maguire added 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Lincoln Thomas had nine points on three 3-pointers.
“Even when we’re not shooting well, we’re able to still build a lead and control the game,” Carson Swanson said.
The Eagles were led by Walter Ebersole and Zander Miller with seven points apiece, while Leon Lark added six points.
Up next, Westfield faces Gowanda in the championship tonight at 7 p.m., after came back in the second half Friday to defeat Franklinville 79-72. North Collins faces Franklinville in the consolation game this afternoon.
“Hopefully we bring back that first quarter and carry it throughout the game,” Carson Swanson said.
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