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Staples High School's boys basketball team faced an uphill climb from the outset Tuesday night against Westhill High. The Wreckers made several attempts to scale the mountain only to fall short, 77-57, as the Vikings scored the final 18 points to win the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference game in Westport.
"You have to give a lot of credit to Westhill,'' Staples' coach Colin Devine said. "They played a great game. Every time they needed a basket they got one."
Gabe Seidman scored 25 points to lead Staples, which fell to 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the league. Jake Felman added 11. Mike Argosh and Luke Yeager had seven each.
Westhill (6-2 overall, 6-0 in the FCIAC) scored the game's first nine points before Seidman made two free throws with 4:47 left in the opening quarter. Argosh finally got Staples' first field goal with 4:12 left in the quarter, but the tone was set. Staples struggled with shooting all game, despite getting good looks at the basket.
The Wreckers battled back from a 36-31 halftime deficit to get within 59-57 after Felman scored with 5:40 left. After an empty trip by Westhill, Staples came down with a chance to tie or take its first lead with a three-pointer. The Wreckers missed, and Westhill's Antwaun Boyd scored on the other end. Chris Walters (20 points) drilled a three-pointer on Westhill's next possession, and the Vikings never looked back. Staples went 0-for-13 from the field with three turnovers in the final 5:40.
"When you don't hit shots, you have to get stops,'' Devine said. "We'll learn from this, and we'll get better." Staples hosts Bassick on Friday at 7 p.m.
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