Threes lead to win No. 1 for Providence basketball’s Westphal
It was the sort of debut that Providence High boys’ basketball Coach Michael Westphal had hoped for, but certainly didn’t expect.
Behind stellar three-point shooting, the host Pioneers opened the 2016-2017 campaign with an easy 69-28 victory over Altadena Aveson Global Leadership Academy on Tuesday afternoon in pool play action of the Paul Sutton Tournament.
Providence will continue play Wednesday evening versus San Marino at 8, while Aveson will face Flintridge Prep at 8 p.m. at Bellarmine-Jefferson High.
“You never expect this, but you’ll certainly take it,” said Westphal, son of former Phoenix Suns Coach Paul Westphal. “It’s a nice way to begin my time here, but I don’t expect it to be like this tomorrow or the rest of the season.
“You take whatever the defense gives you and tonight we had several good looks.”
The Pioneers knocked down 12 of 20 three-point shots versus Aveson’s zone defense that did limit points in the paint, while allowing several chances from three-point land.
Perhaps the defining quarter was the second, one which Providence won, 23-6, to take a 36-14 halftime advantage.
The Pioneers were only up, 13-8, after one, but drained five triples in the second quarter. Freshman guard Bryce Whitaker scored all of his points during the eight-minute span as he finished three for four from the three-point line for nine points.
“The shooting was set up by great passing all-around,” Whitaker said. “We worked on moving the ball in practice and we shot [well].”
All nine Providence players who scored totaled at least four points, as junior guard A.J. Bautista, junior center Joe Whelan and sophomore guard Harout Nazarian tied for the team lead with 11 points.
Up 22 points at the break, Providence commenced the third with an 11-2 run that included five points from Whelan as the squad took a 47-16 advantage with 4:49 remaining in the third quarter.
“[Aveson] played a zone defense and that gave us a chance to shoot,” Whelan said. “I think shooting is one of the big strengths of this team and we want to build on this.”
Providence pulled out its starters to begin the fourth quarter and eventually forced a running clock with 1:36 remaining when Ty Tiomico hit a free throw to put his squad up, 69-28.
“Tonight, the three-point shooting really worked for us,” Westphal said, “but that’s not going to be our identity each night. There are going to be some teams that will deny us those opportunities and we’ll use other means to score.”
On defense, the Pioneers came up with 10 steals, which helped them win the turnover battle, 21-14.
Senior guard Matthew Meza added seven points for Providence, while senior guard Cinque Benavidez-Kinley led the Avengers with 10 points.
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Andrew J. Campa, andrew.campa@latimes.com
Twitter: @campadresports
