Prep Basketball BOYS : Bowen Collects 14 Assists as Westlake Beats League Leader

It’s hard to predict exactly how a Westlake High basketball game will turn out. Coach Roy Gilmore’s Warriors opened Marmonte League play last week as underdogs against Simi Valley, and won. Next, they played a weak and inexperienced Thousand Oaks team, and lost.

Wednesday night at Westlake the Warriors scalped one of the favorites for the league title, Channel Islands, 58-55, and improved their league record to 2-1. They are now 8-7 overall.

“Beating two good teams like Simi and Channel Islands is definitely a big boost to our confidence. We’d really be looking good right now if we had only beaten Thousand Oaks,” Gilmore said.

Once again, Westlake was led by senior Rob Bowen. The 5-10 point guard scored 14 points but it was his nifty playmaking that really helped the Warriors’ cause. He dished off a school-record 14 assists, nine of which came in the second half.

Teammates Louie Salmina and Ken Burke shared high-scoring honors with 16 each.

The Raiders, who fell to 1-1 in league and 7-5 overall, were paced by forwards Paul Nunnery and James Curtis.

Nunnery scored 16 and Curtis added 11. Both players grabbed seven rebounds.