Aylsworth Holds Clinic for Westlake

When Steve Aylsworth was a child, his father took him throughout the Southland in search of the best basketball competition available.

The idea was for Aylsworth to improve his game while learning to cope with pressure. And thanks to those often-difficult lessons on playground blacktops, Aylsworth is now playing teacher to Westlake High’s opponents.

The sophomore guard came off the bench to score 32 points--including the clinching basket--in the host Warriors’ 57-52 Marmonte League victory Friday night over Thousand Oaks, the three-time defending league champion.

There was a scare late in the fourth quarter, however, when Thousand Oaks senior forward Jason Hartman suffered a neck injury and lay motionless on the floor for a few minutes. Hartman, who led the Lancers with 17 points and 15 rebounds, walked off the court under his own power with about 18 seconds remaining and applied an ice pack to the back of his neck.

Fortunately, the play on the court remained the story--Aylsworth’s play in particular.

“He’s the man! He’s the man!” Warrior forward Billy Miller shouted in excitement at the final buzzer. “I told him before the game that this was going to be his night. He was awesome.”

Indeed.

Aylsworth, who entered the game with about six minutes remaining in the first quarter, scored 16 of his team’s 22 points in the fourth quarter as Westlake improved to 8-2, 2-0 in league play.

With Thousand Oaks leading, 52-50, Aylsworth made a shot from the top of the three-point arc with 3 minutes 16 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a lead they would not relinquish.

The shot capped a fierce fourth-quarter rally for Westlake, which trailed, 45-35, at the end of three. Aylsworth’s performance was especially timely because Westlake’s big men, Miller and center Erik Bentz, were in foul trouble throughout the evening and both fouled out in the fourth quarter.

“I’m not really used to coming off the bench, so at first I just wanted to come in and help run the offense,” said Aylsworth, who did not score in the opening quarter. “But when we were down late in the fourth, I knew it was now or never, so I put up the shots and they went in.”

Thousand Oaks, which went undefeated in league play last season, dropped to 9-5, 0-2. Kevin DePiazza scored 11 points for the Lancers.