Aylsworth Picks Up the Slack for Westlake

With three of Westlake’s starters on the bench or in other states, and the Warriors trailing Royal by 12 points in the middle of the second quarter, things looked bleak.

But fortunately for Westlake, Steve Aylsworth was one of the two on the floor.

Aylsworth, a junior, scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and had seven assists to lead the Warriors to an 82-64 victory in a Marmonte League basketball game Friday night at Royal.

Aylsworth’s performance was painfully familiar to Royal Coach Larry Wiksell.

“He’s unstoppable,” Wiksell said. “Marques (Pena) did a great job of containing him, but you can only contain him for so long.”

Aylsworth was instrumental in a 24-7 run that started late in the third quarter and extended into the fourth. It took the the game from Royal’s hands and put it firmly into the grip of Westlake (5-1, 2-0 in league play).

Aylsworth scored 13 points during the stretch, including three consecutive three-pointers.

“He hit a few shots and then he got that twinkle in his eye,” Westlake Coach Gary Grayson said. “And when that happens the other team better look out.”

The Warriors needed every bit of Aylsworth’s production because starters Billy Miller and Eric Guenther were out of town on football recruiting visits, and Nick Alexander missed much of the second half because he had four fouls.

“Once we got in foul trouble, I thought we were in deep trouble,” Aylsworth said. “But out team just came out with a great team effort.”

Westlake’s Matt Smiley scored 22 points and Nasir Shakouri added 17.

Scott Hambly scored 14 points for Royal (7-2, 1-1). But Hambly fouled out with 2 minutes 3 seconds to play in the third quarter. The Highlanders committed eight of their 18 turnovers in the third quarter.

Royal is off to its best start ever, but Wiksell attributed part of the Highlanders’ problems Friday night to an attitude that permeated the program in the past.

“None of these kids have been a part of a basketball team that feels like it can win,” Wiksell said. “Last year we didn’t win our second game until after Christmas. And when (Westlake) got on a run, we might have gotten a little nervous.”

Royal also was playing without two key players, Jermaine Smith and Jerome Lee, who were on football recruiting trips.

But the Highlanders dominated inside and led the entire first half, taking leads of as many as 12 points.

Westlake took its first lead, 46-44, with 4:13 left in the third quarter on a three-point basket by Smiley. The Warriors led the rest of the way.