The Westwood Patriots overcame a 15-point second half deficit and earned a thrilling 57-56 non-conference win at Escanaba on Tuesday.
Escanaba enjoyed multiple double digit leads in the first quarter and led 18-8 after one.
The Eskymos threatened to pull away twice early in the second frame, garnering leads of 10 and 11 points but each time Westwood rallied and trimmed the deficit to five. Esky ripped off a 9-0 run late in the half and led 35-22 at the break.
The Eskymos built their 15 point lead early in the third quarter but Westwood wouldn’t back down. The Pats ended the third frame on a 14-3 run, capped by Zach Niemi’s three-pointer at the buzzer. Westwood outscored Escanaba 18-6 in the third quarter and trailed 41-40 entering the fourth.
The Pats took their first lead with 6:55 left when Nathan Beckman knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the arc. With 53 seconds left, Escanaba’s Craig Kamin scored a layup, stole the ensuing inbounds pass, and converted a three-point play to give the Eskymos a 56-51 lead. That’s when Westwood’s Ty Alderton nailed back-to-back three-pointers and the Patriot defense survived a flurry of tip-in attempts at the buzzer.
Alderton scored a career-high 21 points, which included the game-winning three-pointer with 20 seconds left in the game. Beckman added 15 and Taylor Dellangelo had seven. Westwood is now 8-3 and hosts Iron Mountain on January 24th