He has played second fiddle to his star teammate all season long.
Friday night under the ShoWare Center spotlight, Kentridge High’s Brendan Westendorf took center stage.
Westendorf, a mild mannered 6-foot-4 senior forward, went off for a game-high 23 points, leading the fourth-ranked Kentridge High boys basketball team past No. 5 Kentwood 61-54 in the featured game of the Les Schwab Kent Shootout at the ShoWare Center.
“I was feeling pretty good,” said Westendorf, who also grabbed nine rebounds. “(The basket) was pretty big.”
As for playing second fiddle to Gonzaga University-bound star and the league’s leading scorer Gary Bell, Westendorf is plenty good with the role.
“I don’t mind it because then teams leave me open to shoot,” he said.
Which is exactly what happened Friday night at the ShoWare Center. Westendorf torched the Conquerors for 19 first-half points. In addition, he connected on 5 of 6 from 3-point land.
“I’ve seen him do this,” Bell said. “He’s my one-two punch.”
Kentwood (8-4, 11-5) threw multiple defenders at Bell, who came into the night averaging 27.7 points per game. Bell had been particularly good in the three contests leading up to Kentwood, scoring a combined 107 points. Despite struggling from the field against the Conquerors (7 of 20, including 0-3 from beyond the arc), Bell still finished with 19 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
After taking a first-quarter lead, the Chargers held the Conquerors at bay the rest of the night.
Tied 5-5 in the first quarter, the Chargers (11-2, 13-4) took the lead for good, when Roddy Hanson delivered a putback basket off an offensive rebound.
Kentridge built its biggest lead late in the second quarter, when a Westendorf 3-pointer was followed by a one-handed jam by Bell, giving the Chargers a 28-18 advantage. Kentwood cut the deficit to two points, 33-31, on a bucket down low by Taylor Jones with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter, but would get no closer.
It was Kentridge’s seventh win in a row, and puts the Chargers in the driver’s seat for capturing their first SPSL North title since the 2007-2008 season, when they shared the honor with both Kentwood and Decatur.
“This win was key,” Westendorf said. “We want (the North title) all to ourselves this year. We aren’t sharing it with anybody.”
Jones led Kentwood with 12 points while Jason Boyce added 11 points and a team-high 7 rebounds. Kentridge’s Denzel Daniels added 10 points for the Chargers, including a pair of 3-pointers.
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