By Thomas Grant Jr.

Westwood found itself battered by two different “storms” this week.

The first came in the form of icy weather conditions, which kept the Class 5A Division II second-ranked Redhawks away from “The Castle” gymnasium on Monday. The second arrived Tuesday night in View County — a much fiercer storm known as archrival Ridge View.

Fueled by revenge and a standing-room-only “Coming Home” crowd, the reinstalled Class 5A Division I No. 1 Blazers rolled past Westwood 64-47.

Ridge View seized control early, jumping out to a 6-0 lead and never looking back. JT Vankallen and C.J. Moore each scored 16 points, R.J. Davis added 13, and Talon Staley finished with 10.

Beyond the scoring, the Blazers imposed their will defensively. Learning from defensive lapses that allowed Westwood to rally for a win in the first meeting, Ridge View limited the Redhawks to just one 3-pointer through the first three quarters.

The Blazers also dominated the boards, converting rebounds into fast-break points and building a lead that reached as many as 21 points.

“The first time we played them, we didn’t defend well,” Ridge View head coach Joshua Staley said. “We went back and watched the film and had a ton of defensive mishaps. We were really, really bad defensively, and they did what a good team is supposed to do and took advantage of it.

“So we got on the guys. We took accountability, and I took accountability as a coach. We knew we had to defend better.”

Westwood’s Demarcus Thomas, the sparkplug in the Jan. 5 victory, was held to 16 points. Jayden Crews scored 13 points, including two of the Redhawks’ four 3-pointers — all of which came in the fourth quarter.

Westwood head coach Trent Robinson believed the lack of preparation played a role after his team missed two days of practice.

“I said this, and then I contradicted myself,” Robinson said. “I told them, ‘You look like you weren’t prepared and didn’t practice.’ Then I had to stop because we didn’t practice.

“We went 1-for-17 from three until the last minute. We shot the ball terribly. It was a bad, rusty night for us.”

The victory marked Ridge View’s sixth straight win since its 64-61 loss to Westwood on Jan. 5. The Blazers improved to 18-3 overall and 7-1 in Region 5-5A.

Westwood suffered just its second loss of the season, falling to 18-2 overall and 7-1 in the region after entering the game on an eight-game winning streak.

The win also gave Ridge View the region tiebreaker. Should the teams finish with identical records, the Blazers would earn first place by allowing fewer points (101) in the two meetings than Westwood (125).

Lady Redhawks win

The Ridge View girls needed a win to remain within striking distance of second-ranked Blythewood in the region race.

After trailing by eight late in the third quarter, Westwood rallied to erase the deficit. Following four ties in the fourth quarter, the Lady Redhawks pulled ahead late and held on for a 52-49 victory.

Amari Alexander led all scorers with 18 points, including a key jumper with 1:21 remaining to extend the lead. Teoni Cummings added 10 points, including two clutch free throws with 7.1 seconds left.

Amiyah Carr scored 10 points for the Lady Blazers (10-7, 5-2), while Reagan Ferguson finished with eight.

Westwood improved to 13-9 overall and 4-4 in the region, tying Lugoff-Elgin for third place.

The loss dropped Ridge View 2½ games behind Blythewood, which routed Spring Valley 74-29 to improve to 17-4 overall and 8-0 in region play.