As Ecurb Forest gets better, so does West Point High’s boys basketball team.
Forest, West Point’s senior shooting guard, set a career-high in points for the third time in the past six games with a 31-point effort in a 72-62 victory against West Lowndes at New Hope High’s Trojan Classic.
“Just a lot of extra work after practice, a lot of hard work,” Forest said about his recent hot streak. “My teammates kept getting me the ball and creating open shots for me today and I was able to knock them down.”
Forest’s points were critical because West Point trailed 52-51 entering the fourth quarter. In a game that went back and forth for three-and-a-half quarters, the Green Wave finished with an 11-2 run to pull away.
“I thought we did a good job of playing through adversity,” said West Point assistant coach Troy Barton, who led the team in the second half after head coach Brad Cox had to leave to attend the memorial service for former Oak Hill Academy girls basketball coach Stan Hughey. “We found a way to stick together. It wasn’t always pretty but we got the job done.”
The Class 5A Green Wave (10-5) had plenty of chances to pull away from the Class 1A Panthers but couldn’t. The Green Wave led by as many as seven in the first half, but the Panthers finished the second quarter on a 7-0 run to force a 35-35 tie at halftime.
West Lowndes (9-6) continued its hot shooting in the second half, as guard Marcus Farmer scored all eight of his points to help the Panthers build a lead that reached four points late in the third quarter.
“I am extremely proud of the effort against a much bigger school,” West Lowndes coach Roosevelt Bridges said. “This is why we play these big schools like West Point, New Hope, Columbus. You learn a whole lot when you play these bigger teams. I thought we ran out of steam because they had a much deeper bench than us.”
Barton was complimented West Lowndes’ effort.
“I thought they were the aggressor,” Barton said. “They kept getting to the rim, getting offensive rebounds. We finally locked in there in the fourth quarter.”
Forest was at his best in the fourth quarter, when he scored nine points.
“Ecurb did a great job of letting the game come to him,” Barton said. “He did a great job of closing the game out.”
Kelly Martin added 10 points for the Green Wave.
C.J. Smith led West Lowndes with 13, while Wendell Rieves and D’Quaylon Brown had 12.
West Point will next open district play Tuesday at Saltillo. West Lowndes will play Friday at New Hope.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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