Bishop O’Connell makes statement with drubbing of Westlake (Ga.)

Rankings are mere numbers when teams take the floor and the ball is tipped.

As this year’s edition of the Beach Ball Classic commenced, all talk on the bottom end of the bracket seemed to revolve around three teams – perennial powerhouse Bishop Gorman (Nev.), Imhotep Charter (Pa.) and Westlake (Ga.).

On Tuesday, Bishop O’Connell made sure all at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center knew it could play some basketball as well.

In what coach Joe Wootten described as his team’s “most complete game thus far” in its 2016-17 hoops campaign, the Knights were dominant in their Beach Ball Classic opener, downing Westlake by a score of 61-36.

“We defended well, we rebounded well, and for the first time all year I think we ran great team offense,” Wootten said. “And it didn’t matter who took the shots, we just took what they gave us, which is what good teams do.”

Taking on a Westlake squad that at one point was ranked nationally and chock full of Division I talent, Bishop O’Connell never let its opponent get off the mat. A 13-2 run midway through the first half allowed the Knights to take a double-digit lead, one it would continue to build upon en route to a 30-9 halftime advantage.

The outcome didn’t get any better for Westlake, whose inability to offer any resistance inside or knock down shots on its end of the floor quickly put the Lions’ backs to the wall. At one point, they were for 4-for-28 from the field, missing each of their first 11 shots from beyond the arc.

“They were big, had a lot of length inside, so we got hardly anything in the post,” said Westlake (Ga.) coach Darron Rogers. “It also didn’t help we were shooting bricks from the outside. So when you’re not shooting well from the outside, they have a 6-foot-10 player on the inside that is a man, it really caused us a lot of problems.”

Bishop O’Connell big man Nate Watson certainly proved his worth against Westlake, notching a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the game.

Before Tuesday’s contest, Watson said he heard and read plenty about Westlake standout and Auburn commit Chuma Okeke. With that in mind, it was fair to say the Knights’ center was highly motivated to make an impact.

“I was definitely motivated. There is a guy named Okeke who I had heard was pretty good, and I wanted to bring my best to the game so we could come away with a win,” Watson said. “This is a business trip for us. So I just wanted to let the game come to me and do my best for this team.”

In addition to Watson’s game-high point output, Matt Lewis added 15 for the Knights.

Okeke was the only Westlake player to reach double figures, scoring 15 points in a losing effort.

This story was originally published December 27, 2016 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Bishop O’Connell makes statement with drubbing of Westlake (Ga.)."