Wassup in Westchester: Recapping W-Knicks’ stay in Las Vegas

As I had previously mentioned in my last piece about the Westchester Knicks (14-7), this team doesn’t have a problem creating huge leads. With their well balanced and executed offense, the W-Knicks tend to overwhelm opponents very quickly. But maintaining those leads? That has a been a different story. When looking back at their two-day stay in Las Vegas last week, the W-Knicks will regret losing various leads of at least 10 points or longer as they went 0-2 against the Iowa Wolves and Austin Spurs.

Both games have their share of similarities. Whether it was John Jenkins or Kadeem Allen being their leading scorer or Stephen Zimmerman being an reliable presence inside the paint, Westchester’s offensive efforts usually advanced to another level. What is also not a surprise is how it affected their defensive play. Throughout the course of both games from last Wednesday and Friday night, Westchester produced stretches of good defense that applied a lot of pressure on their opposition along with turnovers and bad shots. It’s something to note as all teams use their offense to create good defense or vice versa.

So how did Westchester leave Las Vegas with two, consecutive losses? By letting their opposition create bigger runs than them. Despite having a 26-point lead over the Wolves at halftime, Westchester was outscored 36-69 in the second half. That occurrence followed them to their next match-up against the Spurs as Westchester watched a 12 point first half lead be cut to three near halftime, before surrendering 34 points in the third quarter. The Spurs’ third quarter run, enabled them to obtain the lead for good and win last Friday night.

Up next for the Westchester Knicks is a return back home as they’ll face the Capital City Go-Go on Thursday, December 27th.