On Tuesday, Jan. 6, the Westbury Boys' Varsity Basketball Team not only had a chance to avenge a crucial football loss earlier this fall to the Seahawks of H. Frank Carey High School, but most importantly had an opportunity to launch their conference schedule to 2-0 start.

Westbury's Green Dragons entered this match-up with Carey coming off with an impressive 72-54 victory in its league opener against the Hewlett Bulldogs on Jan. 3, while the Seahawks emerged victorious over the Wantagh Warriors during their first league game on Jan. 2 by the score of 43-38.

Westbury began the game on all cylinders by applying pressure on defense and forcing many turnovers. The Green Dragons held Carey to a measly three points throughout most of the quarter, but appeared to lose a bit of the energy the team displayed after tip-off. As a result, the Seahawks went on a 6-0 run in the final two minutes of the quarter and suddenly had a 9-8 lead over the Green Dragons at the end of the first quarter.

"I just told them that their players had to pick up the intensity defensively," said Dwight Gibson, Westbury head coach.

Gibson's advice worked, as Westbury started the second quarter on a 10-1 surge. The quickness of guards Thomas Davis and Daquan Redd and the inside dominance of center Josh Frazier led to many turnovers and rebounds that stifled Carey's offensive attack.

"They scored most of their points from three pointers and did not score as much from the inside," said Frazier. Westbury went into the locker room at halftime with a lead of 18-11.

In the beginning of the third quarter, Carey came out with an aggressive half court trap that was geared toward creating turnovers. Westbury did not budge though as it began on a 9-0 run, thanks to an impressive offensive display from Gully. The Seahawks scored their first of the third quarter with 4:43 left and found themselves down 28 at the end of the quarter.

Carey proved its worth though when it continued to play hard and gritty basketball throughout the fourth quarter. Gully continued to excel on the Westbury side, but Carey managed to keep eating away at the double digit deficit it had in the beginning of the quarter.

Jimmy Feaster of Carey hit a three pointer with 1:48 left in the game to cut the Westbury lead to five, but Gully and Redd would not allow any sort of comeback bid by the Seahawks. The two experienced players hit their free throws to seal the victory for Westbury by the final score of 51-42. Gully led the team with 23 points, while Redd added 11. Frazier also put up 8 points and conquered the offensive and defensive boards.

Gibson was happy with the victory, but still feels improvement is needed in certain spots. "Right now I am waiting for Frazier to come into his own, but right now the quickness of the guards [Davis and Redd] are impressive," he said,

Even though Westbury has gotten off to a 2-0 start in league play (2-2 overall), Gibson believes the season is continuing process of improvement. "We always try to get better every day in practice and carry it on into the game," he said.

In addition to the varsity team's win over Carey on Jan. 6, Westbury's JV squad also defeated Carey's JV squad with a score of 64-58 during an earlier game that evening.