The victory would have pulled the Warriors even with the Rams at 10-2 in the boys basketball race in the Blossom Valley Athletic League's Santa Teresa Division.

The Warriors had beaten the Rams twice already this year with both wins coming on their home court. One was early in the season in their own Westmont Tournament, and the other was in the first round of division play. But it's always tough to beat a team for a third time in a season, especially when that team is playing No. 3 on its home court.

Still, that's just what Westmont did on Feb. 13. The Warriors pulled out a 40-37 win to make it pretty crowded at the top of the pack in the Santa Teresa Division. Westmont and Willow Glen are now in a three-way tie for first place with Branham heading into the final week of the regular season.

That tie will certainly be broken this week. Willow Glen travels to Branham on Feb. 18, 7 p.m., and then finishes the regular season at home against Leland on Feb. 20, 7:30 p.m. Westmont, meanwhile, needs two wins over second-division clubs to hang onto a piece of first place. The Warriors travel to Mt. Pleasant on Feb. 17, 7 p.m., and then finish hosting Overfelt on Feb. 20, 7:30 p.m.

Westmont and Willow Glen started slow last Friday night, and then the Warriors began to click and with 5:38 left in the game. They had stretched their lead to 36-23 and it looked like they would coast home with the win. But the Rams came alive and decided they would have a few things to say about that before the final buzzer sounded.

Willow Glen came storming back, putting together a 13-2 run which brought the Rams to within two at 38-36 with 1:14 left. But Westmont called a timeout to regroup and was able to hold off the Willow Glen surge down the stretch to pull out a 40-37 win.

The comeback by the Rams was led by Justin Ble from down low and Nick Ward from outside. It got started when Max Gourd drove to the hoop and was fouled. He converted the two free throws and then Ble and Ward took over.

Ble scored six of his team-leading 13 for the game in the run. He was working the boards, grabbing rebounds and putting the ball back up and in. Late in the run, Ward was fouled as he hit a huge three-pointer and then calmly sank the free throw for his fifth point in the surge. Ward finished with eight points on the night.

By this time the fans were fully caught up in the excitement, urging their teams on with thundering chants of "W-G, W-G " and "West­mont, West-mont" echoing back and forth across the court.

"Our kids never gave up," said Willow Glen coach Todd Meeker. "We were not scoring as we usually do so we got more aggressive on offense and started to hit our shots. We made it close. Time just ran out. They had the ball and they made their shots."

During the Rams' frantic comeback, Westmont had gone into a four-corner spread offense to try and run some time off the clock while working for a high percentage shot. It paid off for the Warriors as their quick sophomore guard, Chantz Staden, was able to get past his defender on two occasions to drive the lane for easy lay-ups, keeping the Rams at bay. Staden had the Warriors' most consistent offensive production in the game, leading them with 14 points and scoring in all four quarters.

The Warriors also got a fine performance from Michael Johnson, who helped Westmont build a 25-18 halftime lead by pouring in 11 of his 13 points in the first half. He was also a force on the offensive boards. Johnson got into foul trouble early in the fourth quarter and then fouled out with four and half minutes left, which was key in opening the door for Willow Glen to make its move.

"[Ble] started getting the rebounds that Johnson was getting before," said Westmont coach Bill Gerth. "[Johnson] plays with such intensity, diving for loose balls and fighting for rebounds. He is the heart of our team."

Joel Lopez was the third Warrior to finish in double digits, tossing in 10 points mostly on short jumpers in the lane. Lopez had missed nine games with an injury and this was just his second game back. Lopez scored eight of his points in the third quarter and early fourth quarter when Westmont began to pull away.

"[Lopez] really helped us out," added Gerth. "He can finish inside and hit the jump shot from the high post."

The Warriors were ice cold in the first quarter, missing nine of their first 10 shots, and they were only able to drop in five points for the quarter. The Rams were not able to take advantage of the situation as they could not find their offensive rhythm either. The quarter ended with Willow Glen up 6-5.

Both teams suddenly found the range in the second period with Westmont burning the nets for 18 points and the Rams countering with 12.

Johnson led the Warriors, dumping in seven points in the quarter. Staden fired in two three-pointers with the second one coming with just four seconds left in the half. Casey Modiri tossed in his three points for the game—two off a steal that he snagged in the backcourt and took it all the way to the hoop on a breakaway. Lopez added two with a rebound and a put-back off the glass.

Steve Rebagliati dumped in his game total four points for the Rams in the quarter. Ward and Gourd each nailed three-pointers. Will Robinson popped in two of his four on the night.

Earlier in the week, Willow Glen pounded out a 43-27 victory over Independence. Ward and Rebagliati were in double digits for the Rams with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Robinson and Ble added six each. Heinock Habte got in on the action, contributing four points. Gourd and Ahmed Falol rounded out the scoring with two each.