The Cherry Hill West boys’ basketball team knocked off teams in their home court during the winter break Virginia B. Whitaker tournament, taking down Willingboro, Mastery Camden, and crosstown rival Cherry Hill East.
The Lions started their winter break home stretch with a December 26 stand against Willingboro. The Lions led their way to a dominant first half, rolling into the third quarter with 36 points to Willingboro’s 19. Finishing the game off in a commanding 73-36 victory, junior Quinn Gibson led the way with a double-double of 32 points and 10 rebounds, as well as snagging 5 steals. Senior Ben Manns found himself all over the stat sheet, putting up calm 4 points, while grabbing 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Junior Drew Pullano fired off two three-pointers to log 10 points, while sophomore Korey Morton added 11 points off the bench.
Highlights of this game can be found here. A mixtape of the game was created by junior Mia Rider and can be found on her photography Instagram account, @miatakesflicks.
The Lions continued to defend their home court on December 28, in a blowout 67-20 victory over Mastery Camden. While it was yet again the Quinn Gibson and Ben Manns show, as Gibson logged 26 points and 7 rebounds with Manns holding a double-double of 19 and 10, the Lions saw a great deal of sharing the ball, with seven other players on the roster adding in at least a score. 14 assists were recorded in the victory by the Lions.
Highlights of this game can be found here.
The eventful week came down to the massive rival game between West versus East on December 29, as a rowdy Lions student section faced an equally restless East student section in a battle of the bleachers. The Lions and Cougars were engaged in a hard-fought battle early on until the Cougars found their shots falling and a frustrated Lions team was trailing 19-9 only a few minutes from halftime. As the West student section, tired of being overshadowed by their eastern counterparts, all began to stand up and get loud, the Lions heated up and went on a late 8-0 run to cut the Cougars’ halftime lead to 19-18.
The game continued to be a back-and-forth affair until junior Carter Gill hit three clutch three-pointers late in the game to seal the Lions’ 45-38 victory to improve their fantastic record to 8-1. Similar to the Mastery Camden match, the Lions once again found themselves with a team game overall, with three players in double figures: Quinn Gibson (18), Ben Manns (11), and Carter Gill (11). Gibson also added 3 assists and 4 steals to his outing.
Highlights of this game can be found here.
The 8-1 start after the tournament is the Lions’ best start in 9 games since their 2019-20 season, where they began hot at 7-2. The record is impressive considering the departure of longtime head coach Aaron Burt, who moved to an Assistant Principal role at West this school year. In his absence, the 2023-24 season is the first of new head coach Fred Battee, who has had quite an impressive showing to begin his head coaching tenure for the Lions.