HS Boys Basketball: Westside rides momentum into clash with Wyoming East

Renegades have won seven of their last eight games

One of New York Yankees Hall of Fame baseball great Yogi Berra's all-time best "Yogi-ism" was, ""It's déjà vu all over again."

That saying can readily apply to Westside boys basketball.

Last year the Renegades started slow and were hit with a coaching change heading into January.

However, once the calendar turned to February, Westside started rolling like a well oiled machine.

The Renegades won 10 of their next 11 games, advancing to the semifinals of the Class AA state tournament.

Fast forward to this season and the journey has been similar, but arguably more difficult.

After returning to be the head coach for one year, veteran Nick Cook stepped back into the assistant role.

Moving up was Cook's assistant, Michael Asbury for his inaugural season in the hot seat.

Unlike the previous year, Asbury took over a team with very limited varsity experience and anchored by youth.

The Renegades were thrown in the fire immediately to open the season when they traveled to play Logan at the famed Willie Akers Arena.

Surviving a rally by the Wildcats, Westside opened with a win and added two more before playing in the New River CTC Invitational.

All of a sudden the ride got a little bumpy.

Quality losses to Shady Spring and James Monroe were followed by setbacks at home to Wyoming East and a disastrous performance at Bluefield.

Outside of the loss to the Beavers, the Renegades started quickly, only to see leads fade down the stretch.

The question became, is Westside good enough to stand toe-to-toe with the big teams in Region 3 - Wyoming East, James Monroe and Bluefield.

Although the Renegades appeared down, they were far from out.

Wins over Logan, Independence and Mingo Central turned their fortunes back in the right direction.

Even a setback to Class AAAA Huntington failed to deter the rising momentum.

Westside opened February with a stunning upset of Bluefield after losing by 35 points to the Beavers in mid-January.

This past Tuesday, the Renegades went to Madison and knocked off a very good Scott team before playing in the Country Roads Classic at WV State Wednesday afternoon.

Falling behind by nine points at halftime against Williamstown and 12 points just three minutes into the third period, the Renegades turned up the defense.

Holding the Yellowjackets to just five points for the next 13 minutes, Westside walked out with a 50-40 win.

The brothers Waldron - Bradyn and Braxton - combined for 26 points, while Hendrix Cook added 12 points, all coming in the decisive second half.

Fast starts and tough finishes early in the season have now changed to slow starts and strong finishes for the boys from Clear Fork.

No doubt, the first year head coach would love to see a complete game from his team to see just how dangerous it really is, but Asbury will also not argue with the wins.

Friday night comes the heat check for the Renegades when they travel across the county to New Richmond.

Anxiously awaiting the upcoming showdown will be AA No. 2 Wyoming East (13-2). The Warriors grabbed a 58-44 win at Westside just over a month ago.

In the hotly contested race for home court advantage in AA Region 3, a win by the Renegades could throw the region into a spin.

The clash with its county rival starts a big regional week for Westside who will also host Liberty, Independence and Mingo Central in a span of four days.

Can the Renegades duplicate last year's magic run? The next seven days may give us a glimpse into that likelihood.

Coach Asbury talked about the progression of his team after the win over Williamstown.