JOHN GIBBINS / Union-Tribune
Army-Navy's Marcus Wilson face-guards Horizon's Jeff Withey, opening things up for Panthers teammate Richard Walker, the "X-factor."
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Horizon's 7-foot center Jeff Withey referred to 6-7 teammate Richard Walker as the “X-factor” in the Panthers' march to a seventh straight section Division IV basketball championship.
While Army-Navy's strategy was to try to keep Withey from going wild inside the paint, the Warriors probably didn't expect Walker to pick up so much of the slack.
Walker had 20 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and three steals to help Horizon defeat the Warriors 58-53 yesterday at Cox Arena.
“Richard is a great player,” Withey said. “He came out and definitely showed us that he has a lot of heart and he wanted to win this game.”
Walker doubled his season scoring average and came close to doing the same on the boards against a tall Army-Navy squad.
“It was a battle of the big guys out there,” Walker said. “I think we won because we played as a team. There are no individuals on our team.”
Army-Navy, which has five players 6-5 or taller, did a respectable job against Withey, but the Panthers post did establish himself early. His first five baskets were slams.
Withey, who has accepted a scholarship to Arizona, finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. But there were no more slams over the final 19 minutes from him.
“They had some great defense,” Withey said. “I got double-teamed all the time. I couldn't even breathe without somebody in my face.”
However, Withey would still have the last word. He hit both ends of a one-and-one free throw opportunity with 9.1 seconds left to protect a three-point lead.
Before Withey could provide the finishing touches, Walker made his final three shots from the field – one a furious jam on a put-back that extended Horizon's advantage to 55-50 with 1:42 unplayed.
The Panthers (21-10) whipped Army-Navy by nine points in Carlsbad during the regular season. Walker thought both teams played a stronger game in the rematch.
“I thought we handled their pressure better this time,” Walker said.
Although Horizon led wire-to-wire, the Warriors (21-5), who trailed by 12 late in the third period, kept coming back. Three times Army-Navy got as close as one point, the last time at 44-43, following a 13-2 run with five minutes left.
“We came out and played with heart,” said 6-7 David Howard, who paced the Warriors with 23 points and nine rebounds. “We tried to put them away, but when we got close we got away from our game plan, which was to go inside.”
It was Waheed Mitchell's third section championship in as many years as Panthers head coach.
“Our guys just keep fighting, been doing it all year long,” Mitchell said. “That's one of the great things about them, they're going to fight you to the end.”
Not surprisingly, Mitchell heaped accolades upon Walker.
“He's been stepping up for us all year. It's his time because he's a senior.”
Mitchell agreed that Army-Navy's focus was more on Withey than Walker.
“We took advantage of that, sure,” Mitchell said. “It also helped our shooters. Jeff is so dominant inside that teams have to scheme to stop him.”
Now they can worry about Walker, too.
