Senior guard Scotty Graziano and Westminster Christian are a bottom-line bunch.
The final score Saturday was all that mattered to Westminster Christian after a 12-point lead with 2:40 left nearly evaporated.
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Graziano scored eight of his game-high 14 points in the fourth quarter and host Westminster Christian held on to beat South Beloit 40-37 in a Northeastern Athletic Conference game.
“We somehow find a way to win most of the time,” Graziano said.
The 6-foot-1 Graziano made a layup off Ben Versluys’ assist with 3:05 remaining, then sank two free throws with 21.3 seconds left. The four points were enough for the Warriors (15-4, 7-0) to survive a late rally by the Sobos (8-14, 3-4).
“We knew it was going to be a hard game because South Beloit has been really competitive against the teams they’ve played and they were real physical,” Westminster coach Andy Zielinski said. “It was probably the most physical game we’ve played all year.”
Westminster committed six turnovers, missed a one-and-bonus and missed a short shot on eight of its final nine possessions. The only points in the stretch came on Graziano’s two free throws — and they needed both after he made it 40-34.
That’s because South Beloit’s Dillon Hagstrom converted a three-point play, and the Warriors then threw the ball away against the press. But a tying 3-point try by South Beloit’s Troy Walmer hit the front of the rim, and the Sobos also turned it over with two seconds remaining.
“It was a little rough,” Graziano said. “They’re a very quick team and played their hearts out.
“They were determined to come back and when they did we stopped them.”
The Warriors shot only 27 percent the first three quarters (10-for-38), and led 27-23 with 6:30 to go before going on a decisive 9-0 run. Westminster led 36-23 after Graziano’s layup, Nick Kleczynski’s jumper and five points from Versluys.
“I guess we were just being patient with the ball, which we should have been again later on in the game,” Versluys said.
Versluys finished with nine points and 12 rebounds. South Beloit’s Hagstrom had all 12 of his team-high total in the fourth quarter, but Westminster’s defense limited the Sobos to 23 percent shooting (11-for-47).
“We try to pride ourselves on defense,” Graziano said. “We’ve been lacking on the blow-bys when team’s are breaking out, but we’re working hard on that every day.”
A series of recent illnesses and injuries haven’t prevented Westminster from winning seven straight, including several scares like Saturday’s. An ankle injury to Kleczynski has been one recent Warrior problem.
They remain even in the loss column with first-place Harvest Christian (18-4, 9-0) with big games yet against the Lions and Luther North.
“We don’t really get a lot of respect, I don’t think,” Zielinski said. “They look at our scores and say, ‘Oh, they’re not very good.’
“But we’ve competed pretty much every game this year.”
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