The eighth-grade Lawrence West Junior High Warhawks took the court on Jan. 4 in clean powder-blue jerseys and left the court victorious after a clean, 44-30, win against Lawrence Central in their first game of the season.

West’s victory was due much in part to two outstanding players, Christian Nelson and Kevin Barber, who consistently drove the ball to the basket and hit many of the shots that gave West the edge over Central.

Barber scored the first basket of the game, and Nelson followed that with his first bucket. An assist from Nelson to Barber midway through the first quarter would result in West’s third basket. Nelson finished the first quarter with another score, giving West a 14-4 lead.

West’s head coach Mike Ofer said he will be counting on Barber and Nelson to be standouts this year.

“They are good scorers and they are very good leaders for our team,” Ofer said.

While West was helped by Barber and Nelson’s scoring, it did have to work to fend off Central.

Central Mustang Coulter Vestal shoots over the outstretched arms of West Warhawk Adam Petz on Wednesday at West Junior High. Vestal and his teammates tried to comeback in the second half, but the 13-point halftime deficit was too much to overcome as West went on to win 44-30.

Central’s Joel Bonner scored the first basket for his team in the first quarter after being thwarted by West in a failed first attempt.

Early in the second quarter Central gained control of the ball on a steal from C.J. McTizic. Central’s Coulter Vestal made the first basket in the second quarter after another McTizic steal, and McTizic followed up this basket with a basket of his own.

But a steal from Nelson, a basket by West’s Nick Jaimez, an amazing three-point shot from Nelson followed by another jumper gave West a 24-11 halftime advantage.

The second half would see more exceptional scoring from West with two baskets from Chandler Scmidt, four from Nelson and one each from Ryan Scott and Evan Sloan.

Meanwhile Central fought back with buckets by McTizic, Vestal, Matt Goering and two from Bonner, one of which he shot off an assist from Antonio Garcia.

After a quick steal by West’s John Loch, Jaimez went on to score the last tally for his squad, while Central’s McTizic made another basket, and Bo Schneider threw an assist to Matthew Ruder for another hoop before the game ended.

Ofer was happy about West’s win to start the season and said he looks to the team to continue its outstanding efforts.

“It felt good to win our first game, we really got to work the rust out and I think we played well,” Ofer said. “The team is really talented, I expect them to work really hard and play well this season.”