ISHPEMING — Westwood was unable to make a big first quarter hold up as Norway escaped with a 49-40 boys basketball victory at the Patriots’ gym on Thursday night.

Led by big men Blake Hewitt and David Delarye, Westwood raced to a 21-3 lead after one quarter.

“We came shooting hot and playing aggressively,” WHS coach Chad Hewitt said. “We really tried to pound it inside with our two bigs.”

Delarye scored 11 of his game-high 19 points in the opening quarter while Hewitt had eight of his 12 then.

Then Hewitt said the Knights, ranked No. 3 in the Upper Peninsula in Class ABC, switched to more of a zone defense while applying more pressure, denying the two scoring stars access inside and forcing a number of turnovers.

Norway chipped away at its deficit, trailing 26-14 at halftime and just 32-31 at the end of the third quarter.

Westwood was only a few points down going into the last few minutes, but was forced to foul and Norway made 10 of 10 at the line in the final quarter.

Connor Ortman led the Knights with 16 points, while Micah Wilson had 15.

Westwood, which won the JV game 35-33, opens a varsity doubleheader at home against Negaunee at 6 p.m. today.

Rapid River 61, Superior Central 51