HOUGHTON – Two students of the Irv Dieterle school of basketball met up when Houghton hosted Westwood Friday night in boys basketball play.

Houghton coach Jared Lawson got the best of former teammate Chad Hewitt of WHS at Alumni Gym, taking a 51-40 decision.

“That was a typical Irv (Dieterle) kind of game,” Lawson said. “Tight defense and picking good shots…. was the way he liked it.”

Dieterle carved out an Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame career at Westwood by preaching those proponents.

On Senior Night, the Gremlins also had just a bit more offensive punch.

Seniors Sean Hyslop and Justin Ruotsala each tossed in 14 points to show the way. Point guard Ri Chen added eight points, three steals and three assists while adeptly handling the Patriots’ pressure.

“I was very pleased with the way our seniors played,” Lawson said.

After trailing by just a 26-20 margin at halftime, the game got away from the Patriots in the third quarter and early stages of the fourth.

The Marquette County team could manage just two points (two free throws by Luke Gray) in that time and fell behind by a 37-22 score.

“We came out flat and got away from what we were doing in the first half,” Hewitt said. “And Houghton was ready to play…. they hit some big shots.”

Westwood did improve its play later in the final as Gray and Ryan Stanaway tallied eight points apiece. But after edging to within 46-38 with 1:44 left, the Pats had to foul.

Chen converted three of four at the line, and Hunter Richards and Hyslop hit one each, to wrap it up.

Hewitt said his team, 7-11 on the season, has to improve on certain things to get ready for the postseason.

“We have to avoid being complacent on offense,” he said. “We can’t settle for long range jump shots like we did tonight.”

Gray paced the Patriots with 15 points, while Stanaway chipped in 10 points and 6 rebounds.

Lawson said his team is getting used to using tough defense to set the tempo of a game.

“The kids know that’s going to be the kind of game we need to play when we play the bigger Class B schools,” he said.