The early rounds of the playoffs can still feature games as lopsided as those in the regular season. Especially when a #2 seed plays a #15 seed.

Lopsided, however, isn't a telling enough adjective for the #2 seeded Westbury Dragons' 86-40 drubbing of the #15 seeded Valley Stream South Falcons.

When V.S South's Juan Moya canned a three pointer to put the Falcons up 5-2 in the opening minutes, it appeared as though the game had a chance to be somewhat competitive. Especially when Westbury's leading scorer of late, Sheldon Hagigal, was home battling the flu. Unfortunately, Friday the 13th proved more than mere superstition for the Falcons, as Westbury's depth and trademark swarming pressure defense aborted any thoughts of an upset. Convincingly. Once Westbury's Lamard Herron completed a traditional three point play to tie the score, V.S. South turned the ball over on the ensuing possession and it was all down hill. The Falcons were flustered by the Dragon's full court pressure, as Heron and forward Brian Hailey made highlight reels on the other end with transition buckets, mid range jumpers and solid free throw shooting for a 14-0 Westbury run.

"We're very fortunate that we can go ten deep", said Westbury Head Coach David Graff. "When we have situations like tonight with Sheldon being out, we can still keep pressure on people and use our depth to our advantage."

The 17-9 Westbury lead at the start of the second quarter would only inflate, as the Falcons scoring slump from the field carried over from the first quarter en route to an eleven minute drought. Three free throws from Obinna Nwaigwe would push the Falcons into double digits, but by the time Derek Tillman banked in a lay-up with 3 minutes left in the half, Westbury was up 34-12. Hailey and Heron would combine for 25 first half points, as role players added to the onslaught and by halftime, Westbury held a 40-16 lead. Optimism would hint that it couldn't get much worse for the Falcons in the second half, but in true Friday the 13th fashion, it did. Even as Westbury pulled the plug on their full court press, junior marksman Paris Abrams -who was sidelined with a flu himself during Hagigal's mid season tear- would begin to drain from long distance, as did junior point guard Tyrece Redd. Despite poor free throw shooting, V.S. South began to convert on their field goal attempts, but Westbury would answer every time en route to a 32-12 scoring disparity for the third quarter. Westbury's second unit would continue to pour on points in the late stages of the game, led by Justin Herron's 8 fourth quarter points.

When Westbury thumped league rival Roslyn by half of what V.S. South went down by, their adrenaline rush caused them to get a flat start against Malverne the following game. However, with West Hempstead (undefeated in league play) awaiting for Tuesday's quarterfinal game, the Dragon's can not afford to get off to the same sluggish start.

"I don't think we'll have any problems being focused on Tuesday (against West Hempstead)", Coach Graff said. "I've seen West Hempstead and they're a tremendous team and that will be a tremendous game. They're a legitimate threat, I know it and the team knows it. We won't have any problems getting up for that one."

Lamard Herron led Westbury and all scorers with 15 points (all in the first half). He also dished out 6 assists. Paris Abrams contributed 13 points, while Brian Hailey and Tyrece Redd scored 12 each. Hailey also grabbed 6 rebounds, while Josh Core grabbed 11. Obinna Nwaigwe led Valley Stream South with 9 points.

Westbury will face West Hempstead on Tuesday (2/17) at 1PM in the Quarterfinals at Great Neck South HS.