At halftime of Monday’s Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 2 West boys basketball game between the Wolverines and Maple Grove three banners were unveiled. There was a banner for both 2022 Westfield graduate Darien Swanson and current Westfield senior Haleigh Dellow to commemorate their success as First Team All-State athletes in basketball and softball respectively.

There was also be a banner dedicated to the Westfield boys basketball team that captured the 2022 Section VI Class D championship.

So regardless of the outcome of the game it was a memorable night for the Westfield fans, but there was something on the line to make it even more special. Sophomore and current Section VI leading scorer Carson Swanson — Darien’s younger brother — came into the game 25 points away from 1,000 in his varsity career.

Just as he has done every night he’s stepped on the floor with the Wolverines this season, Swanson stole the spotlight as he scored 27 points to reach 1,002, grabbed four rebounds, dished four assists and made three steals to lead Westfield past Maple Grove 64-47.

Westfield sophomore Carson Swanson is pictured with a basketball commemorating his 1,000th career point Monday during the Wolverines’ CCAA Division 2 West game against Maple Grove. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

“I was just happy that it was tonight because there was a lot of people here which made the atmosphere great,” Swanson said about reaching 1,000 points. “It was great to do it in front of most of my family because they’re in town and my brother came in town for his award, so it’s great to do it with everyone here.”

The Red Dragons (7-12, 3-9) hung with Westfield (13-7, 8-4) for most of the night thanks largely to Colin McPherson’s 20 points and four rebounds. But it was Swanson who received the secondary scoring necessary to pull away with the Westfield bigs playing well in the paint.

Chris Rotunda recorded a double-double for the Wolverines with 10 points and 13 rebounds while Chris Vacanti had a season-high 13 points and eight rebounds.

“The game in Clymer the other night my big guys weren’t really quick enough to guard the perimeter shooters and they didn’t play much,” Westfield head coach Nolan Swanson said. “Tonight was the opposite. We started to get them a little down low with my big guys Vacanti and Rotunda. Different personnel tonight versus the Clymer game the other day.”

The secondary scoring was necessary for the Wolverines’ success as Maple Grove keyed in on Carson Swanson, making it difficult for him to get easy baskets. His 1,000th point came in the fourth quarter and it was not off the typical Swanson jumper, but rather him working hard under the basket and laying it off the glass.

“He’s just so much more physically strong,” Coach Swanson said about his son. “If you saw him play last year,he rarely went to the hoop and now it’s an every-play thing. The amount of times he gets fouled in the game the other teams get sick of it. He takes a physical beating, but for our team right now when we get another guy going it just takes so much off of him.”

MAPLE GROVE (47)

Cresanti 1 0 2, Foley 2 4 9, McPherson 7 6 20, Rodgers 1 0 2, Bower 1 0 2, Laney 2 0 4, Barton 0 0 0, Colburn 0 0 0, Schroder 0 0 0, Mansfield 3 1 8, Brown 0 0 0. Totals 17 11 47.

WESTFIELD (64)

Strang 3 0 7, Russo 0 0 0, Lawrence 0 0 0, Tuah 0 0 0, Swanson 8 9 27, Ormsby 1 0 2, Vacanti 6 1 13, Rac 1 0 2, Larson 1 0 2, Rotunda 4 2 10, Fuller 0 1 1. Totals 24 13 64.

3-point goals–Foley, Mansfield, Strang, Swanson 2.

Maple Grove 12 13 11 11 — 47

Westfield 15 14 21 14 — 64