Rebounding nicely: Westlake makes strides after incurring its first loss of the season
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- Westlake’s Malik Sika lays it in for two of his 16 points scored in an 84-51 win over Riverton on Friday. January 30, 2026
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- Westlake’s Lincoln Norwood pulls up for a jumper during his team’s 84-51 win over Riverton on Friday. January 30, 2026
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- Westlake received contributions from everyone on the floor in a 84-51 win over Riverton on Friday. January 30, 2026
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- Westlake point guard Graydin Anderson scored 17 points and controlled the flow of the game in an 84-51 win over Riverton. January 30, 2026
Rebounding perhaps isn’t the most exciting stat when looking over any particular team’s boxscore, but for the Westlake boys basketball team, it often plays the deciding factor.
It certainly did during the Thunder’s impressive 84-51 win over Riverton on Friday, in which the visiting Silverwolves were severely deprived of any second-chance opportunities. Time and again the Thunder made any opposing possession a one-and-done prospect, and it’s absolutely been a key contributor and focus during their impressive 18-1 record this season.
“We really emphasize rebounding,” said Westlake coach Nate Carling. “My father over there, he’s old school, and even though rebounding has sort of become old-fashioned, and not cool to do anymore, but that’s not how we look at it. We teach boxing out and all the old techniques to rebound the ball as effectively as possible.”
Nate Carling’s father is Ron Carling, who coached for 24 years at the Utah prep level, and won two state championships with Alta High School. Ron Carling is now part of his son’s staff at Westlake, and has imparted a lot of wisdom to a team that has incurred just one loss through 19 games played this season.
“Every practice it’s a focus,” said Westlake senior guard Graydin Anderson. “Coaches are big on it, and every game we go out there with the mindset of grabbing every rebound that’s possible, and it’s really helped us.”
It’s a basic numbers game, as far as rebounds are concerned. Securing defensive rebounds prevents opposing teams from more scoring opportunities, while grabbing offensive boards, in turn, increases your opportunities.
“You win the rebounding battle and you’re almost certainly going to win the game,” Nate Carling explained. “So we emphasize getting as many offensive rebounds as then limiting offensive rebounds on the other end. That’s our main focus and key in every game that we play.”
So far the focus has worked to secure wins in every game played, save for a tough 67-66 loss to Herriman a little more than a week prior to Friday’s win over Riverton. The loss was tough to take, as most any loss is, although it helped the team refocus and very well could work as a catalyst to achieve an even higher level of play.
“Honestly, I think it was good for us to have that loss,” Anderson said. “You never want to lose, but it helps us know what we need to do better.”
Nate Carling agrees with Anderson’s assessment.
“I honestly would have hated to enter the state tournament without a loss. I wouldn’t love that,” he said. “You appreciate what winning is more when you lose. And honestly, it was starting to feel a little heavy having zero losses. It was a really tough loss too, and we had a chance to win at the end. But the important thing is how we react and learn from it, and so far I’ve been impressed with how we’ve done that.”
Using Friday’s big 33-point win as any sort of indicator, the Thunder have recovered quite nicely.
Leading the way for Westlake in the win over Riverton was Brody Thompson, who scored a game-high 19 points which included five made 3-pointers. Anderson contributed 17 with Malik Sika adding 16. As it often is for the Thunder, it was a complete team effort which bespeaks to the unique continuity and camaraderie the team enjoys.
“Most of us have been playing together since the fifth or sixth grade,” Anderson said. “We know each other very well and we love playing together. We share the ball, keep the ball moving, and we’ve been doing it together for a long time now. All (my teammates) are my boys. I love all of them.”
Westlake has four games left in the regular season, which includes a rematch date with Herriman to close things out before the state tournament.
