Westminster remains perfect improving to 14-0 as they 'grit' out win over Dunwoody

Westminster's Nico Searl #11 dribble penetrates against the Dunwoody defense

The Westminster Wildcats are off to one of their best starts in program history as they improved to 14-0 on Thursday with a 77-72 win over the Dunwoody Wildcats and Westminster senior, Zade Elshihabi leading all players with 31 points, including seven three-point baskets.

"That was a good one," Westminster head coach, Matt Hixenbaugh, said after the Wildcats win, praising Dunwoody for how much of a challenge they made it for Westminster to remain unbeaten. "They're a really good team, they're well coached, they've got players and they play the right way," Hixenbaugh said of how competitive Dunwoody made Thursday's game.

"They capitalize on every mistake and so for our guys, you had to deal with a good team and adversity and demonstrate some grit to get things done in the end," Hixenbaugh said as he credited his players for their efforts to overcome multiple Dunwoody runs in which Westminster would see leads shrink to just one point and in the third quarter, fall behind by five points when they trailed 45-40.

"It was how important the little things are and the consistency to do the little things every trip," Hixenbaugh said of Westminster displaying "toughness" and "trust" when needed throughout the game to help withstand Dunwoody's surges throughout the night.

"Once we started making the extra pass, guys stepped up, made shots and then we had a little more energy defensively and handled the ball and didn't turn it over late," Hixenbaugh said of his players executing their game plan successfully to help secure the win. Westminster will be back in action on Saturday when they take on Lovett in another installment of the "Buckhead Battle".