In his pregame announcements in anticipation of the Randolph-Westfield boys basketball showdown Saturday night, the organizer of the seventh annual Centercourt Classic offered this prediction over the public-address system.

“I think,” he proclaimed, “we’re going to have a fun one.”

As it turned out, he was right.

Carson Swanson connected on three of four free throws in the final 20 seconds and the Wolverines, the second-ranked team in the New York State Sportswriters Association Class C poll, edged top-ranked Randolph 43-39 in a defensive battle at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute.

The Cardinals’ Drew Hind lines up an open jump shot. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

Swanson, Section VI’s leading scorer, finished with 17 points — just shy of half his average — but he dished out nine assists and had four steals. Combined with teammate Zach Maguire’s 13 points, 14 boards and two blocks, it was just enough for Westfield (14-2) to come away with the victory.

“Just a grudge match of a game,” Wolverines’ head coach Nolan Swanson said. “The defenses are so good and it’s hard to put a stamp on a game like that when it’s so low scoring. … We know each other so well. It’s just a chess match out there.”

The win improved Westfield’s record to 14-2, while the Cardinals dropped to 13-2.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Drew Hind, who poured in a game-high 28 points, including 18 of his team’s 19 in the first half. Griffin Nelson, who hounded Carson Swanson the entire game, added 8.

But Westfield’s defense held the rest of Randolph’s team to a Broden Brooks 3-pointer in the third quarter and just five points in the final period, none in the last 2 minutes, 18 seconds.

Westfield’s Zach Maguire puts a jump shot in the lane during Saturday night’s Centercourt Showcase game against Randolph at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute in Buffalo. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

“Hind is going to get his points,” Coach Swanson admitted. ” … (But) we barely gave up a thing to (Kevin McElwain and Brooks). That’s like a focus of ours to not give up threes that they usually shoot.”

Still, it wasn’t without some anxious moments for the Wolverines.

Trailing 42-39 following a pair of Swanson free throws with 19.7 seconds remaining, the Cardinals did have a chance to tie, but McElwain’s shot from beyond the arc was off the mark, Swanson was fouled with five seconds left and he hit one of two charity tosses to finally put the the game away.

“I’m glad (Randolph) had a couple balls roll off the rim on jumpers they took at the end, and we held on,” Coach Swanson said.

It’s very likely that the two rivals will meet again in the Section VI Class C playoffs. Last season, Randolph downed Westfield 54-48 in overtime in the championship game at Jamestown Community College.

“They’ve won a state title (in 2023) and we haven’t,” Coach Swanson said. “It’s been a little while since we got a section title and they have, so it’s getting over the hump. This is a little step, but it just lets you know we can play with them, but we have to beat them when it matters.”

NOTES: The Wolverines led 23-19 at halftime and 35-34 after three quarters. … Carson Swanson and Hind were the Most Valuable Players for their respective teams.

WESTFIELD (43)

Paddock 0 1 1, BSwanson 0 0 0, Whitesell 0 0 0, Maguire 6 0 13, CSwanson 6 3 17, Thomas 2 0 6, Beadle 3 0 6, Totals 17 4 43.

RANDOLPH (39)

Morrison 0 0 0, Hind 10 5 28, McElwain 0 0 0, Nelson 3 1 8, Conley 0 0 0, Brooks 1 0 3, BHuntington 0 0 0, Totals 14 6 39.

3-point goals — Maguire, CSwanson 2, Thomas 2, Hind 3, Nelson, Brooks.

Westfield 12 11 12 8 — 43

Randolph 5 14 15 5 — 39