WESTWOOD — Whether it was in man-to-man or zone, the Westwood boys basketball team’s defense was not going to allow much against Norwood on Wednesday night.

With a suffocating effort on that end of the floor, and just enough on the other, Westwood (6-0) stayed perfect with a 48-39 victory.

“(We want to play like that) every night,” Westwood coach Ryan Douglass said. “That’s our identity. We know we have plenty of firepower on offense. We’ve got guys who can come off the bench and score for us. What really matters is what we do on the defensive end.”

Norwood (4-2) only scored two points in the first quarter. Westwood only allowed six points in a pivotal third quarter. The Mustangs only made their first 3-pointer of the game with 2:03 to play. It was a defensive clinic, and bodes well for a Westwood team that wants to make a deep tournament run in Division 2.

Offensively, junior Eli Ifrah scored 16 points, including two treys. Senior forward Andrew Weeman scored 13 points, also with two from long distance. It was certainly enough for a Westwood team that never trailed.

“He’s tremendous. He’s a college basketball player through and through,” Douglass said of Weeman. “He’s got a lot of interest. When he’s able to let the game come to him, there’s not a whole lot of things he can’t do. But, when he tries to force things, it doesn’t go as great. But he let the game come to himself at times. It was pretty.”

Matty Mahoney led Norwood with 13 points.

“We’re feeling good,” Weeman said. “We’re not satisfied, though. We’re always looking to the next step.”

The Wolverines came out in a 1-2-2 trapping zone, and had Norwood off kilter from the jump. Amari Ashley had four points down low as Westwood took a 13-2 lead after a quarter.

Norwood rallied some in the second, and pulled to within 23-16 by the break despite a banked 3-pointer by Ifrah at the buzzer.

But Westwood pulled away in the third. The key was a 13-0 run that featured back-to-back triples from Vic Ganson and Ryan Gaffney as the Wolverines led 38-22.

Norwood never really threatened after that, and Westwood posted another quality win in the early going.

“I think the hunger is coming off our Elite Eight run last year,” Douglass said. “A lot of guys got tremendous experience, and we want to get back to where we’re supposed to be.”