Penn Charter’s Jake West relishes his role as a clutch shooter: ‘I know how confident I am’
The senior guard’s 27-point performance led the Quakers past Inter-Ac foe Springside Chestnut Hill in overtime on Tuesday.
There was a time when Jake West, now a senior guard at Penn Charter, might have gotten rattled in big moments or succumbed to a hostile crowd.
Those days are gone. His 27-point outburst on Tuesday supplied proof.
West was electric in the open court, poised under pressure, and clutch when the defending Inter-Ac champion Quakers needed him most during a 62-60 overtime win against host Springside Chestnut Hill.
“This was big-time, especially on the road,” West said postgame. “Getting those road wins in the Inter-Ac is huge. It gets really rowdy, and it’s a really competitive league. So just a big road win over a team that’s really skilled.”
Perhaps most impressive was the Northwestern signee’s confidence to take big shots late.
Time spent toiling day and night, he said, supplied the requisite confidence.
“Just my hard work and repetition,” West said. “In the gym, late nights, early mornings just working hard and perfecting my craft. I know I’m able to make those shots because I work really hard for them.”
He does, however, also have a few secret weapons.
“I think it also comes from my parents,” he said. “My mom sends me [inspirational] quotes. My dad always emphasizing being confident. It really comes from them.”
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Shannon and Matt West, though, can’t help between the white lines. That’s often where West, a social media phenomenon with more than 1 million followers on TikTok, endures the wrath of opposing student sections.
When he was a freshman at Plymouth-Whitemarsh, confidence didn’t come naturally. Now, he appears to relish the role.
Both teams entered Tuesday’s contest unbeaten in Inter-Ac play. The Blue Devils jumped to an early double-digit edge in the first half before the Quakers slowly whittled the deficit.
West hit a critical three-pointer from the left wing with less than a minute left in regulation.
Then in overtime, with the SCH crowd abuzz, West tied the game with a jumper from the right elbow. He later drained the game-winning free throws with .8 seconds remaining. He finished 9 of 14 overall with 5 of 8 makes coming from behind the three-point line.
“In a way, it definitely puts a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “It definitely fuels me, but also, I know how confident I am. I work really hard, so I know to just stay focused between those lines, because that’s the only thing that matters.”