Third-ranked Westlake outscored No. 8 Newton 12-5 in the final two minutes of their Class AAAAAA boys basketball semifinal and escaped with a 64-59 victory Saturday at the University of West Georgia.
Westlake (26-4) will make its first appearance in a state final since its 2010 team was the runner-up in AAAAA, which was the largest classification at the time. The Lions won state titles in 1999 and 2002.
Westlake trailed 54-52 with just under four minutes to play, and neither team scored again until Chuma Okeke’s basket in traffic tied it 54-54 with 1:50 remaining. Okeke gave Westlake a 56-54 lead 25 seconds when stole a pass under his basket and made a layup, and Ronald Bell had a steal and a dunk to make it 58-54. The Lions were 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to seal the victory.
Okeke finished with 22 points to lead the Lions. James Lewis was 4-for-4 on free throws in the final minute to finish with 18 points. Daniel Lewis scored 11 and Bell had 10.
Newton’s JD Notae scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the first half, helping his team to a 30-24 lead. But he picked came out of the game after picking up his second foul with 3:21 remaining in the second quarter. In his absence, Westlake closed the half on a 7-0 run to take a 31-30 lead.
Newton (26-5) outscored Westlake 9-2 to start the third quarter and led 39-33, but the game remained close the rest of the way.
Ashton Hagans and Jaquan Simms scored 12 points each for Newton, and Josh Tukes had 11.
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