No. 3-ranked Westlake pulled away from No. 4 Norcross late in the game for a 61-50 win on Saturday in the second round of the AAAAAA state tournament, sending the Lions to the quarterfinals.
All it took was a daring clock management strategy on the Lions’ part.
With 5:46 remaining and with the Lions nursing a 47-46 lead, Westlake guard James Lewis stood near mid-court dribbling the ball. And dribbling. Two entire minutes went off the clock before a Blue Devils defender came out to pressure him.
Lewis then dumped the ball to Westlake’s top player, forward Chuma Okeke, at the top of the key and Okeke turned and drove toward the basket, drawing a foul with 3:45 remaining. He sank both free throws to give the Lions a 49-46 lead they never looked back from.
Okeke’s free throws were part of an 8-0 Lions run, and they closed the fourth quarter on a 15-4 run to end the Blue Devils’ season.
“We wanted to shorten the game,” said Lions coach Darron Rogers, who was drawing ire from the home crowd and Blue Devils coach Jamie McMillan while Lewis melted the clock. “Norcross is so talented and they shoot a lot of 3s, so I figured (McMillan’s) not going to (have his defenders) coming out (to pressure Lewis) because he doesn’t want me dictating what he does. So I said, ‘Let’s see what happens.’”
The gamble paid off and the Lions seized momentum. Norcross seemed flustered by the move and only managed two free throws and a layup off a turnover the rest of the way.
“It’s coach’s decision and we made a decision on my side not to step out and guard, so it’s frustrating,” said McMillan, who glared at Rogers with both hands in the air as the seconds turned to minutes.
“I guess that’s a discussion for a shot clock on another day, but it is what it is. I don’t think those two minutes determined the game. If anything, shortening the fourth quarter may have actually worked in our favor if we had made a couple of shots.”
Shortening the fourth quarter had its benefits for both teams in a game that was back-and-forth, with the lead switching hands eight times and with both teams in foul trouble. Okeke and forward Ronald Bell played all of the fourth quarter with four fouls for the Lions, and Blue Devils star forward Rayshaun Hammonds fouled out a little more than a minute into the fourth quarter.
“(Hammonds) is a big part of what we do,” McMillan said. “When we had all of our guys on the floor we were competing on the glass, and when he went out it changed pretty much everything for us offensively and defensively.”
The Lions (24-4) were led by Lewis’ 18 points, followed by Okeke’s 17. Bell and Raquan Wilkins each had 11.
As a No. 1 seed from Region 3, Westlake advances to play Shiloh, a No. 1 seed from Region 8, at 8:15 p.m. next Thursday at West Georgia.
Shiloh, ranked No. 5, beat North Cobb 51-37 on Saturday.
Freshman guard Kyle Sturdivant led all scorers with 19 for the Blue Devils (26-4), a No. 2 seed from Region 7. Lance Thomas added 14 points and Hammonds finished with 11.
Norcross 17 15 18 4 — 50
Westlake 16 11 19 15 — 61
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