It had been 14 years since Westlake’s boys basketball team won a state championship, so patience was not a concern in the Class AAAAAA championship game.
The Lions went to overtime against Pebblebrook, a team they’d beaten three times in the regular season.
Westlake held the ball for the first three minutes of the extra period, scored, got a turnover, scored again and went on to win the final game of the high school basketball season 68-58 late Saturday night in Macon. Pebblebrook failed to score in the extra period.
“In this tense situation, I wanted two or three opportunities that I could control,’’ Westlake coach Darron Rogers told AJC reporter David Purdum about
Credit: Todd Holcomb
Credit: Todd Holcomb
the overtime strategy. “And if my guys played well – and I thought they did at the end – it tends to make the other team panic. I’ve used that throughout my career, because they won’t put in a shot-clock in high school. So maybe after some of this, they may consider.”
Westlake (27-4) is No. 1 in the final basketball poll of the season. The championship was the third in school history, first since 2002, all under Rogers.
McEachern was the girls champion in the highest classification after beating No. 1 Tucker 71-51 in the final. McEachern, ranked No. 3 entering the state playoffs, became the first school to win three straight girls titles in the high class since Collins Hill (2005-07), and first to win four in five seasons since Morrow (1989-93).
DeKalb County ruled AAAAA, as usual.
Miller Grove’s boys defeated previously unbeaten and top-ranked Allatoona 50-48 for their seventh state title in eight seasons. Southwest DeKalb’s girls beat Winder-Barrow 49-48 to win their fifth state championship overall.
Sharman White of Miller Grove became the 10th boys coach to win six state titles while Kathy Richey-Walton of Southwest DeKalb became the eighth girls coach to win five titles.
Counting private schools, DeKalb teams have won 20 of the past 22 boys and girls championships in the second-highest classification.
In AAAA, Liberty County's boys and Americus-Sumter's girls won the first state championships in any sport in their schools' histories. Liberty beat two-time defending champion and No. 1 Jonesboro 58-52 in their final. Americus-Sumter, which entered No. 1, defeated Veterans 56-38.
In AAA, Morgan County became 17th school to win boys and girls titles in the same season but the first outside of metro Atlanta since Clinch County in 1987. The boys defeated defending champion Jenkins 66-56, and the girls defeated Jackson of Atlanta 68-61.
Pace Academy’s boys won AA for their school’s first state title in boys basketball. Pace defeated Manchester 65-43 in the final. Pace became the seventh school to win football and boys basketball state titles in the same academic year, the first since Norcross in 2012-13.
Holy Innocents’ beat Wesleyan 66-64 in overtime for the AA girls championship. The title was the second in school history for Holy Innocents’ and the first since 1999. It denied Wesleyan its 12th championship since 2002.
Greenforest’s boys, nationally ranked, beat two-defending champion St. Francis 78-66 for the Class A private boys title. St. Francis’, the defending girls champion, beat Greenforest 63-37 in the final.
The Class A public champions are Wilkinson County (boys) and Turner County (girls).
Wilkinson County coach Aaron Geter became the first boys coach in 52 years, third in history, to win an eighth state title. Eric “Fesser” Staples of Perry was the last to do it in 1964. Wilkinson beat Hancock Central 55-42.
Turner County (31-0) was the only boys or girls team to finish undefeated. Turner beat Terrell County 55-38.
BOYS
Class AAAAAA
1. Westlake (27-4)
2. Pebblebrook (23-10)
3. Shiloh (24-6)
4. Newton (26-5)
5. Norcross (26-4)
6. McEachern (26-4)
7. Wheeler (22-6)
8. Milton (23-9)
9. Tift County (26-3)
10. Campbell (21-9)
Class AAAAA
1. Miller Grove (30-2)
2. Allatoona (31-1)
3. Cedar Shoals (29-3)
4. McIntosh (29-3)
5. Gainesville (21-6)
6. South Paulding (25-5)
7. Riverwood (29-2)
8. Southwest DeKalb (25-6)
9. Warner Robins (21-3)
10. LaGrange (23-6)
Class AAAA
1. Liberty County (28-1)
2. Jonesboro (28-5)
3. Grady (28-4)
4. Lithonia (25-6)
5. Sandy Creek (21-8)
6. Monroe (22-7)
7. St. Pius (24-7)
8. Westover (19-12)
9. Bainbridge (21-9)
10. Eagle’s Landing (24-5)
Class AAA
1. Morgan County (26-4)
2. Jenkins (28-5)
3. Calhoun (27-1)
4. South Atlanta (25-7)
5. Laney (26-3)
6. Cedar Grove (21-8)
7. Central-Macon (27-3)
8. Westside-Augusta (22-7)
9. Johnson-Savannah (20-8)
10. East Hall (21-8)
Class AA
1. Pace Academy (20-10)
2. Crawford County (25-4)
3. Thomasville (28-2)
4. Manchester (25-6)
5. Lovett (22-7)
6. Monticello (21-11)
7. Dublin (25-5)
8. Greater Atlanta Christian (18-10)
9. Holy Innocents' (20-10)
10. Early County (21-7)
Class A (Private)
1. Greenforest Christian (30-2)
2. St. Francis (23-8)
3. Stratford Academy (21-6)
4. North Cobb Christian (23-5)
5. Whitefield Academy (20-11)
6. Lakeview Academy (25-5)
7. Pacelli (17-10)
8. Tattnall Square (18-10)
9. King's Ridge (15-12)
10. Our Lady of Mercy (21-5)
Class A (Public)
1. Wilkinson County (26-6)
2. Hancock Central (24-7)
3. Taylor County (21-8)
4. Treutlen (26-4)
5. Turner County (23-7)
6. Calhoun County (18-10)
7. Lincoln County (17-8)
8. Hawkinsville (17-10)
9. Central-Talbotton (17-10)
10. Randolph-Clay (18-10)
GIRLS
Class AAAAAA
1. McEachern (25-7)
2. Tucker (27-5)
3. Douglas County (28-2)
4. West Forsyth (25-7)
5. Parkview (23-8)
6. Westlake (25-6)
7. Norcross (25-5)
8. Collins Hill (25-4)
9. Archer (25-5)
10. Harrison (23-6)
Class AAAAA
1. Southwest DeKalb (27-6)
2. Winder-Barrow (26-7)
3. Brunswick (30-3)
4. Sequoyah (25-7)
5. Flowery Branch (29-2)
6. Mays (22-8)
7. Columbus (23-6)
8. Grovetown (28-2)
9. Warner Robins (22-3)
10. Carver-Columbus (24-5)
Class AAAA
1. Americus-Sumter (31-1)
2. Veterans (27-5)
3. Buford (25-6)
4. Marist (28-3)
5. Wayne County (25-6)
6. Carrollton (25-6)
7. Bainbridge (24-7)
8. Mount Zion-Jonesboro (25-5)
9. Jonesboro (20-5)
10. Griffin (23-7)
Class AAA
1. Morgan County (28-3)
2. Jackson-Atlanta (30-2)
3. Laney (25-5)
4. Beach (27-5)
5. Johnson-Savannah (25-7)
6. Peach County (26-3)
7. Kendrick (27-3)
8. Hart County (24-6)
9. West Hall (21-9)
10. Ringgold (24-5)
Class AA
1. Holy Innocents' (27-5)
2. Wesleyan (27-5)
3. Pelham (26-2)
4. Putnam County (26-5)
5. Greater Atlanta Christian (20-10)
6. Model (28-1)
7. Rabun County (25-4)
8. Vidalia (23-5)
9. Swainsboro (20-9)
10. Heard County (23-6)
Class A (Private)
1. St. Francis (31-1)
2. Greenforest Christian (27-1)
3. SW Atlanta Christian (17-12)
4. Eagle's Landing Christian (18-9)
5. Calvary Day (28-2)
6. Tattnall Square (25-3)
7. Stratford Academy (23-4)
8. Lakeview Academy (23-7)
9. Our Lady of Mercy (21-4)
10. Mount Paran Christian (21-6)
Class A (Public)
1. Turner County (31-0)
2. Terrell County (24-4)
3. Wheeler County (21-7)
4. Greenville (20-9)
5. Taylor County (26-3)
6. Calhoun County (19-8)
7. Treutlen (17-9)
8. Telfair County (18-10)
9. Woodville-Tompkins (17-11)
10. Commerce (17-8)
