Welcome to the boys championship preview! For a recap of the semifinals from Milledgeville this past weekend, go here.
From earlier this season:
Providence Christian Storm vs. Westside-Augusta Patriots
When, where: 3 p.m. Thursday, Macon Coliseum
Records, seeds, rankings: Providence Christian is 27-4, the No. 1 seed from Region 8 and ranked No. 5; Westside is 24-7, the No. 1 seed from Region 4 and ranked No. 2.
Coaches: Providence Christian, Joey Thacker (fourth season); Westside, Jerry Hunter (fourth season)
Notes: The Westside Patriots, as defending champions, opened the season ranked No. 1 but hit a couple of rough patches during the season, losing the top spot to Columbia. However, they regrouped, won 2A’s deepest region, Region 4, and have shown the state they’re every bit as capable as last year’s championship-winning team.
In the semifinals against Columbia, Patriots senior guard Khalon Hudson made another strong case for AJC 2A player of the year. He pulled down 25 rebounds to go with 14 points, three steals and a block.* Seemingly always playing at 100 mph, he’s the engine, but he’s just one of several who can not only run the floor, but play well above the rim. Senior forward Jalexs Ewing is another.
Though the Storm can shoot a lot of 3s, what gets the crowd even more involved are dunks. They can be demoralizing to their opponent, swing the crowd in their favor and even generate intrigue from the opposing team’s fans.
The Patriots have shooters too though, led by senior Amauri Tillman. Through 30 games, he has 71 3-pointers on 36-percent shooting. His buzzer-beating bank shot from well beyond the 3-point line at the end of the first half chipped at a Columbia run to give the Pats a 39-27 lead heading into the locker room.
Against Columbia, they seemed to always be in position on defense, contesting every Eagles shot, and ready for a rebound to take the other way for a dunk.
By the end of the third quarter, however, Columbia had cut the deficit to 43-41. The Eagles got dangerously close to taking a lead, tying the game twice in the fourth quarter. The Eagles trailed 53-50 with 11.4 seconds left, but the Patriots defense forced them into a turnover before they could attempt a shot.
When it came time to close out the win, the Patriots were prepared. Leaning on years of experience in close games, and driven by the chance to repeat, they put the game away at the free throw line, where they scored their final four points in the final 25.4 seconds. When they missed free throws with 43.5 and 36 seconds remaining, they grabbed the offensive rebound to bleed more clock and draw fouls, including the fifth from Eagles guard Trevian Callaway with 40.3 seconds left.
Not only were the Eagles ranked No. 1, they were thought of by many to be the team with best chance prevent the Patriots from repeating. If that perception is reality, that would make the Storm a considerable underdog heading into the championship.
The scouting report on the Storm couldn’t be more transparent. They are unapologetically a 3-point shooting team, and they’ve made more than 300 this season. When they’re falling, the lead swells fast. If they’re struggling, they’ll continue to shoot all the same. You can’t argue with the success, either. Not only are they shattering every 3-point record in program history, they’re winning.
They reached the second round of the 1A Private tournament in each of the previous three seasons, and with their 59-49 win over Model, they’re in the championship for the first time in school history, which dates to 1991. Their 78-74 win over No. 9 North Cobb Christian in the second round got them to the quarterfinals, where they’d been in 2002 and 2010, but never further. In the quarters, they beat No. 4 Spencer, which won 4A last year, 84-70.
In the semis, they played a Model team that, although unranked, matched up well with the Storm because they too liked to live and die by the 3. The difference came down to the athleticism and abilities of the Storm’s best player, senior guard Devin McClain, and junior Blue Devil Jeremias Heard, a 6-foot-9, 275-pound post recently offered by Tennessee football.
Heard’s size and ability created open looks for the Blue Devils’ undersized guards, which kept the game close — the score was 52-48 with 3:11 left — but as the Storm began to pull away, Heard fouled out with 26.6 seconds left and his team down 55-49.
Though the Patriots played the No. 1 team in the the semis, it could be argued the Storm still had the tougher path. They played more ranked teams (two) and defending champions (one) than the Patriots did.
It will be a challenge for the Storm, especially from long-range, because in all likelihood, the Patriots won’t be giving them many open looks. McClain is good enough to consistently generate scoring for the Storm in this game, but he’ll need help.
As hard as it may be for some to imagine the Storm running with Westside for four quarters, as Thacker noted, Spencer was the more athletic team, and they managed to compete.
If the Patriots play the way they’ve been playing since the region playoffs, it’s easy to picture them winning by a lot. Any deviation from that path, however, would create a window for the Storm to try and shoot its way through, and they’ve shown they can make the opponent pay.
*Correction: A previous version of the story had Hudson with a different rebound total
About the Author
