MACON -- Westside-Augusta coach Jerry Hunter had a feeling his team was going to have a good afternoon when he watched them take warmups. Instead of seeing a team that was overhyped and anxious he saw a poised group go through pregame drills, just as if it was another game.
Then he saw DeMarco Middleton and Xavier Goss, a pair of seniors who have been through the state championship drama, approach some of the younger, less experienced players and tell them what to expect.
Hunter correctly read the room. His quietly confident No. 1-ranked Westside team established its dominance early and rolled to a 64-29 win over No. 4 Toombs County in the Class 2A championship game at the Macon Coliseum.
It was the third straight state championship for Westside.
Can anyone say dynasty?
“We’ve got to continue to cook,” Hunter said. “I mean, the recipe and the ingredients are there.”
Westside took care of business early with a 10-0 run to start the game and built a 16-7 lead after one quarter. After allowing Toombs County to stick around, Westside closed the half with a 10-2 run and a 31-14 lead.
The only real highlight for Toombs came early in the second quarter when Dominic Eason took an alley-oop pass from Jesus Quintero and leaped over a defender for the most thunderous dunk of the tournament. It hardly bothered Westside, which responded with a 3-pointer and went about its business.
Westside (28-4) was led by LaVontay Ivery with 14 points and Jarious Adkinson with 11 points. Middleton had eight rebounds and Bobby Blackwell had three blocked shots. The Patriots dominated in the paint, outscoring Toombs County 34-6 inside.
Toombs County (29-3) was led by Dominic Eason with nine points and six rebounds. The Bulldogs were making their first appearance in the championship game.
Westside prepared for the playoff run by playing a difficult schedule. The Patriots beat McDonough (the No. 1 team in Class 4A) split with rivals Thomson (No. 2 in 2A) and Butler (No. 3 in 2A). They beat Keenan (S.C.), but not Kell, who wasn’t on the schedule.
Perhaps the most difficult thing for Westside is keeping everyone. There were nine underclassmen on the championship roster.
“But we’re in a time now where kids are being distracted by so many bad things. You may have somebody here trying to pull them one way and put them back another,” Hunter said. “We’re going to get them back together as much as possible but keeping them together in this day and time is tough.”
Click here to see the official box score.
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
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