Westside High School boys’ basketball team is headed back to the Final Four on a path to win its third straight state title.
The Patriots defeated Model 78-40 at their final home game in the Elite Eight round of the Georgia High School Basketball State tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
Westside had a big test as Model outmatched them in size, but the Patriots were prepared going into Wednesday’s matchup.
“The message was to impose your will,” said Westside Coach Jerry Hunter. “The guys have been battle tested early this year. We played up to the challenge, so impose your will and see who they are.”
The Patriots began the game on a 11-0 scoring run and did not look back as they led by 23 points at halftime.
Westside continued to outmatch Model in effort by getting offensive rebounds and second chance points. Effort on defense was also key for Westside with good transition defense and stopping the fastbreak.
“Today we rebounded like a championship team. Overall, we still got some errors to improve, but we rebounded like a championship team,” Hunter said.
Javan Webb led the Patriots with 20 points off the bench in the 38-point victory.
Westside now heads to its third straight Final Four appearance after winning at home for the final time this season. Hunter says he has seen his team grow a lot and talked about this championship run compared to the others.
“The guys that left, these guys had to take on the burden of those guys that established a championship culture, so it was their job to maintain,” Hunter said. “They grew up, and they are starting to accept the responsibility of that.”
Senior DeMarco Middleton has been with the Patriots for all three championship runs and says his senior team has stood out with its versatility.
“This team we will go get it, no matter the size. We can play undersized, up-tempo, big; it doesn’t really matter,” said Middleton.
Westside will now play top-seeded Columbia Saturday at Georgia College in Milledgeville for a chance to go back to the state title game, where Patriots could potentially face cross-town rival Butler who also won Wednesday 51-47 over South Atlanta and plays in the Final Four Saturday against Toombs County at 3 p.m. at Georgia College.
“I feel like we’re the underdog,” Hunter said. “Columbia is an established program, and this our third time going in a row, but at the same time we are going to work. We always tell them, when you are arrogant, you are trying to prove something to somebody. When you are confident, you trying to improve and these guys are trying to improve and they have improved in practice on and off the court.”
Christopher Rickerson, an Augusta University graduate, has covered area sports for Augusta University, The Augusta Press and Augusta Good News. Subscribe to the Augusta Good News newsletter here.
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