THOMSON — After 16 consecutive wins to start the season, the Thomson boys’ basketball team lost 55-42 against region rival Westside on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at the Dog Pound.
The Patriots had lost to Thomson on their home floor 71-68 earlier in the season. Westside Coach Jerry Hunter said this game was different as his team was more focused coming in.
“Last time, we had some locker room issues going on,” Hunter said. “Losing that game hurts, but losing the locker room was the main pressure, and we were able to get through that and bounce back.”
Westside began the game with an early 5-0 run, but Thomson fought the entire game and cut the lead to 14-11 after one quarter.
The Bulldogs took a 17-16 lead after a 3-pointer from Storm Hunt, but the Patriots edged out the first half by a score of 23-21.
Both teams began the second half with 3-pointers, but Westside’s Demarco Middleton began to get hot from the field, and the Patriots went into the fourth quarter with a four-point lead.
A 16-point second half from Middleton and the Patriots team defense helped Westside push away with a double-digit victory.
Middleton led the game with 24 points in the victory over the Bulldogs. Coach Hunter said Middleton leadership skills showed after his performance.
“His leadership showed tonight,” Hunter said. “I never questioned he could score, but could he get he get his teammates involved and put us in position to win. That proved tonight that he could score as well as facilitate the offense.”
Thomson will look to start another winning streak as the Bulldogs play at Glenn Hills on Friday, Jan. 26. Westside will try and extend its winning streak to eight games as the Patriots play at home in a region game versus Putnam County on the same day.
“We got to clean up a lot offensively and defensively, the main thing is to stay together and stay humble,” Hunter said
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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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