Westside traveled to Thomson Friday and earned a 66-50 win in a region battle between class 2A state championship contenders. All five of Westside’s starters scored in double figures, led by senior Khalon Hudson, who scored 18 points and ripped down 19 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive end. Junior Marco Middleton scored 16 points and snagged 2 steals, while senior Jalexs Ewing added 11, junior Xavier Goss scored 11, and AuMauri Tillman contributed 10.
Westside held a double digit advantage throughout most of the second and third quarters. But Thomson began the final period with a run, and an open court layup by junior Lavonta Ivery eventually cut the deficit to 47-41 with 5:53 remaining. However, the Patriots immediately responded with an 11-0 run that spanned three minutes and put the game out of reach.
The decisive spurt started when Marco Middleton answered Ivery’s bucket with a three point play. And after two free throws by junior Xavier Goss, Hudson rebounded a missed three pointer by Middleton and scored a lefty jump hook off the glass. Middleton then stole the ball from Jah’Kiaus Jones before Jones crossed half court and Middleton made a layup to give Westside a 56-41 lead. Finally, Hudson assisted AuMauri Tillman for a layup with 2:50 remaining to put the Patriots ahead by 17.
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Westside led 34-21 at halftime after Hudson scored 10 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in the first two quarters alone. During the third quarter, the No. 1 ranked Patriots made their presence felt during a two-minute sequence in which Ewing, a 6’3” guard, dunked the ball over a Bulldog defender without a running start.
Ewing followed that thrilling finish with a defensive rebound and an assist to Hudson on the fast break. Hudson then made a block in transition and followed that by finishing an alley oop dunk from Ewing on the other end to give the Patriots a 45-30 lead with 2:47 left in the third quarter.
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Westside, the returning state champion, improved to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in class 2A, region 4 action. No. 3 ranked Thomson fell to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in region play. Of course, Thomson is fresh off last Friday’s state championship game football victory. So the Bulldogs will be in better basketball rhythm soon.
Follow Chad Cook’s coverage of local sports on Facebook and Instagram at @AugustaPressSports, and on Twitter at @AugPressSports
