As the postgame media conglomerate converged around Demarco Middleton, a wide grin spread across his face — presumably for a couple of reasons.
One reason being the Westside teammate standing behind the media group making playfull gestures at Middleton as he prepared to talk about his team’s 78-40 win over Model Wednesday night in the GHSA Class AA state tournament’s Elite Eight round.
But the other reason was more sentimental.
When a reporter asked Middleton about what it felt like to play his last home game in Westside’s gym, he couldn’t hide his glee.
“Man, last home game. Definitely emotional,” Middleton said, still smiling. “I’m gonna miss it a lot. You know, the fans, the environment. Just to go out and play hard and finish the job at the crib and take it to Milledgeville is special.”
Speaking of special, Middleton’s play has been exactly that — including on Wednesday night.
Don’t try to look exclusively at the scorebook to determine just how special it was, though. If you do, you’ll be deceived.
Middleton only scored seven points. But his defense, his constant penetration into the paint and ability to kick the ball out to open shooters, or navigate around the 6-foot-9, 275-pound lane clogger that was Tennessee Volunteers football signee Jeremias Heard is what made Westside go.
With Heard and 6-foot-5 junior Chase Allen, Model had the decisive height advantage, at least in the front court. Although, the Blue Devils’ diminutive guards were soundly overmatched by Westside’s long, rangy backcourt.
But Model’s size down low did nothing to scare Westside from taking the action straight to the big men.
“Just come out and play with energy,” Middleton said of the Westside game plan. “We know they’re bigger than us, so you’ve gotta chop ‘em down piece by piece. They can’t out run us. You know, [if] we get up and down the court, we’ll be good.”
Heard scored 13 points and had five blocked shots, often wagging his finger Dikembe Mutumbo style after every swat. But Westside got the last laugh as it soundly dominated the glass, and at certain points in the game, seemed to be daring Model to stop them from getting to the hoop at will.
“The message was, impose your will,” Westside coach Jerry Hunter said. “The guys had been battle tested earlier this year. McDonough had some size, and we were up to that challenge. So, impose your will and see who they are. They were a No. 1 seed and we were a No. 1 seed. Hats off to their ball club. But we wanted to do it from the defensive side of the ball.
“A lot of times kids want to impose their will from the 3-point line, but we decided to do it on the defensive side of the ball.”
Westside was dominant, literally from the first quarter tip.
The Patriots scored the first 11 points of the game, and held leads of 23-9 after the first quarter and 43-20 at halftime. It was game in which Westside never trailed and Model never threatened to make it much of a contest. And despite the front court size advantage, it was Westside who played like the bigger, more physical team in the paint.
“Today, we rebounded like a championship team,” Hunter said. “Overall, we still have some areas to improve in, but we rebounded like a championship team. We have a thing where we talk about second chance shots. Our guys doubled down. Javon [Webb] did a great job. Overall, rebounds were very important today.”
Webb, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, had a game high 20 points and pulled down double-digit rebounds. Save for a couple of blocked attempts to dunk over Heard, Webb soundly out played the bigger, older player.
To see it was satisfying to Middleton who said the performance simply highlighted the two-time defending state champs’ versatility.
“This team, I feel like we’ll go get it, no matter the [opponent’s] size,” Middleton said. “We can play undersized, up tempo, big. Doesn’t really matter. We’ll go get it.”
Now the Westside story’s page turns to a familiar postseason place over the last three seasons — Milledgeville, where the Class AA Final Four will be played, once again, at Georgia College & State University.
The opponent? The Columbia Eagles (28-3) out of Decatur. Ranked No. 5 in the final regular season Class AA poll, Columbia, as a program, is no stranger to such big stages either. From 2006 through 2012, the Eagles established themselves as a Georgia high school blue blood, winning five state championships during that time, including three straight from 2010-2012.
But for all their program pedigree, that 2012 Class AAA state crown is the school’s last.
Those of you who’ve been around for Westside’s ride these last seasons may remember Columbia’s visit to Westside two seasons ago during the Patriots’ first title run.
Those Eagles were also bigger up front and considered the favorite to win, not just that game, but the state title. But Westside employed a game plan similar to what was constructed for Model — drive the paint relentlessly, collapse multiple defenders around their bigs and crank up the pace.
That year, Westside’s 82-72 win was considered an upset, and the first sign for many that the Patriots were championship ready. And, believe it or not, Hunter thinks Columbia is probably considered the favorite for Saturday’s clash.
“I feel like we’re the underdog,” Hunter said. “Columbia is an established program, and this is our third time going in a row. But at the same time, we’re gonna work, and the confidence we have, we always tell them, when you’re arrogant, you’re trying to prove something to somebody. When you’re confident, you’re trying to improve. And these guys are trying to improve in practice on and off the court.”
And Middleton knows he and this bunch of once-fresh-faced Patriots has fully bought in until the formula for victory in Milledgeville has become simple.
“We’re just trying to make it back,” Middleton said. “We really don’t have a point to prove. Just get better. Get the job done.”
