MACON – Westside High School brought home its first state championship in more than 25 years Thursday as the Patriots beat cross town rivals Butler Bulldogs 64-55 for the Georgia High School Association AA title at the Macon Centerplex.
“It’s amazing,” said Jerry Hunter after the game. “The whole city came down for this.”
The stands were filled with Augusta fans on opposing sides for a game that showed it’s not how you start but how you finish.
The Bulldogs barreled out of the gate to draw first blood with a three-pointer by Gemaureon Belton and dominated the first half, leading after the first quarter 22-11 and at the half 38-32.
But a different team came out of the Patriots’ locker room after the half
“I had to make them understand that it was still a high school basketball game,” he said.
That helped calm their nerves and everything seemed to click. They were able to do the things that put them into the finals, he said.
It would be nearly three minutes into the third before Butler scored. The Patriots put seven unanswered points on the board, and Amauri Tillman’s three-pointer put Westside ahead for the first time 39-38. Butler immediately took the lead back.
The lead changed hands several times until the Patriots broke ahead with another Tillman three-pointer 44-43. The Patriots would end the third 51-45.
Hunter said the finals were a great event with no losers, but a game with two great teams.
“We just brought home the trophy,” he said.
He and Butler Coach Cervantes Boddy are friends, he said.
In fact, there was talk about the teams carpooling to Macon, but “we had to bring the cheerleaders” so that nixed those plans, he said.
After the game, there were plenty of hugs and high-fives on the Westside end of the court.
Jalexs Ewing hugged teammate Khalon Hudson and said “I told you, bro.”
Ewing’s mom Angela Jackson brought several family members along to cheer her son on.
“I’m so excited,” she said. “I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”
Going into the game, the Bulldogs were ahead 2-1 on season matchups, having won the first two meetings in the regular season, but it was the Patriots who won the last two including the region championships and the state title.
