Southwest boys rally, take down Central
The first week of 2017 turned out to be a good one for the Southwest boys basketball team.
After playing Westside, the No. 1 team in the Score Atlanta GHSA Class 3A rankings, tight into the final minute before losing Tuesday, Southwest came back Friday and defeated Region 3-2A rival Northeast 64-49.
Saturday marked an even bigger accomplishment for the Patriots. They rallied from nearly a double-digit deficit to beat Class 3A No. 4 Central 55-43, giving Southwest an 11-4 record heading into the meat of the Region 3-2A schedule.
Aaron Ridley, whose five points in the final minute of the third quarter contributed to an 8-2 run that wiped out a nine-point edge Central had built earlier in the quarter, had 17 points to lead Southwest. Antarius McCoy scored 16 for Central (11-3), which lost for the first time outside of a holiday tournament this season.
Three who mattered
Ridley: The 6-foot-4 senior guard fueled Southwest’s comeback, forcing the tempo at both ends of the floor. He scored 11 points in the second half, including a dunk with 34 seconds to go in the third quarter that tied the game.
Kenterrious Goolsby: The 6-foot senior guard made three 3-pointers in the second half, including one with 4:11 to go that put the Patriots up for good. He finished with 12 points.
McCoy: Central’s top player was keyed on by Southwest defenders in the second half. While he managed to score nine points after the break, only one other Central player (Tyrice Paul, seven points) finished with five or more points in the second half.
Turning point
Goolsby made two 3-pointers less than a minute apart late in the third quarter, setting the stage for Ridley’s tying and go-ahead baskets.
Observations
Keeping Central cold: Southwest wanted to deny Central its passing lanes in the second half, and that meant pressing the Chargers toward the sidelines. The pressure worked, as Central went 2:42 without scoring in the third quarter and did not score a field goal in the game’s final 5:59.
Slow second-half start: Southwest found itself on the short end of a 7-1 run during the first 1:09 of the second half, falling behind 29-20. McCoy started Central’s run with a 3-pointer, with Paul and Kylan Hill also scoring.
Also Saturday afternoon
Central’s girls dominated the entire way in a 47-29 win over Southwest. Tylera Williams had 17 points for Central (9-3), while Averie Grayer scored seven points for Southwest (5-10).
They said it
Ridley on beating Central: “It was a real big win. We planned on beating Central for a long time, and this is my first time beating Central. I’ve always wanted to beat Central because they have been beating us. It’s always been close, but we finally got them this time.”
Ridley on the comeback: “We had to persevere and fight back hard. We came back hard in the second half.”
Goolsby on his 3-pointers: “After the first half, we went into the locker room, and Coach was like, ‘C’mon, we’ve got to get it together.’ The whole mind-set changed, and they just started falling.”
Southwest head coach Robert Worthy on the Patriots’ response to Central: “Our guys did some things that they normally don’t do. They reached way down in their inner self and made some shots that they probably wouldn’t have made earlier in the season and came out with a big win.”
What’s next?
Central hosts Kendrick in a 6 p.m. doubleheader Tuesday. Southwest travels to Bleckley County on Tuesday in another 6 p.m. doubleheader.
This story was originally published January 7, 2017 at 7:33 PM with the headline "Southwest boys rally, take down Central."