Justin Slocum, Southwest hold off Rutland

Southwest kept pace with the top of the GHSA Region 2-AAA standings Friday night, topping Rutland 66-62, but it was hardly easy. The Patriots went back and forth with the Hurricanes before Justin Slocum came up big on both ends of the floor, capping a night in which he had 29 points.

With Southwest leading 62-59 with less than 1:30 to play, he blocked a layup try by Rutland's Jaylyne Brown and then made a layup of his own on the other end to make it 64-60, moving the Patriots' late-game lead to two possessions and all but ensure a win.

Southwest improves to 12-3 overall and 8-1 in the region while Rutland falls to 4-9 overall and 3-5 in a region that figures to be hotly contested all the way until the end of the regular season and into the region tournament.

FOUR WHO MATTERED

Slocum: He summed up the meaning of go-to player Friday. Not only did he torch Rutland for 29 points, but his defensive play to prevent Rutland from pulling within a point in the late going and his score to put the game away cemented the victory for Southwest. He also converted a buzzer-beating layup to end the third quarter, a key momentum jolt in a game that featured many lead changes.

Alontae Tarver: His play strengthened Southwest's presence on the inside. He gave Rutland something else to worry about in the paint aside from Slocum, finishing with 11 points.

Jalyne Brown: His outside shooting kept the Patriots spread out defensively. He had 15 points, draining four 3-pointers.

Jaikez Mann: Thanks to the play of Mann, Rutland established a strong inside presence as he scored 18 points.

TURNING POINT

Slocum might have made the big numbers, but the Patriots actually took the lead for good from the free-throw line, A free throw by Nick Simmons tied the game at 59, and after a lane violation against Rutland, Simmons gave Southwest a 60-59 advantage. Then, with 1:47 to go, Ladarion Womack drew a foul and sunk a pair of free throws to extend the Patriots' lead to 62-59.

ALSO ON FRIDAY

A monster night from Rutland's Breanca Davis blazed the trail for a 49-33 victory for the Hurricanes in the girls game. She had 26 points in addition to 11 steals, seven rebounds and five assists. Rutland pulled away with a 5-0 run in the second quarter to lead 18-9 and pretty much coasted from there.

Rutland (4-7, 4-4) snapped a three-game losing streak. Toniya Hurst led Southwest with 12 points for the Patriots, who have lost four straight to fall to 3-12 and 2-7.

THEY SAID IT

Southwest head coach Robert Worthy on the close game: "They came to play. Those are the kind of games that'll help you prepare for the region tournament and the state playoffs if we're fortunate enough to get there."

Worthy on the Hurricanes: "They've got pride. That's a program that the last three years has won the region. I knew coming in that they weren't going to just lay down."

Worthy on Slocum: "We kind of depend on Justin for a lot of things. When the game is on the line, he has that tendency to come through for us."

WHAT'S NEXT?

Southwest plays Saturday at Howard on Saturday, while Rutland hosts Northeast on Saturday

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 11:03 PM with the headline "Justin Slocum, Southwest hold off Rutland ."