Team ball lifting Westside, Central basketball teams

The names will be the same, but the games will be different Tuesday for both the Westside and Central boys than in their first meeting more than a month ago.

The Seminoles won that GHSA Region 2-AAA game 83-63 on their floor. Both coaches insist the return date at Central will be contested by different teams than took the floor earlier.

Central head coach Andre Taylor and Westside counterpart Josh Grube emphasize "team" when talking about this meeting of the Macon rivals.

"We've been playing pretty well as a team," Taylor said. "We hadn't been doing that before."

Said Grube, "Our guys understand their roles and are playing with a lot of confidence. They've gotten it, and we're playing like a team."

That isn't to say each hadn't done that at various points during what so far are sparkling seasons for both. Westside enters 13-3 and 8-1 in the region, while Central is 13-2 and 6-1.

Each has won 12 of their past 13 games since their Dec. 4 meeting. That was the fifth game of the season for Westside but only the second for Central.

The Seminoles broke from a 36-33 halftime edge by outscoring the Chargers 26-13 in the third period to claim the win. Westside rode a barrage of 3-pointers (10) and 31 points -- a dozen on 3-pointers -- and 11 rebounds from 6-foot-7 sophomore Khavon Moore to the decision.

"It was probably one of our better games this year," said Grube, whose team has won four straight. "I was kind of surprised we played as well as we did because a couple kids who played football, it was only their second game and we really didn't know each other yet."

The outcome, particularly its margin, was an eye-opener for the Chargers, who enter this game on a six-game winning streak.

"It showed my guys they can talk all they want, but it's anybody's game when you step on the floor," Taylor said. "It surely helped us mentally the way (Westside) put it on us the last time."

Westside turned the collective "team" corner following a 73-69 loss to Carver-Columbus in the Bear Brawl at Houston County during the holiday break. Grube said the Seminoles had a bad start, didn't shoot well and, when they clawed their way back in the game, faltered in the stretch.

They've been solid since.

Taylor said a talk following a 66-60 win over Monroe Area in the first round of a tournament at Jones County was a difference-maker for the Chargers. The level of play he had expected from his veteran team at the start of the season showed in a 70-43 romp of FPD the next day.

Similar play has followed in every outing.

"We weren't playing on the level I thought we were capable with so many returning from last year," the head coach said. "We were a team of individuals worried about points, not sharing the basketball, and that led to us not being consistent.

"We had the talk and I saw the change against FPD. We've been a pretty good as a team since."

Although each team offers key individuals -- 6-9 Kentrevious Jones and three-year starter Derrick Evans Jr. for Central to counter Moore and others -- Grube and Taylor know it will take their best team game to gain the upper hand in the region.

Southwest joins Westside atop the region at 8-1 with Central in third thanks to two fewer region games played. Westside's loss came to Southwest, while Southwest's came to Central. Southwest entertains Central on Saturday and visits Westside on Jan. 22.

"Central is playing well, and we are, too," Grube said. "All the kids know each other. They know what we do and we know what they do. We'll have to play well like we did the first game to have a chance."

Said Taylor, "We weren't ready to play at the level they showed us (in first meeting). They came out from the get-go, then picked it right back up at the start of the second half and we didn't. It's going to take a complete game (to win)."

This story was originally published January 11, 2016 at 7:54 PM with the headline "Team ball lifting Westside, Central basketball teams ."