Andre Taylor says pressure is on Central to win region title
Central hasn't lost since the calendar flipped to 2016, but despite all of the Chargers' success during the regular season, head coach Andre Taylor said the key to approaching the GHSA Region 2-AAA Tournament is forgetting about what his team did against the region this season.
"This is almost like a whole new season," Taylor said. "Teams are battling for a region championship, so everybody's going to be bringing their A-game every night. We've just got to bring ours, as well. We can't relax and think about what we did during the regular season against teams."
Central's strong regular season (23-2 overall, 15-1 Region 2-AAA) led to a region tournament No. 1 seed, a bye and automatic bid to the Class AAA Tournament. No. 2 seed Westside (20-5, 14-2) also earned a region bye and berth to the state tournament.
Neither team will play until the region tournament moves to Central for the semifinals Thursday. The championship is set for Friday night.
But while some pressure will be taken off Central since it will have a spot in the state tournament regardless of its region tournament performance, Taylor said he believes the Chargers will feel pressure playing at home for a region title.
"Not only are the people around it expecting it, but you feel the pressure because you expect it, too," Taylor said. "The kids themselves, they expect (it). That's been one of their goals all season, so it's one of those things where they don't want to fall short of their goal."
Both Taylor and Westside head coach Josh Grube expressed how the competition will be difficult for their teams in the region tournament. Southwest (16-7, 12-4) earned the third seed while Rutland (9-14, 8-8) received the fourth seed to round out a top four.
Grube said Westside will have to play a "quality opponent no matter who it is," and Taylor said teams will be playing at a different level for a chance at a region title.
"You know they're going to be playing harder, and it's going to be getting nasty," Taylor said. "We've got great teams in the region already; them picking it up to another level, it's going to be a great tournament."
With play-in games starting Monday, neither Central nor Westside know who it will be playing come Thursday night. But with Macon teams holding the top four seeds, Grube said the atmosphere Thursday at Central and Friday night will be exciting.
"It's going to be electrifying crowds; it's going to be standing-room only," he said. "One thing about Macon is people love high school basketball. They're going to support their teams. Thursday and Friday are going to be packed houses at Central. I think it's great for the city of Macon, and we're glad to be a part of it. Hopefully we can get our first region championship; we haven't had one in quite a while."
GHSA Region 2-AAA Tournaments
Boys
Monday
At Southwest
Game 1: (9) Peach County vs. (8) Kendrick, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday
At Westside
Game 2: (7) Jackson vs. (6) Jordan, 5:30 p.m.
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. (5) Spencer, 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday
At Central
Game 4: Game 3 winner vs. (4) Rutland, 5:30 p.m.
Game 5: Game 2 winner vs. (3) Southwest, 8:30 p.m.
Thursday
At Central
Game 6: Game 5 winner vs. (2) Westside, 6 p.m.
Game 7: Game 4 winner vs. (1) Central, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
At Central
Third-place game, 6 p.m.
Championship, 7:30 p.m.
Girls
Monday
At Southwest
Game 1: (9) Jordan vs. (8) Southwest, 6 p.m.
Tuesday
At Westside
Game 2: (7) Spencer vs. (6) Rutland, 4 p.m.
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. (5) Westside, 7 p.m.
Wednesday
At Central
Game 4: Game 3 winner vs. (4) Jackson, 4 p.m.
Game 5: Game 2 winner vs. (3) Central, 7 p.m.
Thursday
At Kendrick
Game 6: Game 5 winner vs. (2) Peach County, 6 p.m.
Game 7: Game 4 winner vs. (1) Kendrick, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
At Kendrick
Third-place game, 6 p.m.
Championship, 7:30 p.m.
This story was originally published February 7, 2016 at 8:54 PM with the headline "Andre Taylor says pressure is on Central to win region title ."