Central edges Westside for region title
The GHSA Region 2-AAA heavyweight battle between Central and Westside was just as tight as just about anyone could expect.
Westside, which gave Central its only loss in region play this season, battled foul trouble all night. But the Seminoles hung close, having a chance to send the region tournament championship game to overtime with a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Terric Allen got an open look at that 3-pointer along the baseline. His shot, however, rimmed out just before the buzzer, and Central claimed an emotional 64-61 homecourt victory for the region title.
Kentrevious Jones scored 23 points to lead Central, which is sixth in the Score Atlanta Class AAA rankings. Antarius McCoy added 21.
Khavon Moore scored 21 for Westside despite missing much of the second quarter with three fouls. He also had 12 rebounds.
Both Central (25-2) and Westside (21-6) host first-round Class AAA playoff games next week.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Jones: Central's big man in the post scored just four points in the final quarter, but they came at an important time. His bucket with 1:12 to go in the game came after Westside's Samone Reed had closed Central's lead to 60-59. Jones' other basket, with 35 seconds remaining, put Central up 64-60. Jones also had 19 rebounds.
Reed: After picking up three fouls in the first six minutes, Reed was fairly quiet for most of the game after leading the Seminoles to a semifinal win Thursday over Southwest. But he kicked his game up a notch in the final quarter, scoring seven points in a stretch of two minutes and 18 seconds as part of a 9-2 Westside run that closed Central's lead from eight points to one. He finished with 10 points.
McCoy: Taking advantage of Westside's foul situation, McCoy had a big second quarter, scoring 10 points as the Chargers took a 26-22 lead into halftime.
TURNING POINT
Moore picked up his third foul with 6:34 to go in the second quarter, putting two Westside starters on the bench with three fouls each. Westside led 18-14 at that point, but the Seminoles scored just one field goal after that to close out the half, the lone field goal coming with 6:25 to go in the quarter.
OBSERVATIONS
No quit in Westside: Despite the foul situation and scoring drought in the second quarter, Westside kept attacking in the second half. Moore scored 13 points in the second half while picking up just one more foul, and Reed went on his fourth-quarter scoring run while playing with four fouls.
Free throws not so free: Central went 5-of-11 from the line in the fourth quarter, a percentage that helped Westside remain within striking distance. But Westside had its own struggles from the line, going 2-of-7 in the final quarter.
Starters carry load for Chargers: All but one of Central's points were scored by the Chargers' starting five. Westside got 23 points from its bench.
WORTH NOTING
"C's House" remains protected: Central is unbeaten at home this season. The Chargers lost once on the road (at Westside) early in the season and had a neutral-court loss to Effingham County, a Class AAAAA tournament qualifier, in Washington County's holiday tournament.
ALSO FRIDAY NIGHT
Rutland pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 71-61 win over Southwest in the third-place game. Jaikez Mann scored 25 for the Hurricanes, who entered the region tournament with the No. 4 seed. Nick Hargrove scored 18 to pace No. 3 seed Southwest (17-9).
FRIDAY NIGHT IN COLUMBUS
Peach County upset Kendrick for the second year in a row for the Region 2-AAA girls title, winning 78-73 on Kendrick's home floor. Nausia Woolfolk had 28 points and nine assists to lead the Trojans. Jackson beat Central 56-51 in the third-place game.
THEY SAID IT
Jones on winning the region title: "One of our goals was to win the region championship as we go for a state championship, and we took the first step right here. We're undefeated here, and now we get two games here. We hope to keep on winning here, get two in (Augusta, site of the Class AAA quartefinals and semifinals) and come back to Macon (for the championship)."
Central head coach Andre Taylor on the close finish: "They made big shots, just as we did. I talked with Josh (Grube, Westside head coach) earlier, and we agreed that this was an evening that people were waiting to see. We wanted to give the fans a show, and we gave them a great game."
Central senior Derrick Evans on holding off Westside's comeback effort: "We just had to keep our composure. We just had to play defense, calm down, not get into their game. It was scary, coming down to that last shot. But it's important that we're taking momentum into the playoffs."
WHAT'S NEXT?
Region 2-AAA crosses over with Augusta-based Region 3-AAA for the first round of the Class AAA Tournament. Westside-Augusta meets Laney on Saturday for the Region 3-AAA championship, while Josey takes on Butler for third place. First-round Class AAA Tournament games will take place Tuesday and Wednesday, with days and times to be announced. Central will host its game against the Josey-Butler loser at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 11:09 PM with the headline "Central edges Westside for region title ."