Boys Hoops - 2006
Region 5-3A Tournament
Championship Game
Dunwoody vs. Westlake
Westlake one step closer to perfection
A.J. drops 20 in the win
Southside High School – Atlanta, GA
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| A.J. Johnson shoots a FT as backcourt mate Patrick Hardy looks on. |
If Saturday nights Region 5-3A Championship game between No. 2 ranked Dunwoody and undefeated No. 1 ranked Westlake (all according to the 4SHOT Hoops Rankings) was reminiscent of their first battle a few weeks ago then I can’t wait until Round 3 when they match up in the state finals. Oh my bad MLK, they both have to make it there first…ok, I feel you.
Once again it was an overflow crowd on-hand to watch Dunwoody/Westlake II and both teams put on a show. The intensity of the game was off the charts as they got after each other. Dunwoody sharp shooter Zack Swansey got off early knocking down a few jumpers as the “Wildcats” took the early lead.
Westlake’s bigman 6-9 Jerome Burney (a Maryland signee) did his thing, swatting away everything that entered the paint, and A.J. “You’d Better Ask Somebody” Johnson was, well you already know; he scored 11 points in the 1st quarter.
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| "Welcome to the Wilderness" |
With all of that said what else could you ask for in such an action pack 1st quarter, well let me tell you. Dunwoody’s All-Star An’Juan Wilderness just may have turned in the “Play of the Year” when he got loose on a break and Westlake’s powerful 6-6 junior Cameron Newton (an all-state quarterback) came over to try and block his shot, ever hear the word “POSTERIZE”. “I don’t even have to tell you what happened”. I’m going to say it again, “I don’t even have to tell you what happened”; but I will. Wilderness rose up, I said he rose up and hammered home a thunderous dunk right over Newton, sending the packed house into a frenzy, I’m mean both sides were going crazy when Wilderness yoked it, I barely got the shot because I didn’t believe he was going to do what he did - “Welcome to the Wilderness, baby!”. When An’Juan landed he just stood there and looked at the crowd. It took a few minutes for the buzz to die down.
The quarter ended with Dunwoody holding a slight 19-17 lead.
The fans got a chance to sit down and watch the game in the 2nd quarter as things slowed down a bit, Dunwoody’s Wesley Mincey scored a couple of baskets as the “Wildcats” tried to hold off the “Lions” attack. Johnson’s 2nd three-pointer of the game was the difference in the quarter for Westlake as that took a 28-27 lead into the half.
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| New Orleans native Mark Williams scores 2 for Westlake. |
After a little halftime Gatorade (send the check Gatorade) the teams returned to the court with some renewed energy. Johnson changed up his game a little in the 3rd quarter as he started penetrating the Dunwoody defense, forcing fouls along the way. He hit 4 of 5 free-throws in the quarter. New Orleans native Mark Williams added a little hot sauce to the mix for the “Lions” with a couple of nice baskets.
Dunwoody matched Westlake point for point as Kierre Jordan started to find a little grove and Swansey hit 2 more jumpers to pull the “Wildcats” even at 41-41.
Westlake’s Patrick Hardy doesn’t get as much ink as Johnson and Burney, but deserves his time in the limelight for all of the different things he can do on both ends of the floor, down the stretch his block of a Swansey jumper could be called the game saving play.
With 1:32 left to play Hardy hit 1 of 2 free-throws to give Westlake a 52-44 lead and the packed house started filing out, but hold up what a minute the clock didn’t read 00:00. Dunwoody charged back to cut the lead to 52-48 with :37 seconds to play.
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| Dunwoody's Zack Swansey shows off his form at the FT line. |
Dunwoody had a chance to cut the lead to 2 but Jordan lost the ball and Williams scored on the other end as Westlake held on for a tough 54-50 Region Championship Game victory. The win pushes Westlake’s record to 28-0 on the season. Both teams will host 1st round state playoff games this weekend.
Scoring Recap
Westlake:
A.J. Johnson once again led Westlake with a game high 20 points. Mark Williams finished with 11 points while Jerome Burney and Patrick Hardy tallied 8 and 7 points respectively. Bryson Barnes chipped in with 6 points.
Dunwoody:
Zac Swansey led Dunwoody with 15 points. Kierre Jordan and An’Juan Wilderness each finished with 9 points. Delwan Graham and Wesley Mincey added 7 and 6 points respectively.
3rd Place Game
Druid Hills vs. M.L. King
M.L. King captures 3rd place
"Lions" roar back after a tough loss
Southside High School – Atlanta, GA
The “Lions” from M.L. King started slow in their 3rd place game against Druid Hills and who could blame them after taking undefeated No.1 ranked Westlake to the brink of their 1st loss in their semifinal match-up the other night.
I’m going to give some credit to Druid Hills for MLK’s sluggishness because the “Red Devils” looked like they want to show everybody that they didn’t get a free invite to the regionals but earned it. Senior Abdigani Yousuf carried Druid Hill offensively early on drilling a three-pointer. Kerry Weaver the “Red Devils” good-looking 6-7 junior started out real aggressive but foul trouble forced him to the bench.
MLK’s front line of Jihad Ali, Justin Womble, Kendrick Sprewer and Demetrius Bates isn’t as tall as some other teams but they get after it on the boards. With Weaver on the bench they started seizing control of both boards and with Womble and Langston Williams providing the scoring the “Lions” took the lead 15-11.
Shots that were falling for MLK suddenly stopped falling in the 2nd quarter and Druid Hills capitalized. Issaiah Grayson led the charge knocking down a pair of three-pointers, Michael Bridges also picked up his game with a couple of buckets inside as the “Red Devils” took a 26-23 halftime lead.
As well as Druid Hills played in the first half they played just as bad in the 3rd quarter managing to only score 4 points. MLK on the other hand put their running game into high gear, Ali showed off his versatility scoring inside and out; Sprewer muscled his way inside for a pair of baskets as the “Lions” started to pull away 40-30.
Druid Hills never really recovered from their 3rd quarter melt down and fell further behind. MLK PG-Langston Williams made some sweet drives to the basket in the 4th quarter, one was so smooth you could see him saying “WOOOOO” to himself as the ball went through the hoop. The “Lions” went on to capture 3rd place in the region with a convincing 56-40 win.
Both teams will hit the road for the 1st round state playoff games.
Scoring Recap
M.L. King Jr.:
Langston Williams led MLK with a game high 13 points. Demetrius Bates and Kendrick Sprewer scored 11 and 10 points respectively. Jihad Ali and Justin Womble each chipped in with 8 points.
Druid Hills:
Abdigani Yousuf scored 8 points to pace Druid Hills. Five Druid Hill players scored 6 points.
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