Thursday March 28th, 2024 12:55PM

Boys basketball playoffs: Dragons fall to Westover on the road

By Jeff Hart | Video by Seth Chapman

ALBANY — Jefferson coach Kevin Morris knew exactly what his Dragons could not do if they wanted to get past Westover and a packed and raucous Boston Garden crowd in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A playoffs on Tuesday.

Unfortunately, he was right as 21 turnovers and 14 offensive rebounds by the Patriots sparked a frustrating 63-55 loss to end their season one game shy of the Final 4.

Westover (24-3) turned 9 first half Jefferson miscues into 10 points and pulled down 6 offensive rebounds, leading to another 11 points, while building a stunning 37-19 advantage at halftime.

“We knew we had to take care of the ball and we did not do that,” Morris said afterwards. “And we’ve been good all year about boxing out but they sent everyone to the glass. We haven’t had to defend that many rebounders all year. But really we just didn’t play well in the first half.”

Jefferson (25-4) started strong, getting a pair of early inside baskets from Kaden Bailey and  Jaden Butts off dishes from Riley Holliman for a 4-2 lead just a minute in. Holliman then hit a 3-pointer to give the Dragons a 7-4 lead.

However, the first big setback came just two minutes later when leading scorer Dalen Gales picked up his second foul forcing him to sit the rest of first quarter.

The Patriots pounced, employing a tenacious full-court press and a half-court trap. Westover took its first lead at 8-7 on a Effrin Smith steal and layup and then Keshay Walton drained back-to-back 3-pointers to cap an 11-0 run for a 15-7 lead.

Jefferson never led again. But the Patriots didn’t let up, using a dominating performance on the glass. They pushed the lead to 21-10 by the end of the first quarter and blew it open in the second to take a 37-18 halftime lead by outrebounding Jefferson 15-7 in the first half.

Morris said they talked about just getting back to basics in the second half.

“We talked about not giving up transition baskets, which we got beat on a lot in the first half,” he said. “We knew our guys wouldn’t quit, either.”

They didn’t. Gales returned to hit a long-3-pointer but Westover’s Kemari Leverette pushed their lead back to 43-22 early in the third quarter. Two Bailey baskets, a Max Aldridge 3-pointer, a three-point play from Gales, four straight points by JT Fulkrod, and a pair of free throws by Butts got the Dragons within 49-41 with 42 seconds left in the third.

The Patriots answered again getting a 3-pointer at the buzzer from Kavon Johnson and a three-point play from Walton to build the lead back to 57-44 moments into the fourth quarter.

Jefferson made one last push with an 11-2 run powered by 3-pointers from Fulkrod and Holliman to get with 59-55 with 3:44 left. But the Patriots crashed the boards in the final minutes getting six offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive and holding the Dragons scoreless the rest of the way.

“I’m proud of how our guys fought back. We knew they wouldn’t quit,” Morris said. “But the turnovers, and we just couldn’t keep them off the glass, those were differences in the end.”

Smith led Westover with 15 points and 5 rebounds, 3 on the offensive end, as nine different players scored. Walton had 14, Johnson 9, and Leverette 8 for the Patriots. Anthony Miller had just 2 points but pulled 6 huge offensive rebounds, 4 in the final two minutes of the game.

After just a 2 point first half, Fulkrod poured in 13 in the second half to eventually pace Jefferson with 15 points. Bailey added 12 points, and Gales had 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists for the Dragons. Holliman finished with 8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals for Jefferson.

Westover moves into the semifinals and will take on the Druid Hills-McDonough winner on Friday at Fort Valley State.

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