BLAIRSVILLE, Ga. — When it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
And right now, nothing is wrong with how the Union County boys have been going about their business in the 2025 state playoffs. Things have been going so well that the Panthers find themselves in the Class 2A state championship game for the first time since 1971.
That’s right...1971. That’s not a typo.
The Panthers (26-5) will take on Butler (20-8) out of Augusta on Thursday at 3 p.m. at the Macon Centreplex for the title. The Bulldogs have not won a state title since 1966, though they did finish as state runners-up as recently as 2022 (Class 2A).
Union County played in what may be the best region (7-2A) in the classification. Not only are the Panthers, who finished second in the region, into the state title game, but so is North Cobb Christian, who advanced to the Private state championship game after winning Region 7-2A.
But despite falling short in the region championship game last month, Union County coach Corey Garrett sensed his group may have been on to something.
“These guys have worked so hard to do something special,” he said. “We have been saying that something special is going to happen since we started the region tournament a couple of weeks ago. This is a special run, but it is not over.”
Union County came into the Class 2A tournament as the No. 6 seed in the Postseason Rankings (PSR) and had the benefit of playing three of its first four playoff games at home. The Panthers routed 27th-seed Pierce County (87-61) and 11th-seed Westside-Macon (75-33) in the first two rounds and then held off No. 19 KIPP, 66-59, to get to their first semifinal appearance since 1972.
The real test came on Saturday when they pulled away late against No. 2 seed Tattnall County for a 54-38 victory at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville. In that game, Union County used a tenacious defensive effort to hold the Warriors to their lowest output of the season.
Union County comes into the final averaging 73.3 points/game, led by senior guard Houston Henry (18.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 8.0 apg) and senior forward Hayden Hughes (14.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg). Senior guard Maddox Young (12.9 ppg) and junior F/C Vince Marevka (10.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg).
But the defense has been stellar, yielding just 57 ppg on the season. They’re averaging 12.3 deflections and 11 steals per game as a group. The huge steals in the fourth quarter against Tattnall helped seal their trip to the finals.
Despite a limited scouting report on Butler, Garrett emphasized that there is no reason to change anything, no matter what they see on film.
The Bulldogs can really shoot it from outside, led by senior guards Marcus Scurry (19.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.5 apg, 2.7 spg) and Zyion Smith (8.4 ppg). Those two have combined for 110 3-pointers, with Smith shooting 43% from long range.
Junior guard Kwamane Bridges (17.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and 6-foot-5 sophomore forward Jamil Walker (5.2 ppg, 10.8 rpg) make up 92% of their offense. Slowing down the shooters and keeping Bridges and Walker off the glass may be the deciding factor for the Panthers.
“They are the best shooting team that we have seen in the tournament,” he said. “They play aggressive man defense and are very physical. We will have to be very efficient on offense.
“On defense, we have to box out and rebound. We can't give them second chances.”
Garrett, however, went back to the beginning, saying there is no need to change things now.
“We do not have to do anything special. We just have to have our best game in the biggest game,” he said. “We have not changed for anyone all year, and we can’t start now.”
http://accesswdun.com/article/2025/3/1288899/boys-basketball-union-co-not-changing-a-things-as-they-shoot-for-1st-ever-state-title