Southwest Historic Run Comes to Heartbreaking End in State Championship
The Southwest Patriots were defeated in the GHSA A Division I State Championship Game, 62-56
MACON, Georgia – (41NBC/WMGT) – On Saturday afternoon at the Macon Coliseum, the 27-3 Southwest Patriots ended their season with a loss to B.E.S.T. Academy in the GHSA Class A Division-One State Championship by a final score of 62-56.
The Coliseum was at max capacity for this state title game that featured a Macon school just five miles down the road. During the first half, the Fire Marshall refused anymore attendees to the game due to max capacity being reached in an arena that seats about 7,182 guests, according to Macon Mayhem seating capacity records.
The Patriots were shaky at times and started the first quarter off slow that resulted in Southwest ending the quarter down three points 14-11. Although, C.J. Howard played a commanding role in not only scoring but setting up others around him to score. That lead to an explosive second quarter from Southwest. Howard even hit a buzzer beating three point shot way beyond the perimeter as time expired in the first half to give Southwest a 28-24 lead.
In the third, Southwest had taken control with a 11-point lead at one time. The Patriots ended the third with the Eagles up 45-37. However, things took a turn for the worse in the fourth quarter. The Eagles outscored the Patriots 25-11. The last three minutes of the game, B.E.S.T. Academy went on a 10-1 run when Southwest was up 55-52. That sealed the game. The Patriots dropped to the ground in defeat after they had lost their chance at winning with the last seconds of the game ticking off the clock to zero. Southwest players were visibly hurt as the crowd clapped and cheered them on in support of a great season, nonetheless.
C.J. Howard was incredible. He finished the game with a team-high 31 points on 12-of-16 shooting and 5-of-8 from 3-point land. Chase Dupree finished with 10 points.
After the game, Patriots Head Coach Monquencio Hardnett spoke with the media. “I just want the guys to just know that I’m just so proud of them” Hardnett said.
“This is a game of basketball. It’s not life, they didn’t fail at life. They had a great season. They brought the city together today. Like I told them, I just want them to experience everything that comes along with this. Like I told them before the game, you guys deserve every moment that you are getting right now. Relish in it. Enjoy it.”
Coach brought up the win in the Semifinal Round last Saturday. The team was punished for cutting down the nets after the 65-54 win over Toombs County at GCSU. “It was all on me that I told him they could cut the nets down after we went to the Final Four and we got a fine for it, and quite frankly, I don’t care,” said Hardnett. “To see the smiles on their faces and things like that, because I experienced that as player. I told him in every promise that I made this year, I stood on. I will continue to do that for these young men.”
Coach Hardnett spoke more about how proud he is of his Patriots squad. “I have no problem taking the blame for the loss,” said Hardnett. “Those young men gave me everything they had. You know, we’ve only been on this side of the coin three times this year, so they had a great season. We accomplished every goal except this ultimate goal that we just tried to accomplish. So clearly, we didn’t do the little things enough today to be on the right side, but they’ll bounce back in life. They’ll be able to do that, because that’s what I’ve prepared them for as well. I just want to thank the parents. I want to thank everybody in the community for coming out and supporting them and standing behind them…Southwest is back, and we’ll will stay back, and we’ll continue to do things that we need to do.”
