Waldorf, MD – In the Section 1 final of the 2A South, Patuxent traveled to Westlake with looks to avenge their early season defeat, and advance to the Region Final.
Westlake was looking to take their third straight trip to the region final, with the previous two coming in the 3A South. The gym was warm, and the teams took that heat straight to their hands in a high scoring fast paced first quarter. Through the quarter, the Wolverines and Panthers exchanged blows, and neither team got too far ahead of the other. In fact, the largest lead either team held in the first quarter was 6 by Patuxent at 16-10. But Westlake quickly closed that lead, and the score was tied at the end of the first at 18. The game was slowed down due to a large amount of foul calls in the quarter. Between both teams, 16 fouls were called. 10 of those were called on the Panthers, which meant for every foul the rest of the half, Westlake would have two foul shots. The opportunity was there for the game to get out of hand.
But, the Panthers hung around. They put together a very good quarter. They opened up with a dunk from Terrell Gross to put the Panthers in the lead that set the pace for the quarter. Westlake turned the ball over several times in the quarter, and Patuxent’s shots were falling seemingly at will. The Wolverines only managed to put up 5 points in the quarter, and found themselves trailing by 8 at half, by a score of 31-23. Halftime stats were the Panthers being led in scoring by Darus Maddox, who had 15 points. For Westlake, Amir Lawrence had 7 points.
In the locker room during halftime, Coach Ed Mouton of Westlake gave his kids a big pep talk, as they came out in the third quarter, and opened the half with an 11-4 run to pull within a point. Patuxent did whatever they could to beat the full court press that Westlake was now utilizing. They kept the lead until towards the end of the quarter. Westlake took it on Aubrey Wallace free throws with a score of 42-41. A layup by Lawrence pushed the Wolverine lead to 3. Patuxent quickly tied it on a Darus Maddox three. On the ensuing possession, Wallace beat the buzzer on a three ball from a few feet behind the line. This gave the Wolverines a three point lead heading into the fourth. This shot also put Westlake into the lead for good.
In the fourth quarter, the heat of the away gym visually took its toll on the Panthers. Players began cramping, and becoming fatigued much quicker. Despite the heat, Patuxent managed to get within 3 of Westlake following a mysterious technical on Westlake following a Wolverine layup. Westlake closed the door, locked it, and tossed the key away on the Panthers as they ended the game on a 10-3 run. The harshest blow of the run came with 3 minutes left, when after a minute long possession, Everett Mouton swished a three ball that deflated any chances of the Panthers coming back. They advance to the Region Final after dispatching Patuxent 62-52.
Patuxent was led in scoring by Maddox, who put up 27 in his final game in a Panthers uniform. Terrell Gross, also in his final game with the Panthers, put up 16. The Panthers season ends with a record of 17-7, the school’s best record in a decade. Westlake was led in scoring by Lawrence, who had 13. Two of his teammates, Jeff Simmons and Jamal Murphy, had 12 points. Westlake moves onto play Gwynn Park, who overcame an 18 point deficit against Douglass, for the 2A South region crown. Westlake will look to win their third straight region crown.
