The Westlake boys basketball team opened its Class AAAAAA quarterfinal like it was going to have little trouble with No. 5 Shiloh.
Instead, the Lions had to overcome a scoring drought of almost five minutes in the third quarter and withstand a potential game-tying 3-point attempt in the closing seconds to escape with a 44-43 victory Thursday at the University of West Georgia.
Third-ranked Westlake (25-4) advanced to a semifinal matchup against eighth-ranked Newton at 4:45 p.m. Saturday in Carrollton. It will be the first semifinal since 2010 for the Lions, who were the only team ranked in the top five to reach the final four.
Shiloh’s loss capped a three-game sweep for Gwinnett County in Class AAAAAA on Thursday, after the Grayson boys and Parkview girls lost earlier in the day.
The game was tied 36-36 with four minutes remaining when Westlake came up with possibly the key possession of the game, a four-point trip that gave the Lions a 40-36 lead. James Lewis was fouled while making a layup to make it 38-36. After rebounding the missed free throw, Michael Durr was fouled and converted both free throws.
Shiloh reclaimed the lead with five consecutive points, but Raquan Wilkins answered with a 3-pointer to give Westlake the lead for good at 43-41. Ronald Bell made one of two free throws with 23.3 seconds left to increase the lead to three points.
Shiloh had a shot to tie it on its final possession, but the 3-pointer from the corner came up short and Shiloh converted the rebound for two points as time expired, leaving the Generals one point short.
Westlake went on a 13-3 run to take a 13-5 lead midway through the first quarter. But the Generals (24-6) responded behind the play of Dejon Waters Jr., who scored nine of his 11 points in the first eight minutes. The Lions settled for a 17-15 lead at the end of the quarter. Neither team led by more than six points the rest of the way.
The game was tied 25-25 at halftime, and Westlake did not score again until 3:29 remained in the quarter. Shiloh was not able to take advantage, however, scoring just four points in the quarter to into the final period trailing 33-29.
Lewis scored a game-high 13 points, the only Westlake player to finish in double figures. Josh Okogie added 10 for Shiloh.
