Southwest doomed by ‘little things’ in stinging championship loss, but experience should leave impact

As the clock dwindled down in the GHSA Class A-Division I State Championship game, the No. 1 Southwest Patriots looked harried.

The game was far from out of reach — the Patriots only trailed by two points with about a minute remaining — but an 11-point lead in the third quarter had evaporated for Southwest.

With the pressure at its maximum, the Patriots faltered. Southwest came up just short, struggling in its final few possessions to let No. 15 B.E.S.T. Academy complete the comeback with a 62-56 win in the state title game.

It was a brutal finish for the Patriots after a magical postseason run that seemingly restored Southwest to the dominant basketball juggernaut it became in the 1970s and 80s. A win would have netted the Patriots their seventh state championship and first since 1989.

Head coach Monquencio Hardnett, though he did not play for Southwest himself en route to his college success at UConn, had uncles on some of the Patriots’ championship teams of yore.

Hardnett said it came down to that fatal flaw that plagues many teams — Southwest could not do the “little things.”

“The two things that I kept preaching in the second half came back to bite us in the end: get a stop, and get the first rebound,” he said. “If you get the first rebound, you’ll be champions, and for some odd reason we couldn’t get that first rebound.

“Then late in the game we got tight a little bit. We had some guys in situations where they’re not used to being in.”

A packed house at the Coliseum — a group mostly made up of Patriots fans — appeared crestfallen as the final horn sounded. The game was close all afternoon, and Southwest even stretched its lead to double digits in the second half.

But the Patriots got sloppy in the second half, Hardnett said, and let the trophy slip away. 

A litany of problems doused Southwest’s momentum late. The Patriots slowed down too much moving the ball across the court, freezing up and turning it over. A few players — chief among them key big Rinaldo Callaway, Hardnett said — played with just a skosh of timidity after getting into foul trouble. Free throws were also an issue for Southwest.

“If you look at B.E.S.T. in the third quarter, they were either getting a layup or free throws. That’s the only way they were scoring, the defense was fine,” Hardnett said. “But when (the Eagles) missed we weren’t getting the rebound and then we went to sleep a couple times. We hadn’t given up a three all game and we gave up a couple of threes.”

Hardnett’s analysis of the loss was sharp and honest, the breakdown clearly that of an experienced basketball mind, even if it was his first appearance in the state championship as a coach. 

The recap was also a hopeful one.

“They won’t be able to bounce back this year, but they’ll bounce back in life. That’s what I prepare them for. That’s way bigger than this basketball thing. So we gotta jump back in the books, be back in class, regroup and make sure we get them 3.9s and 4.0s in class,” Hardnett said. “We’ll be back next year.”

Should the Patriots return, they would likely bring an imposing crowd advantage with them — during Saturday’s game, Southwest fans flooded the Coliseum with red, white and blue. An announcement blared over the intercom in the second quarter: fire marshals had to ask all spectators to sit down as the arena doors were closed because of capacity.

“It was wild. It make me feel like I was back in Connecticut again,” Hardnett said. “I just wanted them to experience everything that comes along with this. I told them before the game, ‘You guys deserve every moment that you’re getting right now. Relish it. Enjoy it.'”

Hardnett expressed pride in the team and also noted what will likely be on the minds of many fans for the next several months: the Patriots have quite the core returning.

Junior C.J. Howard, one of the team’s key players and the lead scorer in the title game with a whopping 31 points, will be back.

Chase Dupree, another lineup staple and the son of 1989 champion Joe Dupree, will return. Callaway, the team’s impactful big, is only a junior.

Southwest’s roster had only three seniors this season, in fact, although crucial contributor Brandon Ashley will be departing. Skilled big Kyle Jefferson and senior Ty Brantley will also graduate this year.

The loss is even more heartbreaking for that trio, but Hardnett hoped it would be a lesson for the others.

“I’m just so proud of these guys, doing everything that they did from day one to be here. And I told ‘em, nobody else has a game tomorrow. This is the last day,” Hardnett said. “Congratulations to B.E.S.T. Academy, they have a great team. We’ll get back to work in a couple days.”

The Patriots finished the year 27-3 overall and won the Region 2-A Division I championship before defeating Bacon County, Banks County, Temple and Toombs County en route to the title game.