Southwest falls to B.E.S.T. Academy in state title game 62-56 after allowing 11-point comeback in second half

The Southwest Patriots led by as many as 11 points but could not finish off B.E.S.T. Academy in the Class A-Division I State Championship game Saturday afternoon, losing 62-56 in a game that came down to the wire at the Macon Coliseum.

Southwest’s lead evaporated in the third and fourth quarters. B.E.S.T. Academy took a 58-56 lead, its first since the first opening quarter, with about a minute left to play. The Patriots could not score in their final possessions, freezing up and turning the ball over to allow the Eagles to finish off the comeback win.

The loss ended an impressive playoff run for Southwest, who defeated Bacon County, Banks County, Temple and Toombs County en route to the school’s first championship game appearance since 1989. The Patriots, with their storied hoops history and trophies from the 1970s and ’80s, will have to wait for their seventh championship.

C.J. Howard led the way for the Patriots, stringing together 3-pointers in the first half and making smooth drives in the lane to score at the rim in the second half in an attempt to will Southwest to victory. He finished with 31 points. Joshua Mickell led the Eagles with 16 points. His twin brother Jacob finished with nine points.

B.E.S.T. Academy, an all-boys school from Atlanta, spent much of the season as a highly-ranked team in Class A-Division I. The game was close nearly the entire way, as most advantages were fleeting, single-digit ones that were erased by 3-pointers and transition layups.

The Eagles came out a bit sharper than Southwest, though neither team had much success early as the only points to begin the game came from free throws. Southwest knocked down the first shot of the game when Howard hit a clean 3-pointer, but B.E.S.T. came right back down the floor and got a layup and fouls shot from Joshua Mickell.

The Eagles took control for a bit of the first period while the Patriots struggled from the field, but Southwest made tricky baskets at crucial points to keep B.E.S.T. from going on a run. The Eagles had a 14-11 lead at the end of the quarter.

The scoring picked up in the second quarter after Howard hit a pair of 3-pointers that energized the Southwest crowd. The teams went back and forth, trading small leads often leading up to the end of the half. As the buzzer sounded, a desperation 3-pointer from Howard swished in to pump up the crowd and give the Patriots a 28-24 halftime lead.

Howard finished the first half with 18 points, most of which came from beyond the arc. B.E.S.T. spread its scoring out more, with several players in the six-point or seven-point range.

The guard’s impressive performance continued in the second with multiple jaw-dropping drives in the lane as he regularly evaded multiple Eagles on his way to the rack.

The Patriots took a 45-37 lead into the fourth quarter, but a slow shift in momentum cut the lead down to 55-52 with three minutes to play. B.E.S.T. eventually took the lead back with about one minute left to complete the comeback. The Eagles then shut Southwest down as the Patriots stumbled in transition and turned the ball over multiple times late, eventually losing 62-56.

Southwest will return junior stars Howard, Chase Dupree and Rinaldo Callaway. The team’s key loss will be senior Brandon Ashley.