MJ Whitlock's 26 points leads Newton to a playoff win

COVINGTON, GEORGIA – Newton head coach Charlemagne Gibbons has been waiting patiently all season for the pieces to come together.

On Saturday, with a spot in the Class AAAAAAA state quarterfinals on the line, those pieces came together, and then some.

Behind 26 points from senior guard MJ Whitlock and 22 from McDonald's All-American Stephon Castle, the Rams built a first-half lead and added to it in a 73-51 blowout win of the Pebblebrook Falcons.

The Rams shot 54 percent from the field over the first three quarters and knocked down 14 three-pointers in what Gibbons called their best game of the season.

“This was the first time that you actually saw our basketball team this year,” Gibbons said. “You saw our complete basketball team with everybody healthy. I think you saw a group of guys that were completing each other. Our shooting woes have been on our shot selection all year. I thought today our shot selection was excellent. I thought guys passed up good shots to get great shots. If we get great shots, we can really shoot the basketball.”

The Rams got stronger as the game went on and that was due in large part to the play of Whitlock, who could hardly miss in the first half.

Whitlock scored 17 of his 26 points in the first half and the Rams’ field goal percentage increased with each passing quarter. They shot 46 percent in the first, 53 percent in the second and 63 percent in the third.

That gave the Rams a commanding 53-35 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“His shooting has been up and down a little bit because he’s had a bigger load to carry,” Gibbons said of Whitlock. “He’s had to carry a lot. But when that load got a little bit lighter, I thought you saw that trigger look really good today.”

Whitlock was 4 of 5 in the first quarter and scored nine points. The Rams flirted with a double-digit lead midway through the quarter but eventually settled for a 17-13 advantage heading into the second.

After knocking down two three-pointers in the first quarter, the Rams knocked down five in the second quarter. Whitlock was responsible for two while Castle, Jakai Newton and Ashton Pennamon each drilled one.

Newton’s three-pointer gave the Rams their first double-digit lead of the game 29-17 with five minutes remaining before halftime.

Whitlock finished off his first half shooting 7 of 8 from the field for 17 points and the Rams held a 38-25 lead heading into the break. They led by as many as 14 points in the quarter.

The Rams shot 8 of 15 from the field in the second quarter and improved that clip to 7 of 11 in the third quarter. Whitlock and Castle both knocked down two more three-pointers a piece and by the end of the quarter, had nearly sucked all of the life out of the Falcons.

They led 58-35 heading to the fourth and went on to win by 22 points.

The Falcons entered play with marquee wins against Grayson, Norcross and McEachern this season, but they struggled mightily to score against a stingy Newton defense.

“I thought we were able to win our matchups today,” Gibbons said of their defense. “We had the guys on the floor that we needed to and in the positions that we needed them in. So I was proud of that and I thought their defensive intensity was excellent.”

The Falcons 22-point loss to the Rams Saturday afternoon was their worst loss of the season.

The Rams’ senior class was also able to avenge a loss to the Falcons last year, as well as two years ago when the Falcons eliminated them in the second round of the state playoffs.

“We were 0-3 against Pebblebrook coming into this game,” Gibbons said. “They beat us last year in their showcase event and in the playoffs two years ago pretty bad. Those guys remembered that in the locker room. There’s a lot of pride in that locker room. I thought you saw a prideful performance today.”

Castle joined Whitlock in double figures with 22 points while Netwon finished his day with 10 points.

With the win, the Rams will travel to a familiar foe in Norcross, who defeated Osborne 72-60 Saturday night. The Rams lost to the Blue Devils earlier this season 73-71 and were also eliminated last season by the Blue Devils in the semifinals.