GISA CLASS A BOYS STATE TOURNAMENT: Westwood boys lose 4 OT marathon to Thomas Jefferson in Class A Elite 8

TIFTON — Al Timmerman wasn’t sure whether the four-overtime thriller his boys basketball team lost to Thomas Jefferson on Saturday in the GISA Class A Elite 8 round was a state record for private schools.

And he was too worn out to even think about it.

“I’m really not sure,” Timmerman said. “I’m whipped right now — and so are the kids.”

Understandably so.

The Wildcats saw their march to the state crown derailed Saturday, 55-51, to T.J. just two months after the school’s football team won it all. Many of those same players from the gridiron came over to play on the basketball team and looked to carry on the magic. But after the first overtime … and then the second … and then the third … and finally the fourth … the magic carpet ride ran out.

“It’s the kind of a game I’ve never been a part of, and I don’t think I’ve even seen one like it before (on TV or anywhere),” said Timmerman, also the school’s baseball coach who is now in his second year as head coach of the basketball team. “It was like a heavyweight boxing match and it seemed like we kept taking the punches — and delivering them.”

The biggest lead for either team was six points all day as the game went to halftime with Westwood leading, 17-16.

But at the end of regulation, Westwood held the ball for the last shot and had a chance to win it, only to come up short. And that was the theme which popped up over and over for both teams through the next three overtimes.

“We’d have a chance, then they’d have a chance and then we’d have another — it was just back and forth,” Timmerman said. “By the fourth overtime, what it came down to was that they capitalized on their chances and we didn’t. The game just took forever.”

Thomas Jefferson, which is arguably playing as good as any team in Class A after coming into its region tournament as a No. 4 seed and winning it all, took a four-point lead right off the bat in the final overtime and Westwood could get no closer than three points.

“Jake Kotter hit a 3-pointer with about 10 seconds to go to cut it to three, but then we had to foul and they made one (free throw) to push it to four with five seconds left, and it was basically over,” said Timmerman, whose team’s final record ends at 14-10.

Mason Jones led the way with 22 points, followed by 10 each from Kotter and John Vereen.