Basketball Game Preview: Westside Patriots vs. Aquinas Fightin' Irish

The Westside Patriots will take on the Aquinas Fightin' Irish at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Westside knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past five contests -- so hopefully Aquinas likes a good challenge.

Westside is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Howard: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Westside blew Howard out of the water with a 74-25 final score. Given the Patriots' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 113th, while the Huskies are ranked 397th), the result on Tuesday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Westside's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Dontrell Jackson led the charge by going 5 for 12 on his way to 18 points in addition to eight assists and five boards. Jackson has been hot, having also posted five or more steals the last five times he's played. Aldrion Jones was another key player, dropping a double-double on 17 points and ten rebounds.

Meanwhile, Aquinas played a tough game on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They took a blow against Baldwin, falling 78-37. The Fightin' Irish were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 42-12.

Westside pushed their record up to 10-6 with the win, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 84.3 points per game. As for Aquinas, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-10.

Everything came up roses for Westside against Aquinas in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, as the squad secured a 78-50 victory. Does Westside have another victory up their sleeve, or will Aquinas turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.