WHITE HOUSE Luke Hopkins was in the seventh grade when the White House High School boys basketball program last played in a district championship game.
Hopkins and the rest of the third-seeded Blue Devils earned the opportunity to claim a district title due to their efforts on Saturday evening, capturing a 68-56 victory over No. 2 seed Westmoreland in a District 9-AA Tournament semifinal game played at White House Heritage High School.
“It’s huge,” Hopkins said. “I don’t think we’ve been to a district championship game since (the 2010-11 season). It’s huge. It feels great.”
The two teams just played eight days earlier, with the host Eagles earning a 52-45 victory to secure second place in the district’s regular-season standings.
“We came out really flat,” Hopkins said. “We played Heritage the night before, but they (Westmoreland) had a tough game too (the night before).
“They were hitting shots. We weren’t playing our pace, and we weren’t hitting shots.”
White House High senior point guard Luke Hopkins releases a one-handed shot in front of Westmoreland junior Colton Pippin during third-quarter action. Hopkins scored a game-high 21 points in the Blue Devils’ 68-56 victory on Saturday evening.
A pair of baskets from Westmoreland junior forward Colton Pippin late in the third stanza gave the Eagles a 42-39 lead, but White House junior forward Malik Morgan made two free throws to pull his squad to within a point entering the fourth quarter.
With Eagle senior guard Dalton Leath – the team’s leading scorer this season – on the bench with four fouls, the Blue Devils’ 2-2-1, full-court press forced four turnovers over the first three minutes of the final period. That helped White House score the first seven points of the fourth quarter.
“That was key,” Westmoreland head coach Jason Graves said. “Dalton was on the bench with four (fouls), and I was trying to stretch the bench. It went from up one to down four or five. That put us playing catch-up after that.
“They made a couple of shots in the corner, and the rest of it was foul shots. We tried to attack the basket to get to the foul line and just didn’t get the calls.”
Hopkins made a 3-pointer during the latter portion of what was actually a 14-2 run, which was capped by junior guard Bradley Cole’s left-handed layin. That gave the Blue Devils a 53-44 lead with four minutes remaining.
“We just picked up the pressure and forced turnovers,” Hopkins said. “We play so much better with the momentum on our side.”
The Eagles (18-12) didn’t get any closer than seven points the rest of the way as White House made 14 of 20 free throws in the final period, connecting on 26 of 38 charity tosses on the night.
“We were right where we wanted to be up to the end of the third quarter,” Graves said. “It’s a good ballgame. Both teams were playing well.
“When a team shoots 20 foul shots in the fourth quarter, you’re going to get beat. They weren’t all intentional fouls trying to catch up at the end. You know you have to win the foul-shooting battle. We got outshot, 35-18. Give White House credit. Their kids do a good job.”
Hopkins followed up his career-high 30 points in Thursday’s 79-64 win over Sycamore with 21 points on Saturday. Morgan provided 18 points, and freshman teammate Jared Ward scored 11 points.
White House High junior forward Malik Morgan dribbles to the basket during third-quarter action as Westmoreland senior Dalton Leath defends. Morgan scored 18 points in the Blue Devil victory on Saturday evening.
“(The coaches) are telling me to play within myself and don’t try to force anything, be aggressive and stay in control,” Hopkins said. “I’m playing with more of a sense of urgency. We were trying to get to a district championship game.”
There were four ties and six lead changes in the first half.
Pippin – who is left-handed – and fellow junior post player Lucas Garrison came off of the bench to combine for 15 points in the first half.
Westmoreland High junior forward Lucas Garrison throws an entry pass into the post area as White House junior Malik Morgan defends. Garrison scored seven points.
However, the Blue Devils (15-13) made a concerted effort to contain Westmoreland’s post players after halftime, limiting that duo to six points in the second half (all of which came in the third period).
“It was a conscious effort,” White House head coach Gary Smith – whose squad claimed a 70-66 win when the two teams played in White House on Jan. 19 – said. “That’s really pretty much all I talked about at the half. We were letting (Pippin) drop-step (to use his left hand). He was catching it going to the backboard. I just asked them how many shots he hit over the front rim, turning into the lane. It was a conscious effort making him do something different.”
Eagle senior guard Caleb Graves scored a team-high 18 points, and both Leath and Pippin provided 14 points.
Westmoreland High senior guard Zeke Webb dribbles past White House senior Luke Hopkins. Webb scored three points.
“I told the guys that there were some naysayers, especially late in the season (after losing three consecutive games), saying we had lost them and that they lost their legs,” Smith said. “This is a good lesson for them to believe. I thought the Sycamore win was huge, just getting back to the region. That is a pressurized game. You don’t go (to the region) for a couple of years. Then, it could be three and then four. Some teams go for stretches for a while without getting to the region.
“I told them they were playing on house money the rest of the week. I think they were more relaxed tonight and played more of a complete game than they did against Sycamore. I’m just glad they pulled away.”
In addition to earning a home game in Saturday’s Region 5-AA Tournament quarterfinal round, the Blue Devils advanced to face Cheatham County – a 66-50 winner over fourth-seeded Harpeth in Saturday’s other semifinal – in Tuesday evening’s championship game, while Westmoreland fell into Monday evening’s consolation game against Harpeth.
Reach Craig Harris at charris@mtcngroup.com or at 615-575-7138. Follow him on Twitter @HarrisGNESports.
WHITE HOUSE (68) – Luke Hopkins 21, Malik Morgan 18, Jared Ward 11, Logan Trimmer 6, Bradley Cole 5, Cole Pond 3, Zach Baldwin 2, Noah Cook 2.
WESTMORELAND (56) – Caleb Graves 18, Dalton Leath 14, Colton Pippin 14, Lucas Garrison 7, Zeke Webb 3.
Half: 30-29, White House. Three-point goals: White House 4 (Hopkins 2, Pond 1, Ward 1), Westmoreland 3 (Graves 2, Webb 1). Records: White House 15-13, Westmoreland 18-12.