The North Atlanta Warriors traveled to Westminster on Friday to take on the Wildcats. Westminster came into this game hot, sporting a perfect 7-0 record at home while the Warriors had endured some struggle on their end, dropping two games in a row. This game had a lot on the line for both teams. Would North Atlanta be able to rise above their hardships, or would Westminster add another home win to bolster its already impressive resume? 

The game began with North Atlanta converting the first points of the game on an impressive floater by Jarontez Garrett that banked in off the backboard, but Westminster would take over the game after this. They could not miss from the arc, making three after three and slowly sapping away any momentum that North Atlanta might have been able to build. The Wildcats also were excellent from the free throw line, consistently making North Atlanta pay for their physical style of defense. Although they were consistently outplayed by Westminster for much of the game, the Warriors never truly went away. They kept the first quarter a tight one, and then after trailing at halftime nearly mounted a furious comeback in the beginning of the second half. The first few minutes of the second half proved to be the best basketball that North Atlanta would play all night. They attacked the basket and forced bad shots for Westminster on defense, getting within one point of the Wildcats in the middle of the third quarter. However, they ended up being unable to sustain this type of play throughout the game.

The man who made North Atlanta miserable all night was senior guard David Perchick for Westminster. Perchick did it all on offense, knocking down threes and attacking the rim, all punctuated with a ridiculous and-one layup in the fourth quarter that effectively put the game out of North Atlanta’s reach. One bright spot in an otherwise poor shooting performance from the Warriors was junior guard Charlie Hamilton. Hamilton made a handful of threes throughout the game and provided a spark for the ill-fated comeback attempt in the second half. The Warriors struggled mightily from the free-throw line throughout the game, missing shot after shot from the stripe. Failing to convert on these free baskets doomed North Atlanta, and they were sent home from Westminster with a disappointing loss, albeit to a very good team. Up next for the Warriors is Dunwoody on Tuesday night, as they look to rebound.