CHULA — Tiftarea Academy advanced to the elite eight Wednesday signing, surviving a 48-44 contest against Westfield. Now comes the hard part — taking on GIAA Class 3A No. 2 St. Andrew’s. That is set to take place Saturday at Tattnall Square Academy at 4:30 p.m.

“We did some really good things defensively in sports,” said head coach Rob Flick of his team’s first state tournament victory since 2019. “We did some good things offensively in spurts.”

St. Andrew’s is 23-3 with its only losses to much larger GHSA schools. They’ve even topped legendary Savannah school Beach, 78-35. Flick said he knows he has one of Georgia’s best teams ahead of him.

Should they upset St. Andrew’s, Tiftarea would play either No. 3 Lakeview Academy or No. 6 Westminster of Augusta Feb. 26.

The Smith brothers have carried the Panthers all season long. Wednesday, it was another pair, Andrew Connell and J.R. Walker.

Connell scored 10 first-half points and Walker scored all 15 of his in the second. Walker also had a crucial steal when the Panthers were hanging on to a 46-44 lead.

The timing was perfect on the steal. Walker got the ball with under 35 seconds left, meaning the shot clock was off and Westfield needed to foul to get another chance at possession.

After Flick called time to set a plan in motion, the Hornets descended upon Connell with 19 seconds left, sending him to the free throw line. Connell made one for some insurance and though Westfield got the rebound, they were short on a three-point attempt, that ball being scooped up by Elijah Smith.

Smith made one from the line with nine seconds remaining, effectively ruining Westfield’s chances of an upset.

Parker Pope gave Tiftarea a 21-10 lead with 2:51 to go in the second quarter. That was their largest, earned with plenty of defensive help.

Only an eighth-grader, “He’s going to be special,” Flick said.

Westfield played the long game in the first half. The Hornets moved the ball around plenty, setting up three-point attempts. Most failed to make the mark. Combined with the frequency of passes, Tiftarea picked up plenty of rebounds and turnovers.

Elijah Smith scored six in the first quarter, with Connell picking up his first triple for an 11-10 lead. Westfield had a three in the last minute from Hudson Hodge for that score.

Threes by Hodge and Hayden Hardy were the visitors’ only points of the second. Fletcher Walker hit three of his four free throws for the Panthers to be up 24-16 at the break.

Trouble began in the third as the Hornets came out of the gate on a 10-4 run. J.R. Walker then sprung into action with Tiftarea’s seven final points of the frame, including an impressive tip-in at the horn to make it 33-29.

Tiftarea seemed to be back on the right track in the fourth as Ben Smith and J.R. Walker doubled the margin to 37-29. Ninety seconds later, it was a ballgame again, thanks to five points from Cannon Allen.

Then it began to seesaw. Though the Panthers never lost their lead, they seemed on the verge of doing so several times. When J.R. Walker and Whit Jordan got it back up to 43-35, Hardy had five for Westfield.

Russ Hiley’s three at 1:21 made it much more nervous at 45-43. J.R. Walker and Hiley swapped free throws, which is where it stood when Walker made his big steal.

J.R. Walker scored 15, with Connell at 11 and Elijah Smith at 9. Hodge led Westfield with 10 and Allen had 9.

Besides earning their first state tournament win since 2019, the Panthers have assured themselves of their first winning record since that season. They are currently 12-9.