It was only fitting that Bill Westerholm’s final home game as the head coach of the Seaside boys basketball team was clinched by his son Jordan.

“That kid has had a great year,” the father said of his son. “I’m really proud of what he’s done; he competes his butt off on the defensive end and makes it difficult for everybody he plays on defense.”

So, on a night when Bill Westerholm told his team that he was retiring after 27 years, Jordan Westerholm and his teammates played their signature tough defense — and Jordan hit a late three-point shot that sealed a 38-34 first-round playoff win against Philomath on March 8.

The win advances the No. 8-seeded Seagulls, now 17-8, to a quarterfinal game in the 4A boys state championship tournament. That game, against No. 1 Cascade, begins at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Forest Grove High School.

After falling behind by 10 points late in the third quarter, the Seaside five-player group of Westerholm, Luis Gonzales, Jake White, Austin Palmer and Barett Blodgett rallied to take a 32-30 lead.

Later in the quarter, Westerholm — who hadn’t made a three-point shot all game — let fly with a high arcing shot that swished through the back of the net and sealed the playoff win for the Seagulls.

Coach Westerholm said he wasn’t surprised by the low-scoring game.

“Philomath plays really good defense, we knew it was possibly going to be a low-scoring game,” he said. “We struggled offensively in that first half and the defensive effort in the late third quarter and early fourth ignited us, ignited the crowd. … We laid it on the line defensively, it wasn’t just one kid.”

The Seagulls got the Warriors in foul trouble early in the fourth quarter, forcing them to go into a zone defense. The Seagulls took advantage by going to their post player, Blodgett, who responded with 15 points.

“Numerous guys hit big shots in the second half,” Westerholm said. “Early on it was Austin with a couple, Barett hit three in a row against their 1-3-1 zone, then Jordan hit the three that put us up five at that point.”

Westerholm said he didn’t tell his team about his plans to retire until Saturday, in part because he wanted the focus to be on the team and not about his final season.

“It’s never been about me, it’s always been about creating relationships with the kids, teaching them to compete fiercely on the court and in practice, which will hopefully translate to life,” he said.

“The kids have kind of known this whole season, but I didn’t let them know until tonight. I said to them after the game, what a way to go out, your last home game, on a court you’ve been coaching on for 27 years. These kids just made another memory.”

With two state titles on his resume, coach Westerholm is hoping his team can win one more. But Thursday’s game against 21-3 Cascade and its scoring duo of Kaiden Ford and Landon Knox will be a challenge.