DULUTH - One year ago, in the tunnel of the Arena at Gwinnett Center following a 20-point loss to Wheeler in the state championship game, Milton then-sophomore Julian Royal vowed the Eagles would be back. Somber - but with a twinge of anger - he said Milton would be playing for the state championship again in 2010, and Royal said the Eagles would not leave at that time without the hardware.

In addition to being a clutch, talented post man and one of the elite junior players in all the country, Royal can also now call himself a prophet. For the Eagles led virtually from beginning to end, and put the finishing touches on a 29-4 season by winning the Class-AAAAA state championship, 56-46, over the Westlake Lions on Friday night in the same Arena at Gwinnett Center.

"We were determined all year...We worked on it everyday and we knew we were going to get here," said Royal, speaking on behalf of himself and a bevy of Milton holdovers from last season's state finalist squad.

"As soon as we hit that locker room last year and lost we said we were never going to let this happen again," he added, wearing a state championship hat and T-shirt following a celebration in the Milton locker room on Friday night.

Milton's five starters scored all of the team's points, led by Dai-Jon Parker's 19 and 15 from the aforementioned Royal. Evan Nolte scored 14, and Shannon Scott and Jordan Loyd added four apiece for the Eagles.

Milton turned a close halftime affair - it led 28-26 at the break - into a more comfortable margin by ending the third period on a 14-4 run and outscoring Westlake 16-8 overall in the quarter.

Parker headed the charge with seven points in the quarter, including a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to give Milton a 44-34 advantage going into the final period.

An 11-2 Milton run broke up a 30-all tie in the early stages of the quarter. Nolte hit a three from the right corner, and added two free-throws on an intentional foul from Westlake's Anthony Jacobs to increase the margin. Parker pitched in a couple free-throws and a jumper, and Royal scored on a putback for Milton's other points.

Milton extended the lead to its biggest advantage early in the final period, on a lay-in from Parker to push the lead to 46-34. Westlake (30-3) would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way, and the Eagles made their free-throws down the stretch (12-for-17 on the night) to settle the issue.

"You just gotta have your mind right at all times. We never know what the game is gonna throw at us," said Parker, who has earned the reputation as Milton's defensive stopper, but shined bright on the offensive end in the state title game.

One night after scoring 86 points against Newton, Milton was comfortable as a chameleon playing a slower pace against Westlake. The Eagles managed just 11 points in the second quarter, but held a halftime advantage thanks to a 1-3-1 zone defense that frustrated the Lions.

Furthermore, the Eagles began playing keep-away and milking the clock midway through the final period while holding a double-digit advantage.

"Well, I thought the key for us was good defense, especially in the second half," said Milton head coach David Boyd, who won his fifth career Georgia state championship in his third year as Milton's head coach.

"That 1-3-1 zone's been good for us. We hit some key free-throws down the stretch, and I thought Dai-Jon was real active the whole night.

Westlake grabbed a brief 9-8 lead in the opening period, but Milton countered with a 9-2 run behind seven points from Royal - including a dunk - for a 17-11 advantage at the end of the quarter.

Westlake was led by Nkosi Ali and Jeff Newberry - with 12 and 10 points, respecitively - but leading-scorer Marcus Thornton (a Clemson signee) sustained an ankle sprain in pre-game warmups and played less than two minutes before exiting the game in the first period with just two points. He did not return.

Milton took advantage. The Eagles countered Westlake's size edge with superior quickness and confounding defense. The Lions' 46 points were a season low, with their previous low coming in a 50-44 win over Vance (N.C.) during the Chick-fil-A Classic in December.

In the end, the night signified retribution for a team that felt bitterness from the way last season concluded. The Milton Eagles are the 2010 GHSA boy's state basketball champions, and they are all coming back for a shot at another title in 2011. Of the 14 varsity players on Milton's roster, there are no seniors.

"Oh, no, no, no," said Boyd, when asked if his fifth state title was any less sweet than the previous four.

"But it's special doing it at Milton because we kinda got off to a slow start with the program, and it's just gotten better and better. And we got everybody back, so that's a good thing."

Will the team repeat in 2011?

"Well we hope so, but you're not gonna get me with a Pat Riley quote," joked Boyd. "I'm just gonna say we're gonna do the best we can and hope to be there next year."