CLASS 7A
March 4 at Buford City Arena
R7 #1 No. 4 Berkmar 72, R2 #1 No. 1 Pebblebrook 58: Jameel Rideout poured in 22 points and Ole Miss-signee Malique Ewin scored 19.
March 5 at Buford City Arena
R7 #2 No. 8 Norcross 75, R4 #2 No. 4 Newton 72: Jerry Deng poured in 24 points and London Johnson had 20.
CLASS 6A
March 5 at West Georgia
R8 #2 No. 5 Buford 73, R7 #1 No. 10 Sequoyah 72: Behind Alahn Sumler’s 19 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, Buford survived Sequoyah. Malachi Brown scored a team-high 20 and Jaylon Taylor added 18 points and 7 rebounds. Rollins-signee Dylan Wolle poured in a game-high 25 points for the Chiefs. Preston Parker scored 20 and Fisher Mitchell netted 15 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
R3 #1 Grovetown 68, R4 #3 Langston Hughes 63
CLASS 5A
March 5 at Fort Valley State
No. 1 R4 #1 Eagle’s Landing 67, R3 #2 No. 5 Jonesboro 60 OT: In the loss, Devon Rainey had 21 points and 5 rebounds while Kaymen Brown totaled 17 points and 5 rebounds. Malcolm Simmons chipped in 10 points and 7 rebounds.
R3 #1 No. 3 Tri-Cities 71, R7 #2 No. 8 Calhoun 68 OT: Kennesaw State-signee Simeon Cottle erupted for 36 points. Kory Mincy added 14. Calhoun was led by Freed-Hardeman-signee Peyton Law’s 24 points and Dylan Faulkner’s 21.
CLASS 4A
March 4 at Fort Valley State
R2 #1 Spencer 44, R6 #2 Marist 38: Randall Dixon scored 12 points to pace Spencer.
R1 #1 No. 3 Westover 42, R5 #2 No. 1 McDonough 39: Kavon Johnson was ejected but Westover rallied to win after trailing 23-13 at the half. Westover outscored the War Hawks 17-8 in the fourth. Kemari Leverette and Effrin Smith scored 12 apiece to lead the comeback.
CLASS 3A
March 5 at Georgia College & State
R3 #2 No. 3 Windsor Forest 60, R4 #1 No. 5 Thomson 53: Javonte Landy scored five points including a timely left-handed floater off the glass that helped the Knights secure a trip to Macon. Georgetown-signee D’ante Bass led Windsor Forest with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Thomson led 25-20 after one and 34-32 at the half following a Jaquan Hart putback at the buzzer. Windsor Forest pulled ahead 48-46 heading into the fourth quarter as Michael Cabellero scored seven of his 9 points in the frame. Landy scored 11 points total for the Knights while Abasi Scott added 9 points and 5 rebounds after battling early foul trouble. Donte Dorman scored 8. Thomson was led by Lavonta Ivery who scored 18 points to go with his 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Tydrekis Braswell had 13 points and 5 rebounds. Jahkiaus Jones did not return to action for the Bulldogs after getting hit in the eye in the third quarter.
R4 #2 No. 7 Cross Creek 55, R3 #4 Beach 43: The Razorbacks survived a 13-point third quarter from Larry Johnson and punched their ticket back to Macon for the third straight year with a chance to repeat as state champions. Up 21-14 at the half, the Razorbacks found themselves down 33-32 to the Cinderella story Bulldogs as Johnson broke out. Johnson finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Tied at 41 with 4:18 remaining in the fourth, Shamarrie Hugie fouled out for the Bulldogs with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 2 blocks, picking up his final two fouls over a 12-second span. With Hugie on the bench, Cross Creek held Johnson scoreless in the forth quarter and outscored the Bulldogs 11-2 to close the game. Antoine Lorick finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 blocks. Terrenice Streetman tallied 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Jaquez Ellison added 8 points and 4 rebounds.
CLASS 2A
March 4 at Georgia College & State
R4 #1 No. 4 Westside-Augusta 73, R3 #2 Northeast-Macon 55: The Patriots raced out to a 45-23 halftime lead behind Khalon Hudson’s first half double-double and closed with a 14-4 run after Mercer-signee Travion Solomon fouled out to put an end to Northeast-Macon’s comeback bid. Hudson totaled 27 points, 19 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks followed by Xavier Goss’ 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. With Solomon picking up his fourth foul midway through the third quarter, the Raiders managed to tread water and trail 54-37 heading into the fourth. Solomon would score nine of his 20 points in the final period, but fouled out at the 4:57 mark in the midst of a comeback with the score at 59-51. In the win, Westside got 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks from Jalexs Ewing. AuMauri Tillman scored 9. Milandre Pettigrew posted 14 points and 7 rebounds for the Raiders while Zion Odoms, a Marshall football-signee, tallied 10 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 3 blocks.
R4 #2 No. 3 Butler 66, R2 #2 Woodville-Tompkins 45: The Bulldogs used a 22-6 third quarter to balloon a 27-21 halftime lead into a 49-27 advantage after 24 minutes. Kendrell Glanton had 13 points and 7 rebounds followed by Elijah Martinez’ 12 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. The balance of Butler also saw Malik Smith post 11 points and 5 rebounds. Chance Finklin came off the bench to produce 11 points. Zyquan Grant tallied 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Lukas Platauna led Woodville-Tompkins with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. Alfonzo Ross and Julles Spruill netted 11 each.
CLASS A-PRIVATE
March 4 at Buford City
R2 #1 Greenforest 68, R4 #1 Heritage School 40: Florian Tenebay scored 15 points to lead Greenforest.
March 5 at Buford City
R6 #1 No. 3 King’s Ridge 59, R1 #1 No. 9 First Presbyterian Day 57 OT: King’s Ridge withstood three late free throws from Jay King that sent the game to overtime and his 38 total points to clinch a berth in the state championship for the first time in school history. Jack Thomas coolly sank a pair of free throws with 1.5 seconds left in overtime to send the Tigers to Macon. Isaac Martin scored 18 points to lead King’s Ridge while Liam Thomas and Micah Hoover scored 8 apiece.
CLASS A-PUBLIC
March 5 at Valdosta State
R7 #1 No. 6 Warren County 49, R5 #1 No. 5 Manchester 48
R6 #1 No. 2 Drew Charter 70, R8 #1 No. 1 Social Circle 66 OT: Cedric Taylor III scored 23 points. Cam Johnson and Ja’Kobe Strozier scored 13 apiece. BJ Tripplett netted 10. KJ Reid led Social Circle with 22 points. Cam Gaither (12), Phillip Baynes (11) and Tyrhell Branch (10) all reached double figures.