CLASS 7A
March 4 at Georgia State
R5 #2 Cherokee 63, R7 #1 Norcross 60 OT: Homegrown Cherokee got 19 points from Braylin Giddens in a thrilling overtime victory of the defending state champs. Lawrence Sanford scored 15 points, Tayden Owens had 14 and Cameron Pope added 9. Mier Panoam led Norcross with 18 points while UGA-signee Mari Jordan and Samarion Bond pitched in 13 points apiece.
R5 #1 Wheeler 67, R4 #1 Grayson 55: USC-signee Arrinten Page had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocks while McDonald’s All-American Isaiah Collier and fellow Trojan scored 19 points. Gicarri Harris had 15 points to lead Grayson.
CLASS 6A
March 4 at West Georgia
R1 #1 Lee County 49, R8 #1 Lanier 48: Josiah Parker scored 16 points and Harrison Skinner added 9.
R5 #1 Alexander 56, R6 #1 Etowah 53: Braeden Lue pitched in 22 points and 8 rebounds while Marvin McGhee netted 11. Virginia Tech-signee Brandon Rechsteiner led Etowah with 15 points followed by Dimitri Angelakos’ 13 and Aidan Weaver’s 10.
CLASS 5A
March 3 at West Georgia
R2 #1 Eagle’s Landing 66, R2 #4 Jones County 54: Mercer-signee David Thomas scored 20 points and Kenny Brayboy added 17. Chris Morris added 16 points and Khylan McKennie had 11. Jaylen Sanford powered Jones County with 15 points followed by Kaden Douglas’ 11 and Judd Anderson’s 10.
R6 #1 Kell 54, R5 #1 Chapel Hill 33: CJ Brown scored 24 points while Cannnon Richards scored 10. Young Harris-commit Kelvin Hunter led Chapel Hill with 8 points.
CLASS 4A
March 4 at Fort Valley State
R5 #2 Pace Academy 57, R1 #1 Westover 49: Kyle Greene scored 16 points to lead Pace Academy while Kemari Leverette netted 16 for Westover.
R4 #1 Fayette County 73, R3 #1 Benedictine 67: RJ Kennedy scored 21 points followed by Keith Gillespie’s 17 points and Sean Van Dorn’s 15. Caleb Jones powered the Cadets with 27 points while Stephon Frazier netted 14 and Ladon Bryant chipped in 8.
CLASS 3A
March 3 at Fort Valley State
R5 #2 Cedar Grove 61, R5 #3 Douglass 45: Jaylen Adside posted 18 points and 5 assists. Darius Reynolds posted 12 points and 12 rebounds. EJ Colson scored 11 points and Manny Green tacked on 10 points and 8 rebounds. Josh Mickell paced Douglass with 11 points.
R5 #1 Sandy Creek 62, R4 #1 Cross Creek 44: The Patriots ended the Razorbacks’ quest for a three-peat behind Micah Smith’s 16 points and 9 blocks. PJ Green added 13 points and Vic Newsom contributed 10. Antoine Lorick led Cross Creek with 15 points.
CLASS 2A
March 4 at Georgia College
R8 #1 Providence Christian 59, R7 #1 Model 49: The Storm (27-4) punched their ticket to state, using their defense to power the attack. Jeremias Heard scored seven of his eight points in the first half to go with 8 rebounds and 5 blocks but Chandler Dunn made it tough to receive any clean post entries in the second half. Covenant College-signee Thomas Malcolm got the Storm off to a quick start scoring 12 of his 14 points in the first quarter. Devin McClain paced Providence Christian with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 1 block. The Storm, who hit 250 threes on the season were held to seven. Samuel Thacker, the school’s all-time single-season leader with 114 this year, hit a crucial late three from the corner to extend the lead, only his second of the night as he finished with 10 points and 6 assists. Jakenes Heard led Model (23-5) with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block. Stevie Dallas and Noah Travis scored 9 points each.
R4 #1 Westside-Augusta 55, R5 #1 Columbia 52: Westside-Augusta (24-7) grinded out a victory against Columbia (30-2) in what turned into a defensive war as the Eagles rallied from down 36-27 at the half to make things interesting before ultimately falling short. Khalon Hudson had two crucial offensive rebounds late in the fourth quarter to extend possessions for the Patriots. Hudson recorded 12 points and 21 rebounds while battling 6-foot-9 Region 5 Player of the Year Terrell Wright, who posted 11 points, 15 rebounds, 2 steals and 6 blocks. Westside’s balanced attack saw DeMarco Middleton finish with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists while battling cramps. AuMauri Tillman netted 11 points including two late free throws while Jalexs Ewing had 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 1 block. Columbia, made just one jump shot all game, was powered by Kevin Bruce’s 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Jada Baugh, who fouled out with the game tied at 49 with 2:29 to play, had 10 points and 7 rebounds.
CLASS A D-I
March 3 at Georgia College
R6 #2 Mt. Pisgah 53, R2 #1 Swainsboro 49: The Patriots (23-8) jumped out to a 14-1 lead and led 43-24 after three quarters before surviving a 25-10 Swainsboro (15-10) fourth quarter to advance to the state title game. Micah Tucker piled in 23 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals while Tyson Pittman provided 17 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 3 steals. Grant Randall posted 6 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist and 5 blocks to anchor the Patriot backline which had a size advantage. Swainsboro finally turned to the press in the fourth quarter after sitting in a 2-3 zone and saw success, but also saw Demello Jones foul out at the 4:06 mark with the Tigers down 47-36. Jones, a four-star athlete on the gridiron, finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 4 blocks. Freshman LJ Morgan ignited the comeback, scoring 13 of his team-high 15 points in the fourth quarter to go with his 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. Ka’Voyea Williams pitched in 11 points and 7 rebounds in the loss.
R6 #4 King’s Ridge 53, R6 #1 Mt. Vernon 48: Preseason No. 1 King’s Ridge (22-10) punched their ticket back to the state championship after holding off Mt. Vernon (23-9) in an exciting finish. The Mustangs were able to establish their size advantage in spurts as Xavier Shegog posted 18 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block while Maryville-signee Keith Williams pounded away for 14 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks, but King’s Ridge’s perimeter balance was the difference as four players reached double digits, the Tigers nailing seven threes. Isaac Martin scored six of his 12 points in the fourth quarter including a pair of three throws with 3.6 seconds left to ice the game. Martin also added 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. Jaydon Cole netted 12 points followed by 10 apiece from Zak Thomas and Jack Thomas.
CLASS A D-II
March 4 at Valdosta State
R2 #1 Charlton County 50, R7 #1 Greenforest 49: Three-point sniper Jarvis Wright banked a three at the buzzer to stun Greenforest, finishing with 14 points. Jamari Hamilton paced the Indians 16 points while Elyiss Williams posted 11 points, 18 rebounds and 1 block. Isaiah Lloyd led Greenforest with 12 points. Georgia State-signee DK Manyiel scored 11 points and Mississippi State-signee Gai Chol had 10.
R5 #1 Wilkinson County 85, R6 #1 Macon County, 63: Region 5 Player of the Year Justin Stanley poured in 25 points.