GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Girls Recaps, Recaps

Statewide Recap 11-16

BOYS

Class AAAAAAA

No. 2 Norcross 79, Walnut Grove 42: Dalvin White put in 16 points for Norcross, followed closely by the 15 points of Kyle Sturdivant and Brandon Boston’s 12. RJ Selman led Walnut Grove with 14 first-half points before an injury prematurely ended his night.

No. 10 Collins Hill 82, Heritage-Conyers 63: Chris Parks notched a double-double with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Mandarius Dickerson (23 points), Justin Lee (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Elijah Wilson (11 points) all contributed in the win for Collins Hill. Trelan Scott led a balanced scoring night for Heritage with 16 points, followed closely by Adrian Boykin’s 15 and Josh Guilford’s 14.

Mill Creek 64, West Forsyth 53: Jayden Marshall made five three-pointers en route to 23 points on the night. Noah Kenney followed up with 21 of his own.

Campbell 76, Marietta 69: Junior Donovan Grant set up camp behind the arc, going 7-for-11 from three-point range and scoring 27 points total. Point guard Terrell Burden added 20 points, 8 assists and 3 steals, while senior Kiya Randolph pitched in 17 points.

Class AAAAAA

No. 10 Cambridge 67, Walton 55: Kamar Robertson and David Banks each scored 18 points to lead the Bears. Robertson added 7 assists as well. Bryce Boutelle chipped in 14 points.

Douglas County 83, No. 4 Tri-Cities 77 OT:  Cam Copeland pumped in 24 points and Rickey Clark scored 17 points to pace the Tigers. Malik Battle netted 14 points and Ernest Randle triple-doubled with 11 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks to sneak past the Bulldogs and open up Region 5 play with a bang. Unsigned lefty wing Eli Lawrence poured in 25 points in the loss. DaMarcus Johnson and Jon Young each had 12.

North Atlanta 66, Lovett 29: Messiah Thompson stuffed the stat sheet with 26 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals.

Class AAAAA

Flowery Branch 71, Chestatee 49: Justin Quick double-doubled with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals. JJ Greene added 17 points and 6 rebounds, Devon Wainer had 10 points and 4 rebound while Joey Nidoy chipped in 7 points and 6 rebounds.

Class AAAA

Blessed Trinity 64, Centennial 49: In a balanced team effort, the Titans pushed past the Knights. Ben Shappard led the charge with 21 points, buoyed by Andy Swade’s 15 and Will Marin’s 14 points.

Class AAA

No. 4 Greater Atlanta Christian 61 4ANo. 8 Woodward Academy 35: Hunter McIntosh led all scorers with 28 points for GAC, 23 of which came in the first half, whereas Walker Kessler led Woodward Academy with 8 points.

Dawson County 61, Jefferson 41: Cullen Reed led the Tigers with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Jeremiah Crumley added 13 points and 8 rebounds. Campbell Reed scored 10 points and Ryan Gallekamp grabbed 8 rebounds. Jefferson was led by Jasper Gibson’s 24 points and Jacob Radaker’s 12.

Class AA

No. 5 Thomasville 70, 4A No. 7 Westover 56: Behind Mississippi State-signee Reggie Perry’s 25 points and Titus Wright’s 11, the Bulldogs secured an early statement victory over Class AAAA No. 7 Westover in a battle of two of South Georgia’s best. Kris Gardner (21 points) and Cameron Weston (16 points) contributed offensively to Westover in a losing effort.

Class A-Private

No. 5 Wesleyan 77, Hebron Christian Academy 67: Christian McLean led the Wolves with 34 points, followed by Stevie Crawford’s 19 and Grant Summers’s 13 points.

GIRLS

Class AAAAAAA

Mill Creek 58, West Forsyth 24: Kayla Mulkey led the Hawks with 14 points, aided by Bridget Mukasa and Madison Riley, who both broke double digits in the point column (13 and 10).

Class AAAAAA

No. 6 Douglas County 88, Tri-Cities 33: Preseason All-State selection Amari Robinson led the Douglas County Tigers with 18 points.

Centennial 52, Blessed Trinity 39:  Florida Gulf Coast-commit Shekinah Guthrie dropped in 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to power the Knights past the Titans. Divine Guthrie added 9 points and 11 rebounds. Bailey Herbermehl netted 7 points.

Class AAAAA

No. 2 Flowery Branch 69, Chestatee 38: Caroline Wysocki filled up the stat sheet for Flowery Branch with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Carly Shaw added 14 points and 7 rebounds and Lexie Sengkhamee added 12 points in the win. University of Alabama-signee Taniyah Worth eclipsed 1,000 career points tonight with 9 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. 

Class AAAA

Class AAA

No. 8 Dawson County 68, 4ANo. 4 Jefferson 56: Dawson County led by as many as 15 points late in the third quarter and was able to weather a comeback bid by Jefferson that trimmed the deficit to eight. Calli Watson led Dawson County with 16 points off of five three-pointers; Kaylee Sticker had 15 points and Anna Lowe scored 10 points. Emma Brown chipped in 9. The Dragons received 16 points from McKenzie Tyner and 11 from Jazmin Allen. Akera Benton and freshman Livi Blackstock chipped in 7 apiece.

Class AA

Class A-Private

GISA Trinity Christian 66, Our Lady of Mercy 64: A career-high 51 points to go along with 17 rebounds, 6 steals and 3 blocks from Florida State-signee & 2016 Class A-Private Player of the Year Morgan Jones wasn’t enough to overcome Trinity Christian. The Lions were powered by Catherine Skebo’s 29 points and 8 rebounds. Abby Bragg flirted with a triple-double collecting 19 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Chan Hendrix snagged 11 rebounds.

 

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

Young Tigers claw past No. 3 Sandy Creek in white-knuckle tug-o-war at Fayette County

Contributed by Rob Grubbs   (@RCGJr226070)

Fayette County 67, 4ANo. 3 Sandy Creek 65

Fayette County and Sandy Creek went down to the wire

It’s still a week until Thanksgiving, but the menu for early season GHSA basketball games has whetted our appetite for the season ahead.  One such game was the cross-county rivalry between two Final Four teams from last year, the Sandy Creek Patriots from AAAA and Fayette County from AAAAA. Playing before two huge student sections, the game stayed within six points the entire night. The ending was dramatic, as the Tigers would score the winning basket on their last possession for the 67-65 win.

Coach Andre Flynn is back on the Tiger bench, he has coached there for over 20 years, but the players that took them to the Final Four in Columbus have moved on. He is working with a clean slate, but because of his consistency and the system he employs, the new players know exactly how they fit in. This year’s group is built around athleticism and discipline. For Sandy Creek, they brought back much of the talent that took them to Augusta last year for the semifinals but have welcomed a new coach, Jon-Michael Nickerson. Coach Nickerson, who comes with an impressive resume as a player, high school coach and college coach, brings a more defensive mindset than the past. He has a deep, talented roster with height and leadership.

On this night, there was a buzz before the tip that lasted until the final whistle, both coaches and players would say it’s early, this is a non-region game, it is not that important in the grand scheme of things, but actually, it was important to them and their play proved that. In a game that was crisp and full of athleticism and sportsmanship, Sandy Creek took a two-point lead to half. You could tell the defensive energy that both coaches were looking for was there which kept the game low scoring.

The fourth quarter, which started with Fayette County ahead 48-45 was almost a blur. It felt like the first three quarters were warm up and this was for real. Josh Dupree and Rickey Knight would hit back-to-back threes to give the Tigers the largest lead of the night at six, only to see Sandy Creek come back. Jarred Godfrey would hit two threes himself within 15 seconds of each other and with 2:50 remaining, the Patriots were up 60-59.  Ultimately, it came down to a tie game with under a minute. Fayette County point guard JeKobe Coleman, an ELCA transfer, worked from the top of the key as the Tigers waited patiently for their opportunity. With 9 seconds remaining, Coleman found Jordan Brown who had snuck in behind the Patriot zone defense for the game winning shot.

Sandy Creek had eight seconds, but Josh Dupree stole the basketball and ended the night

Afterwards Flynn said, “Our guys are so young, you don’t know how they will compete until the game starts, we did not play well on Saturday in a loss to East Coweta, but I am proud of how they fought tonight. We want to see how they respond when they get beat up because it gives you an indication of the growth. We will need to continue to grow as the year goes on.”

Takeaways

  1. JeKobe Coleman threw the pass to Brown for the winning score just like he did this season for the Fayette County football team as their QB. He was very calm and collected, the moment was not too big for the sophomore.  It is always great to see the two sport athletes play.
  2. Jarred Godfrey has bought into Coach Nickerson’s philosophies on the court. Godfrey has developed into a true leader, the college watching last night loved his performance.
  3. Patriot Kameron Miller has one speed – wide open; he scored, he passed, he rebounded and he was everywhere.
  4. The Tigers are young and are liable to have a bad game from time to time, but they are good and will get better.
  5. The Patriots lineup of Miller, Godfrey, TJ Bickerstaff, Xavier Brewer and Julian Alexander has a good mix of height and quickness.
  6. Look for both teams to make noise in the post season.

Top Performers

Fayette County
Rickey Knight – 20 points, 2 rebounds
Josh Dupree – 15 points, 2 rebounds
Terrell Bradley – 14 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists
JeKobe Coleman – 9 points, 2 assists

Sandy Creek
Jarred Godfrey – 22 points, 3 rebounds
TJ Bickerstaff 22 points, 11 rebounds
Kam Miller – 9 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists

GHSA, Girls Basketball, Girls Game Stories

Fayette County Lady Tigers impress with cross-county win over Sandy Creek

Contributed by Rob Grubbs   (@RCGJr226070)
Photo by CD Photography (@FayetteSports)

Fayette County 58, Sandy Creek 32

Trinity Brown
Trinity Brown || CD Photography

FAYETTEVILLE, Georgia – Two teams that had impressive finishes to last years’ season faced off in an early inter-county rivalry game. The Sandy Creek Lady Patriots made it to the Class AAAA Final 4 where they would lose to eventual champion Columbus. Graduation was not kind to Coach Janie Hodges and the Lady Patriots as they lost their dynamic backcourt duo of ShanQuaylia Stanton and Kasey Toles from last year’s team. This year’s team will be focused more on a strong inside game from their star post players, Daija Powell and Paris Thompson.

Fayette County Coach John Strickland also lost a key player from last year’s Class AAAAA Sweet 16 team, Darryl Langford who is at the Naval Academy now, but brought back a deep roster with strong senior leadership. In contrast to Sandy Creek, the Lady Tigers bring experience to the backcourt but are young inside. The matchup was a classic opportunity for both teams to see where they are and what needs work. Since this is was a non-region game, one team was going to win while the other was going to learn more about themselves.

Sandy Creek jumped out to an 8-5 first quarter lead with all points scored by Powell.  The new guard tandem of Nina Lum and Jania Hodges were constantly feeding the ball down low, and Powell was moving in the paint with ease. As the game progressed, the Lady Tigers continued to rotate players, making wholesale changes at almost every break.  Guards Maegan Brantley, Sidney Sims and Trinity Brown were playing fast and they slowly turned the defensive pressure up which wore down the Patriots. After taking a 22-18 lead into the half, the Lady Tigers dominated the third quarter with their full court press and depth to pull away.

Afterwards, Strickland was proud his post players who were getting the first significant playing time of their career. “Naomi Franco and Celine Akande played outstanding against their inside players, who are really good. We know what we have in our frontcourt, we know what to expect from Maegan, Trinity and Sidney, but I was really encouraged with how Naomi and Celine played. If they continue to progress, that will open up more of our offense.”

Strickland also wanted to brag more on his ladies latest academic feats than the game, he said, “This has the potential to be a special group.”

In the end, it was Fayette County 58-32 with Brown and Barkley leading scorers with 15 each. Franco played a solid game in the post, just missing a double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds. Powell led the Lady Patriots with 15; look for them to improve as the season goes along and their guard play gets more comfortable and confident.

Top Performers

Fayette County
Maegan Barkley – 15 points, 3 rebounds
Trinity Brown – 15 points, 3 rebounds
Naomi Franco – 9 points, 9 rebounds
Sidney Sims – 8 points, 9 rebounds

Sandy Creek
Daija Powell – 14 points, 8 rebounds
Paris Thompson – 10 points, 3 rebounds

GHSA, Girls Basketball, Girls Game Stories

No. 1 Northview escapes Towne Lake with season-opening win over scrappy Wolverines

No. 1 Northview 61, Woodstock 51

The Class AAAAAA No. 1 ranked Northview Lady Titans hit the road to visit a new-look Woodstock Wolverines team with Jared Hughes at the helm, his first official game on the sidelines after coming over from Rome to replace long-time head coach Julie Crowe. Last season it was the Titans who hosted the Wolverines to open the year with Northview scoring a dominant 57-44 victory. The tables were nearly turned on Tuesday as Woodstock pushed the Titans to the limit before falling 61-51.

Arriving just 15 minutes before game-time after an hour and 45-minute commute, Northview opened up slow with fouls piling up. Starting point guard Asjah Inniss was ushered to the bench with two fouls in just a minute and 50 seconds, immediately testing Northview’s depth.

The Titans managed to push the lead to 10-4, but at the 3:46 mark, it was Maya Richards’ turn to pick up her second foul and head to the bench. With two key cogs on Coach Chris Yarbrough’s bench, the Wolverines made their move. Freshman point guard Kayden Montgomery sparked a 7-0 run to take an 11-10 lead, hustling to earn second-chance points by hitting the glass and deflecting an assist to physical post Ivana George, who scored all six of her points in the first half.

In search of a basket to stem the tide, Coach Yarbrough knew to punch it inside to All-State forward Ashlee Austin.

Woodstock had opportunities to take a lead heading into the second quarter but three turnovers in near succession held the score at 13-13 after one. Highly touted freshman combo guard Eden Sample carried the offensive burden in the first quarter with Inniss and Richards sidelined and the Titans already with nine team fouls. The smooth shooter scored six points and netted 12 of her team-high 16 in the first half.

Playing with two fouls, Inniss reentered to start the second quarter and ignited the Titans. A quick steal led to an And-1 and before long Northview found itself leading 22-14 with 5:37 left to play, a 9-1 run.

Coach Hughes’ Wolverines settled down and cut the lead to 27-22, George and Montgomery working an inside-out game. On the other side, Austin continued to pound away inside. She went 5-of-6 from the line and finished the night with 16 points, 14 rebounds and four steals.

Down 10 with seconds remaining, Montgomery banked in a three at the buzzer to keep the Wolverines in striking distance heading into the half down 34-27.

Northview came out of the locker room with something to prove in the second half. Clamping on a diamond press, the Titans ripped off a 13-0 run to put the Wolverines on the ropes, now down 20 at 47-27 less than three minutes into the third.

Just a few more baskets away from Goliath landing the knockout punch to David, the underdogs found their stone in the form of 5-foot-11 sophomore Sophia Singer. After scoring just four points in the first half, the potential laced wing poured in 10 of Woodstock’s 11 points in the frame including back-to-back threes to put the Wolverines’ upset bid back on life support, heading into the fourth quarter down 54-38.

The Singer onslaught continued in the final frame as Woodstock sparked a 7-0 run to bring the score to 54-45. The closest the Wolverines would draw would be at the 4:06 mark after Singer put in two of her game-high 21 points off an offensive rebound to make the score 55-48.

From that point on, the Titans finally got a hold of Singer and contained her to one point the rest of the way and was able to nurse a healthy 8-to-10-point lead to the finish line. Northview scored all their fourth quarter points from the charity stripe, going 7-of-10.

My Take

It wasn’t the prettiest way to start the season – a foul fest – but No. 1 Northview was able to hang on. There looked like upwards of four future D-I players on the court. Ashlee Austin is still the most consistent player for Northview and she will be asked to become even more of a cornerstone now that Shannon Titus is at Mercer. The 2019 6-foot-2 forward crashed the glass hard as always and looked even better on the perimeter than last year, comfortable going between her legs and off the dribble to create for shooters in the corner. In due time, I’d like to see her finish those drives through defenders instead of kicking out, but she did a good job of not forcing any bad shots. As good as Austin was, Asjah Inniss was the energizer bunny and the straw that stirred the drink for Northview. The quick and wiry sophomore looked like the game slowed down for her after she tended to play a little too fast as a freshman. Inniss has great hands on the perimeter and can get to a ton of 50/50 balls. Her 13 points and nine steals were a major difference maker. The Titans didn’t function nearly as well on both sides of the ball while she was in foul trouble. Freshman Eden Sample has a pretty stroke and good body control when she finds herself on the low block. She’s able to finish through contact. She stepped up big time with Inniss on the bench and will be counted on to stretch defenses. She has a bright next four years. An unsung hero was undersized senior post Camil Butler. She saw sporadic minutes last season but had to play a big role right away with Maya Richards on the bench. She finished with five points (5-of-6 FT), three rebounds, one assist, two steals and two blocks. She was automatic from the foul line and very composed when she found the ball in her hands. Great lift off the bench.

Woodstock is young and a little banged up, especially at the guard position. That did not stop Jared Hughes’ team from competing the entire 32 minutes. Down 20 points to the No. 1 team in the state, the Wolverines could have easily laid over and took a 30-point loss, but instead they battled and found a new go-to girl in Sophia Singer. After seeing Singer last season as a freshman, you could tell there was potential there. The daughter of Western Illinois football hall of fame quarterback Paul Singer, Sophia stands close to 6-foot tall with an agile frame and long wingspan. She long jumps 17.5 and runs the 200M, so the athleticism to go with her height is definitely apparent. She broke out last night and started to let it fly after a timid first half. When aggressive, Singer can score in the paint, mid-range and knock down the corner three. If she can stay aggressive on offense, she could be just what Coach Hughes needs to push the Wolverines back into the playoffs. She also mixed it up on defense, picking up a nice block on Austin inside and spent the fourth quarter defending Inniss up top, showcasing her ability to guard multiple positions. Aside from Singer’s big performance, freshman Kayden Montgomery played a nice floor game. Not blessed with the size or speed of her opposition, Montgomery was deceptively mobile and used her IQ to craft her way into making plays. She drained two threes and dished out five assists in her first varsity start. She will be thrown into the fire as a youngster and should come out better for it once her career is said and done.

Top Performers

Northview
Ashlee Austin – 16 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 1 block
Eden Sample – 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Asjah Inniss – 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 9 steals
Maya Richards – 7 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block

Woodstock
Sophia Singer – 21 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Kayden Montgomery – 10 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
Bree Burnett – 6 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Girls Recaps, Recaps

Statewide Recap 11-14

BOYS

Class AAAAAAA

No. 6 Mountain View 68, Archer 48: Future Troy Trojan Spencer Rodgers drilled six threes in the first half en route to finishing with a game-high 22 points. Kevin Kayongo scored 12 points and Naheim Allenye added 10 for the Bears.

No. 7 Newton 74, North Oconee 30: Tyrease Brown continued his lights out shooting, pouring in 24 points – 21 in the first half – as the starters played just three quarters. Ashton Hagans finished with 6 points, 4 rebounds, 14 assists and 6 steals. Armani Harris posted 9 points and 8 rebounds while a healthy Dre Butler went for 12 points and 5 rebounds.

No. 8 Duluth 70, South Gwinnett 57: The balanced backcourt of Duluth led the Wildcats to a strong non-region win. Adam Flagler netted 18 points while Lamont Smith scored 13 and Will Huzzie double-doubled with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

No. 9 Meadowcreek 57, Rockdale County 13: The Mustangs absolutely suffocated the Bulldogs in a defensive masterpiece. Jamir Chaplin finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Duquesne-signee Amari Kelly went for 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks while twin tower, Detroit-signee Cory Hightower, ended with 10 points and 9 rebounds. Emmanuel Collier scored 8 points and Dequarious Nicholas tallied 5 points and 6 assists.

No. 10 Collins Hill 73, Osborne 59: Northern Illinois-signee Justin Lee had 18 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Eagles. Chris Parks added 15 points and 9 rebounds. Elijah Wilson chipped in 15 points and Mandarius Dickerson netted 10.

Discovery 70, Central Gwinnett 52: Old Dominion-signee Kalu Ezikpe posted a 15-point 15-rebound double-double. Jaylen Bussey had 15 points and the Titans got 14 from Jaden Walker. Ian Hardy contributed 11 points and 6 rebounds.

Berkmar 76, Forsyth Central 47: Tony Johnson went for 26 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Soumahoro added 12 points and 6 rebounds while Taj Anderson finished with 14 points and 6 assists. William Griffin scored 13 points in the loss.

Woodstock 50, Northview 42: Columbus State-signee Dylin Hardeman scored 23 points to power the Wolverines past Northview after heading into the fourth quarter tied at 34. Joe Jones had 12 for the Titans. Matt Davis had 14 in defeat.

Lakeside-DeKalb 84, McNair 51: Damon Davis scored 19 points and James Hall had 13 as the Vikings marched past the Mustangs.

Roswell 66, South Forsyth 51: Miles Herron netted a game-high 16 points for the Hornets. Taylor Drury scored 11 points and Santhosh Saravanan had 10 in the loss.

East Coweta 69, Union Grove 66:  Tied 60-60 late, the upstart Indians found a way past the Wolverines. Wesley Simpson led Union Grove with 16 points in the loss while AJ Dutrevil had 15 and Alan Moss scored 11.

Class AAAAAA

River Ridge 56, Hiram 55: Jameel Ndiaye drained five threes and finished with 19 points as the Knights secured a huge road win for the young team. Chris Williams added 9 points and 5 rebounds. Verzel Randall scored 6 points and blocked 5 shots.

Sprayberry 77, Kell 69: Micah McCuen double-doubled with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Andrew Giles did the same with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks. Matt Jenkins had 19 points and 4 assists while Jaylon Simpson had 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.

Drew 103, North Clayton 65: Will Black and Demetrius Rives poured in 24 points apiece in an eye-opening win over North Clayton. James Brown had 21.

Mundy’s Mill 55, Clarkston 50: The Tigers slipped past the Angoras behind Kirshon Thrash’s 12 points and David Crawford’s 10. Clarkston was led by Anthony Lawrence’s game-high 17 points.

Class AAAAA

No. 9 Lithonia 56, Heritage-Conyers 48: The Bulldogs bounced back from a heartbreaking season opening loss against Greenforest to score an 8-point win over the Patriots. Tasim Sims scored 16 points and had 5 assists in the victory. Ziven Alexander had 8 points and 8 rebounds. Heritage was led by Adrian Boykin’s 10 points.

Fayette County 67, 4ANo. 3 Sandy Creek 65: Jordan Brown hit a game-winner with 8 seconds left to stun the Patriots. Rickey Knight led the Tigers with 20 points. Josh Dupree dumped in 15 points and Terrell Bradley had 14 points and 6 rebounds. Jarred Godfrey powered the Patriots with 22 points while TJ Bickerstaff went for 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Arabia Mountain 71, Hampton 52: Jordan Sterling pumped in 28 points as the Rams advanced to 2-0.  TaKari Rogers-Olive added 16 points in support and Cameron Robinson scored 9 points.

Stockbridge 87, Riverside Military 58: Georgia State-signee Kavonte Ivery had 16 points and 12 rebounds while Ola-transfer Terryance Jackson netted a team-high 17. Trillis Brown and Elijah Austell scored 14 apiece while Kaelon Hinton tossed in 10.

Harris County 66, Shaw 63: Lincoln Smith collected 31 points and 12 rebounds for the Raiders in the loss.

Class AAAA

No. 2 St. Pius 67, Blessed Trinity 41: Matt Gonzalo and Troy Stephens scored 13 apiece to lead the Golden Lions in The X-Dome.

Chestatee 85, Pickens 77: Cameron Gwyn erupted for 33 points as the War Eagles soared past the Dragons in a high-scoring affair. Cooper Wilson tacked on 19 points and Daniel Briseno added 12. Pickens received 26 points from Joseph Gossett and 19 from Seth Bishop. Keinyuan Hooks chipped in 14.

West Hall 81, Jackson County 62: Datavian Buffington powered the Spartans with 20 points. Iaises Risher had 20 points in the loss.

Class AAA

Class AA

No. 7 Jeff Davis 66, Telfair County 32: Ja’Queze Kirby, the reigning Class AA Freshman of the Year, posted 23 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocks. Chandler Davenport scored 15 followed by Tae Thomas’ 13 points. Kirese Manley and Nate King scored 6 apiece.

Washington County 69, Cross Creek 59: Sophomore Jeremiah Gundy had 13 points and 8 rebounds to help the Golden Hawks to victory. Fellow sophomore Jarden Maze added 9 points and 3 assists. Keith Foster had 11 points and 8 rebounds. Ivory Williams and Shemor Robinson scored 7 apiece.

Class A-Private

Savannah Christian 56, Bulloch Academy 37: Justin Anderson had 15 points as Savannah Christian took care of Bulloch Academy. Gavin Jeffries scored 13 and Aly Keys had 8 points and 12 rebounds in the win.

Class A-Public

GISA

Trinity Christian 65, Glenwood 27: Erick Valdez posted 18 points and 8 rebounds followed by Daevon Platt’s 17 points. Jamir Williams had 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Braden Burnett chipped in 10 points and 4 rebounds. 

GIRLS

Class AAAAAAA

South Forsyth 71, Roswell 62: The War Eagles got a 35-point outburst from Zoe Maisel to get past the Hornets. Sara Idris, a North Florida-signee, had 17 points.

Forsyth Central 44, Berkmar 28: Elizabeth Pruitt scored 14 points and Ansley Carver added 10 in the Bulldog win.

Class AAAAAA

No. 1 Northview 61, Woodstock 51: Northview held a 34-27 halftime lead before ripping off a 13-0 run to open the third quarter to gain a 54-38 lead behind a full court press defense, but sophomore Sophia Singer was up to the task of keeping the Wolverines afloat. Singer scored 10 of Woodstock’s 11 third quarter points and finished with a game-high 21 points and 7 rebounds. Freshman guard Kayden Montgomery added 10 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. The Lady Titans were powered by sophomore point guard Asjah Inniss. The shifty guard had 13 points and 9 steals. Ashlee Austin posted 16 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists. Freshman Eden Sample netted 16 points in her high school debut and Maya Richards added 7 points and 7 rebounds.

River Ridge 58, Hiram 24: Faith Arthur scored 12 points and Savannah Samuel netted 11 to carry the Knights. Lexi Palmer added on 10 points in the win.

Dunwoody 52, Towers 25: Ariel Lawrence dropped 23 points to power Dunwoody.

Drew 51, North Clayton 38: Imoni Compton scored 16 points and ShaTara Johnson added 15 as Drew took advantage of a rebuilding North Clayton program.

Mundy’s Mill 46, Clarkston 15: Jayla Carter nearly outscored the Angoras with her 13 points in the Tigers’ rout.

Class AAAAA

Fayette County 58, Sandy Creek 32: Maegan Barkley and Trinity Brown both contributed 15 points and 3 rebounds apiece to help the Tigers blow past a rebuilding Sandy Creek team. Sidney Sims had 8 points and 9 rebounds while Naomi Franco went for 9 points and 9 rebounds. Sandy Creek was led by Daija Powell’s 14 points and 8 rebounds. Paris Thompson had 10 points and 3 rebounds in the loss.

Union Grove 50, East Coweta 30: India Smith led the Lady Wolverines with 12 points.

Class AAAA

No. 5 Luella 71, Griffin 48: Keely Brown poured in 21 points while Zaria Bankston finished with 19 points and 5 assists to push the Lions to 2-0.

No. 8 West Hall 56, Jackson County 49: Anna McKendree scored 24 points to open up the season. Jackson County got 13 points from Carlie Anderson.

Pickens 54, Chestatee 49: Coach Brandon Thomas returned to the Pickens sidelines as a winner behind Torie Williams’ 16 points, Mykenzie Weaver’s 14 and Shelby Cook’s 10.

St. Pius 52, Blessed Trinity 24: A balanced attack led the Golden Lions to victory. Emma Drash (11), Nina Burwell (10), Mai Vy Madden (8) and Macey Carson (8) shared the load. Blessed Trinity received 8 points from Jessica Castillo.

Class AAA

Class AA

Hapeville Charter 42, WD Mohammed 29: Freshman Ashley Eberhart made a major impact with a team-high 14 points. Cherry Reeves scored 11 and Ja’dah Thomas added 9.

Class A-Private

No. 9 Pinecrest Academy 66, Tallulah Falls 26: Regina Metz poured in 31 points to pace the Paladins. Molly Dankowski had 15 and JoJo Clark scored 11.

Athens Academy 56, Oglethorpe County 16: Gabby Mastandrea hung 24 points as the Spartans blew out Oglethorpe County. Maddie McCleary finished with 8 points and 6 assists. Kate Williams produced 7 points and Greer Moseley battled for 5 points and 10 rebounds.

Class A-Public

 

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