Class 7A
(Feb 29 at Buford City Arena)
R2 #1 Wheeler 59, R5 #1 Milton 47: Bruce Thornton scored 28 points but Denver-signee Sam Hines scored 19 points as the Wildcats advanced to the state finals.
R8 #1 Grayson 82, R3 #1 McEachern 76: McEachern led 29-27 at the half, but USF-signee Caleb Murphy came to life in the second half, finishing with 17 points. Mississippi State-signee Deivon Smith had 21 points and Winthrop-signee Toneari Lane netted 15. McEachern was led by Auburn-signee Sharife Cooper’s 21 points. Israel Palmer netted 20 and Cam McDowell had 15.
Class 6A
(Feb 28 at Buford City Arena)
R8 #1 Lanier 63, R6 #1 South Cobb 57 OT: South Cobb blew a 45-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter to fall in stunning fashion. Lanier’s first lead came at 51-49 with :7 seconds left before South Cobb got a Robert Dix tip-in at the buzzer to force overtime. Tulane-signee Sion James led Lanier with 25 points.
R7 #1 Chattahoochee 78, R5 #1 Tri-Cities 72: AJ White dropped in 29 points including 10 in the fourth quarter to ice out the defending state champs. David McDaniel came up big 19 points. Tri-Cities was led by Demetrius Rives (21), Simeon Cottle (19) and Peyton Daniels (14).
Class 5A
(Feb 29 at Fort Valley State)
R4 #2 Dutchtown 62, R7 #2 Kell 56 OT: Gardner-Webb-signee Jamaine Mann scored 16 points before fouling out and Cam Bryant posted 15 as the Bulldogs came back to force overtime and win in the extra period. Xavier Presley (12) and Najhae Colon (11) paced the Longhorns.
R8 #2 Cedar Shoals 73, R5 #1 Southwest DeKalb 72 4OT: USC-Aiken-commit Tyler Johnson hit a three at the buzzer to lift Cedar Shoals after trailing by as many as 11. USC-Aiken-commit Quincy Canty posted 27 points while Jerdavian Colbert added 12. Ohio State-signee Eugene Brown III led Southwest DeKalb with 26 points.
Class 4A
(Feb 28 at Fort Valley State)
R4 #1 Woodward Academy 64, R7 #1 Denmark 43: After trailing 25-23 at the half, the War Eagles blew past Denmark. UNC-signee All-American Walker Kessler struggled mightily but still finished with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks. Jacorrei Turner had 12 points and 7 rebounds while Will Richard chipped in 11 points and 6 rebounds. Davidson-signee Emory Lanier had 9 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists. Michael Whitmore tallied 8 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Denmark was led by Sutton Smith’s 11 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Robert Cowherd had 11 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
R3 #1 Cross Creek 51, R8 #1 St. Pius X 36: Cross Creek’s momentum from the second half of their Elite Eight victory over LaFayette carried over into the Final Four as the Razorbacks led nearly wire-to-wire over St. Pius. Presbyterian-signee Kobe Stewart posted 20 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block while Corey Trotter had 11 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 5 blocks as the Razorbacks were too big inside and limited any opportunities for the Golden Lions to get to the rim. Makhi Climons added 8 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Dayvion Simms scored 4 points to go with his 2 assists and 2 steals but his presence was felt predominately on defense as he chased Brookes Kahlert the entire game and held the point guard to 5 points. Devin Portee led the Golden Lions with 11 points.
Class 3A
(Feb 29 at Valdosta State)
R5 #1 Pace Academy 75, R3 #3 Johnson-Savannah 46: The Knights blitzed the smaller Atomsmashers behind Matthew Cleveland’s 26 points and Cole Middleton’s 18. Emondre Bowles led Johnson with 18 points. Derek Edwards netted 11.
R8 #1 Jefferson 66, R4 #2 Central-Macon 58: Jefferson’s fantastic run continued as Navy-signee Jacob Radaker scored 16 points followed by Kam Robinson’s 13 and Owen Parker’s 12. Central-Macon was paced by Quay Primas (26) and Antonio Card (11).
Class 2A
(Feb 29 at Georgia College & State)
R2 #1 Swainsboro 79, R4 #1 Glenn Hills 62: In a chippy game, Swainsboro pulled away late to earn their 30th win of the season. The Tigers led 29-27 at the half and 44-35 after three before tempers got the best of Glenn Hills. The quarter began with a long delay which resulted in a bookkeeping technical on the Spartans which would be a sign for things to come. Coach William Cunningham lost his cool at the 4:45 mark with the score 53-40 and it would only get uglier as two Spartans would get ejected later on. Swainsboro was powered by Fred Seabrough’s 21 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 4 blocks. AJ Kingsbury scored 14 of his 21 in the fourth quarter including hitting 7-8 free throws. Immanuel Hackett had 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals while Derrick Jones set the tone early with his defense, blocking five shots to go with his 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. Emmanuel Jones scored 10 points in the second quarter for Glenn Hills but was quiet until the score got out of reach in the fourth. He poured in 28 points, 15 rebounds, 1 steal and 3 blocks. Tre Whitehead had 10 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Octavious Walton had 9 points and 4 rebounds and was the first casualty of ejection.
R6 #1 Therrell 54, R7 #2 Chattooga 37: Outside of a brief 6-5 lead, the Indians never threatened the defending state champs who overpowered the Cinderella story. Ra’Sean Frederick finished with 20 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Roman Son added 8 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals . Cameron Fortson provided 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Chattooga was led by Malachi Jackson’s 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Damien Smith, Cash Allen and Jatorrian Williams each scored 7 points.
Class A-Private
(Feb 28 at Georgia College & State)
#1 St. Francis 63, #5 Mt. Pisgah 58: Xavier-signee Dwon Odom had 23 points and 7 rebounds as the Knights held off a late rally from the Patriots. Seth Hubbard scored 14 points and Jusuan Holt had 13 points and 6 rebounds. The Knights went 11-14 from the line in the fourth. Mt. Pisgah got 17 points off 4 threes from Chase Tucker.
#2 Greenforest 52, #11 Trinity Christian 47: Jalen Forrest led Greenforest with 17 points In the loss, Isaac Brito scored 18 points and Raul Arias had 11. North Georgia-signee Brady Burnett netted 8.
Class A-Public
(Feb 28 at Valdosta State)
#1 Treutlen 68, #4 Terrell County 63:
#3 Hancock Central 83, #2 Wilcox County 59:
