Saturday state basketball playoffs roundup

Ty Freeman

Boys and girls first-round action continued tonight in Classes AA-AAAAAA. While the majority of the girls games were played last night, the remainder took place tonight. Meanwhile, the boys games that weren’t played last night as part of doubleheaders were contested today.

BOYS

AAAAAA

Berkmar 49, Johns Creek 40: A defensive first half saw host Berkmar lead just 20-14 at the intermission, but the Patriots eventually pulled away from Johns Creek. They had a 37-26 advantage after three quarters. Kiair Crouch led Berkmar as the only double-figure scorer with 18 points and Tim Rowe grabbed 10 rebounds.

Dacula 60, Alpharetta 52: Dacula made 12 of 13 free throws in the fourth quarter, including 12 in a row to end the game, as it held off host Alpharetta. Only four Falcons scored, but all four reached double-figures. Kevon Tucker led Dacula with 19 points and Keshawn Gibbs added 17. Alpharetta’s Devontae Cacok put up 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Douglas County 88, Valdosta 76: The host Tigers jumped out to a 9-point lead at halftime and led throughout the high-scoring game in the second half. Justin Bridges scored a game-high 25 points to lead Douglas County in the win. K.J. Johnson scored 15 points and Brandon Robinson scored 14 for Douglas County.

Lambert 78, Grayson 58: Logan Bush and Joe Bates scored 20 points apiece for the host Longhorns. Lambert took a 42-18 lead at the half and held a big lead throughout the second half. Trevor Shipes added 13 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for Lambert. Marquise Lanier led the Rams with 15 points.

Luella 75, Campbell 73: Junior guard Andre Banton scored 21 points to give host Luella its first state tournament victory in school history. The Lions led 66-55 going into the fourth quarter, but the Spartans cut the led to two with 41 seconds left. The Lions sealed the win when TeMarcus Blanton came up with a steal and a free throw with just seconds left in the contest. Randy McClure led Campbell with 16 points and 11 rebounds while Laz Walker added 14 points.

North Gwinnett 60, Etowah 40: The host Bulldogs took a 35-9 halftime lead and controlled every aspect of the game. North Gwinnett held Etowah to 23 percent shooting from the field. Destin Porche led the Eagles with 10 points, while Jack Shaughnessy scored eight. Trevor Head had a team-high seven rebounds for Etowah.

Shiloh 80, Chattahoochee 54: Jordan Chance scored 20 points to lead the host Generals. Josh Okogie chipped in with 14 points for Shiloh, which led at halftime, 35-21. Marcus Sheffield scored 25 points in defeat for Chattahoochee. Avery Ward scored 15 points for the Cougars.

Tift County 70, Tri-Cities 49: Four players constituted the majority of Tift County’s scoring as guards Ladarius Stewart and Georgia Tech-signee Tadric Jackson each had 17 and were joined by freshman forward P.J. Horne and senior forward D.J. Bryant, who each had 15. The host Blue Devils held Tri-Cities junior forward Shawntrez Bryant, who has offers from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Maryland and others, to just four points. Tift County led 31-24 at the half.

Walton 68, Duluth 56: Walton outscored visiting Duluth by 14 points in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory. A back-and-forth contest saw Duluth get shut out in the entire second quarter before pouring in 27 points during the third quarter. Walton was led by Elijah Weems’ 24 points and Nick Wells’ 18 points. Eric Hamilton recorded a double-double for Duluth.

Wheeler 85, Peachtree Ridge 54: Wheeler led only 18-17 after one quarter, but used a big second quarter to pull away from visiting Peachtree Ridge. The Wildcats roared ahead 41-19 at halftime en route to victory. Western Kentucky-signee Avery Patterson led the way with 26 points. Wheeler also got 19 points from Jaylen Brown, 14 from Daniel Giddens and 13 from Elijah Staley.

 

AAAAA

Allatoona 77, Sequoyah 56: Bradley Brevet recorded 18 points and seven rebounds to lead host Allatoona over Sequoyah. Daniel Fowler scored 17 points and pulled down six rebounds while Rodney Brown added 13 points and 11 boards. The Buccaneers led 38-22 at halftime and outscored the Chiefs 21-15 after the third quarter. Dalton Satterfield led Sequoyah with 22 points.

Northside-Warner Robins 64, Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 51: Northside-Warner Robins led 17-7 after the opening quarter, but the visiting Bulldogs cut the deficit by outscoring the Eagles 16-7 in the second quarter and trailed by one point at the half (24-23). Mt. Zion kept it close and eventually tied it up at 47 with 4:07 left in regulation, but the Eagles finished strong on a 17-4 run. The victory marked the Eagles’ 21st of the season, setting a new school record.

Pope 58, South Paulding 47: Pope opened the game on an 8-0 run and led the entire game. South Paulding kept it close and pulled within four points (27-23) at the half, but Pope outscored the Spartans 31-24 in the second half. Chase Hutchins finished with a game-high 18 points and fellow-junior Cole Childers scored 17 points.

Stephenson 80, Salem 46: Host Stephenson opened the game on a 13-2 run and took a commanding 23-7 lead at the end of the opening quarter. Tyrell Johnson led Stephenson with a game-high 19 points and paced the Jaguars as they extended their lead to 43-22 at the half and 55-31 heading into the final quarter. Daniel Kinchen added 12 points for Stephenson and junior Austin Samuel, who finished with a team-high 13 points, led Salem.

Tucker 72, Clarke Central 53: Visiting Tucker led 34-26 at halftime, then went on a 9-2 run to open the second half. Junior Shembari Phillips led the Tigers with 24 points while senior Jon Dunmyer added 17. Senior Cam Johnson led Clarke Central with 20 points.

Villa Rica 66, Sprayberry 63: Villa Rica rolled to a 38-18 halftime advantage before stopping a furious rally by host Sprayberry late in the fourth quarter. The victorious Wildcats were led by senior Josh Lay, who poured in 29 points.

Warner Robins 60, Whitewater 47: Phil Cofer threw down a dunk that unhinged the backboard, delaying action for five minutes. The dunk staked Whitewater an 18-15 lead late in the second quarter and gave Cofer 11 first-half points, but Warner Robins answered with a 4-0 run to close the half and Cofer was held scoreless the remainder of the game. The Demons outscored Whitewater 41-29 in the second half. Nathan Curtis finished with 17 points while Marquez Callaway netted a game-high 25 points.

 

AAAA

Carrollton 44, River Ridge 38: Montae Glynn scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lift the visiting Trojans to a 23-22 halftime lead. In the second half, Carrollton outscored the Knights 21-16 and Glynn continued stuffing the stat sheet, with game-highs in points (24) and rebounds (15).

Columbia 63, Lumpkin County 20: Host Columbia took a 13-5 lead after the first quarter and held the Indians to six points in the second quarter to stretch the hits lead to 25-11 at halftime. Shadell Bell led the Eagles rebounding with seven and 6-foot-5 senior Nick Singleton led all scorers with 19 points.

Johnson-Gainesville 83, Stone Mountain 71: The visiting Pirates trailed for most of the game and had difficulty getting the deficit into single digits in the second half. Damani Walker scored a team-high 25 points for Stone Mountain. Chris Jones contributed 15 points for the Pirates in defeat.

Marist 84, Walnut Grove 30: Marist led 43-21 at halftime then allowed visiting Walnut Grove only nine points in the second half. The War Eagles forced 16 turnovers from Walnut Grove while committing only five of their own. Cam Wiley led the way for Marist with 24 points and Patrick Zeck added 20.

Worth County 71, Butler 68: Worth County trailed visiting Butler 53-51 at the end of the third quarter but used an aggressive offense to pull out a win. The Rams went to the free-throw line 13 times in the fourth quarter compared to just three attempts for Butler. Ken’Darrius Collier led the way with 18 points for the Rams, who also got 16 from Dontate Cooper and 13 from Anfernee McLemore. Don Coleman led Butler with 29 points, scoring 11 in the first quarter and nine in the fourth.

 

AAA

Blessed Trinity 56, Hart County 41: Senior guard Patrick Lamar scored his 1,000th career point in the first quarter to help host Blessed Trinity defeat Hart County. Lamar ended the night with 23 points and six rebounds while Connor O’Neil added 16 points and five rebounds. The Titans led 28-18 going into the second half.

Cedar Grove 61, Oconee County 37: Jacara Cross scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead host Cedar Grove past Oconee County. The Saints surged to a commanding 42-18 halftime advantage before coasting to victory. Cedar Grove also got 10 points from Christopher Fredrick and Devin Thurmond contributed eight points and seven boards.

 

AA

Coosa 73, Kendrick 67 (OT): Visiting Coosa turned a 6-5 deficit into a 14-6 lead midway through the first quarter and the teams continued to swing the momentum back and forth. Kendrick took a 36-27 lead with one minute remaining before the half and Coosa answered with an 8-0 run to pull within a point at the break. In the final minute of the fourth quarter Coosa held a 60-56 lead that was fueled by a 9-0 run, but Kendrick answered with a Jontavis Miles three-pointer and a Jordan Hall shot that tied it up 61-61 following a Coosa free throw. In overtime, Coosa’s Billy Bell scored the final seven points to ice the game. Bell finished with 14 points and Tavaris Wilson scored a team-high 19 for Coosa. Kendrick was led by Miles (19), Hall (17), Kyle Scott-Williams (15) and Marquis Bonner (10), who all finished in double-figures.

 

GIRLS

AAAAAA

Marietta 53, Luella 47: Marietta led Luella 26-23 at the half and outscored the host Lions 27-23 in the final two quarters. Sophomore Asia Blu Wilson led the Blue Devils with a team-high 20 points and senior forward Jacky Jones had a 14-point performance. Sada Jacobs led Luella with 20 points and 14 rebounds.

 

AAAAA

Stephenson 62, Clarke Central 45: Visiting Stephenson led Clarke Central 37-17 after the first half and held on despite being outscored 18-14 in the third quarter. Kerry Watson led all scorers with 15 points while Terrianna Cave added 12 points. Stephenson started the second quarter on a 9-2 run to extend its lead to 26-11 .

 

AAAA

Marist 56, Eastside 51: Despite trailing 30-28 at the half, Marist came back to win on the road. Sophomore Dominique Oden led the War Eagles with 24 and junior Kelsey Carrier added 13. Free throws by junior Elizabeth Quirk helped Marist ice the game late.

 

Stephen Black, Joe Deighton, Ricky Dimon, Brian Jones, and Craig Sager II contributed to this report.

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