Fourth-ranked Westlake will be on the road for the first round of the boys state playoffs, perhaps never to return home, after Newnan scored an upset on Monday night in the Region 2-AAAAAA tournament at Tri-Cities.
In Region 4, McEachern and Marietta - two boys teams that have been ranked in the Top 10 at points this season - won't be going to the state tournament at all after they were beaten Monday. South Cobb (8-19) upset McEachern (20-6).
But Newnan's victory was perhaps the biggest story. The Cougars (19-7) had been 0-9 against Westlake (24-3) since Rod Ladd became Newnan’s coach in 2010-11. Newnan ended the drought with a 59-58 victory. Doniel Dean, a senior guard, hit a base-line jump shot for the lead with 8 seconds lefts. Westlake had a shot to retake the lead, but missed.
‘’It was a real great win for our program,’’ Ladd said. “They’ve pounded us. We’re trying to get our program back on a state level, and beating a team like that is real big.’’
Dean scored 16 points. Immanuel Griggs, a 6-8 forward/center, scored 15 and had 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. Diamond Jones scored 12.
Newnan will play Douglas County for the region title tonight. Westlake will play Tri-Cities in the third-place game.
Region 1 – Finished on Friday. Won by Tift County’s boys and Lowndes’ girls. Tift, ranked No. 2 in AAAAAA, will be interested in tonight’s Westlake-Tri-Cities third-place game in Region 3. Tri-Cities beat Westlake 76-75 on Feb. 1, the last time they played. If that happens again, No. 4 Westlake will play No. 2 Tift in the first round of the state playoffs.
Region 2 – The finals are today at Newton. Luella plays Newton for the title in both of them.
Region 3 – The finals are Monday at Tri-Cities. Newnan has beaten Douglas County twice, but both were close. They'll play in the boys final. Fifth-ranked Westlake plays eighth-ranked Douglas County in the girls final.
Region 4 – McEachern (20-6) and Marietta (18-8) each were in the boys' Top 10 at some point this season. Both are gone now. South Cobb (8-19), the ninth seed, beat McEachern 57-51 on Monday. That's after South Cobb beat Kennesaw Mountain 59-58 on Saturday with a 3-pointer from near half court at the buzzer. Marietta was beaten 70-67 by Campbell (13-13). Note that Campbell ended the regular-season with a 56-54 victory over top-seeded Pebblebrook and a 61-55 win over McEachern. The semifinals are today at McEachern.
Region 5 – The finals are today at Etowah. No. 1-ranked Wheeler's boys (22-5) escaped Etowah (14-12), winning only 76-74. Wheeler plays sixth-ranked Walton in the boys final. Roswell plays Woodstock in the girls final.
Region 6 – The finals are today at West Forsyth. It's Lambert vs. Alpharetta in the boys final, North Forsyth vs. South Forsyth in the girls final. All as expected.
Region 7 – The tournament is in the semifinals today at Collins Hill. Sixth-seeded Duluth beat third-seed Collins Hill 66-54 on Monday to qualify for the state playoffs for the first time since 1999. No upsets on the girls side, although it is odd to see fifth-seeded North Gwinnett, the 2013 state runner-up, eliminated.
Region 8 – The tournament is in the semifinals at Berkmar. No major surprises so far.
BOYS
R4#1 Pebblebrook/South Cobb winner vs. R2#4 Rockdale County
R1#2 Brunswick vs. R3#3 Westlake
R2#1 Luella vs. R4#4 Campbell/Hilgrove loser
R3#2 Newnan vs. R1#3 Coffee
R3 #1 Douglas County vs. R1 #4 Valdosta
R2 #2 Newton vs. R4 #3 Hillgrove/Campbell winner
R1 #1 Tift County vs. R3 #4 Tri-Cities
R4 #2 South Cobb/Pebblebrook vs. R2 #3 Lovejoy
R5 #1 Wheeler vs. R7 #4 Peachtree Ridge/Duluth loser
R8 #2 Shiloh/Berkmar loser vs. R6 #3 Chattahoochee
R7 #1 North Gwinnett/Norcross vs. R5 #4 Etowah loser
R6 #2 Lambert vs. R8 #3 Grayson/Dacula loser
R6 #1 Alpharetta vs. R8 #4 Dacula/Grayson loser
R7 #2 Norcross/North Gwinnett vs. R5 #3 Milton winner
R8 #1 Berkmar/Shiloh winner vs. R6 #4 Johns Creek
R5 #2 Walton vs. R7 #3 Peachtree Ridge/Duluth winner
GIRLS
R4#1 McEachern/Hillgrove winner vs. R2#4 Rockdale County
R1#2 Brunswick vs. R3#3 Hughes
R2#1 Newton/Luella vs. R4#4 North Cobb/Marietta loser
R3#2 Douglas County vs. R1#3 Colquitt County
R3 #1 Westlake vs. R1 #4 Tift County
R2 #2 Luella/Newton vs. R4 #3 North Cobb/Marietta winner
R1 #1 Lowndes vs. R3 #4 Newnan
R4 #2 Hillgrove/McEachern loser vs. R2 #3 Alcovy
R5 #1 Woodstock vs. R7 #4 Mill Creek/Mountain View loser
R8 #2 Parkview/Archer loser vs. R6 #3 Centennial
R7 #1 Norcross/Duluth winner vs. R5 #4 Walton
R6 #2 North Forsyth vs. R8 #3 South Gwinnett/Central Gwinnett winner
R6 #1 North Forsyth vs. R8 #4 South Gwinnett/Central Gwinnett loser
R7 #2 Duluth/Norcross loser vs. R5 #3 Lassiter
R8 #1 Archer/Parkview winner vs. R6 #4 West Forsyth
R5 #2 Roswell vs. R7 #3 Mountain View/Mill Creek winner
