Boys: Monticello 79, Dublin 67

Manchester, the top seed from Region 5, on Saturday at Georgia College. The Fighting Irish (25-5) - Region 3's top seed - saw their season come to an end.

The Hurricanes trailed 34-32 at halftime after Dublin's Bryceton Mills hit a deep 3-pointer as time expired. Monticello came back to lead 47-44 after three quarters before going on a 32-22 run in the fourth quarter.

Monticello had four players in double figures, including 22 points from CJ Adams, who led all scorers. De'miria Glover had 18 points, followed by Ashton Bonner (16 points) and  Jordan Stone (14).

"We just played our ball," Stone said. "We played slow. They wanted us to go fast, but we played our way."

For Hurricanes coach BJ Thomas, Monticello won on the defensive end, holding a Fighting Irish team well below their season average of 88 points per game.

"Our ability to stop them from getting fast breaks (was the difference)," Thomas said. "And to stop them from getting to the basket. Coming into the game, I figured that if they were going to beat us, they were going to have to beat us with 3s. We weren't going to let them get fast breaks and we weren't going to let them get to the basket.

"The did hit some 3s, but they didn't hit enough to beat us."

Dublin was led by Mills' 21 points and Gerald Phillips' 20.

For the Hurricanes, they're now just two wins away from their first championship since 1975, which was their only title season.

"We've just got to keep playing hard," Thomas said. "We've got to keep playing like a team. The great thing about us is we don't rely on one player. Everyone contributes. If we continue playing like a team and continue to defend, we can go as far as we want to go."

Added Stone, "We ain't played our best basketball yet. There's still more to come."