All 16 boys and girls region champions advanced past the first round of the state playoffs this past weekend. Additionally, 11 No. 2 seeds and five No. 3 seeds moved on. On the boys side, top-seed Woodward Academy led visiting Spalding 35-21 at the half and 60-31 at the end of the third quarter of its 77-46 victory. Seven-foot senior Walker Kessler led Woodward Academy with a game-high 24 points and also recorded eight rebounds, five blocks and five steals. Will Richard scored 12 points, Emory Lanier scored 10 points and Mitchel Whitmore added five assists and five steals. Spalding was led by Jirah Jackson’s 16 points and 13-point performances by Kaleb Banks and Garrick Relthford.
The Marist War Eagles are advancing to the second round following a thrilling 52-51 triple-overtime win over host Chapel Hill. John Treanor finished the game with 16 points, eight rebounds and a couple of blocks, and Cody Gaynes’ game-winning steal and layup gave him a final tally of eight points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals. Matthew Houghton added 16 points and six rebounds for and Mitchell Owen contributed another six points and six rebounds for Marist, and Chapel Hill got 17 points and eight rebounds from KJ Doucet and 12 points, 12 rebounds and three steals from Micah Bell.
Ty’Kevion Searcy (13 points), Kentavious Quiller (12 points) and Malik Smith (11 points) all scored in double-figures for No. 1 seed Upson-Lee’s 61-55 home win over Druid HIlls. Jalen Ausbrooks also scored nine points and Derrius Hayes added seven points for the Knights, who trailed 45-44 at the end of the third quarter. Upson-Lee will host North Oconee next week in the second round.
Top-seed Sandy Creek led 49-34 heading into the final quarter of its 66-50 win over Chestatee. Chestatee cut the deficit to nine points with 6:26 left, but the Patriots closed out a 16-point victory. Sandy Creek’s Class of 2021 five-star Jabari Smith Jr. posted 27 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. The Patriots also got scoring contributions from Matthew Williams (9), Immanuel Alexander (7), Daryl Rice (7), Brian Branch (7) and Deshon Proctor (5). Rice added eight assists and five steals and Brian Branch had seven rebounds and three assists.
No. 3 seed Madison County advanced to the Sweet 16 with an impressive 22-point road victory (61-39) over Northwest Whitfield. Adam Metts led all scorers with 19 points and Red Raiders teammates Nolan Hill (12) and Logan Griffeth (11) also finished in double figures.
On the girls side, Woodward Academy led 11-5 after the first quarter and took a 27-21 lead into the half of its 55-41 win over West Laurens. The War Eagles went on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter that grew their lead to 34-21. Host West Laurens brought it back within single digits (39-30) heading into the fourth quarter, but was outscored 16-11 in the final frame. Sydney Bowles’ massive performance paced Woodward Academy and she finished with a game-high 27 points to go with her 13 rebounds and five steals. Sarah Lewis notched double-digits with 11 points and Kai Lanier had eight points to go with five rebounds and five steals. The War Eagles also got a pair of assists and 10 rebounds from Zoe Scott and four points, five rebounds, four assists, four blocks and four steals from sophomore MacKenzie Moring.
The Marist girls, who are yet to drop a game to a Class AAAA opponent this season, showcased their signature defensive fortitude in a (65-21) 44-point victory over visiting Cedartown that improved the War Eagles overall record to 26-1. Marist led 27-12 at the half and outscored the Bulldogs 38-9 in the second half. Riley Donahue led Marist with 16 points and point guard Tyler Brazle finished with 11. Cedartown got an 11-point effort from Keke Turner and eight points from junior Zoe Diamond-Pasley.
Top seed Cross Creek held on at home against Hardaway 44-38, led by a 15-point performance by Jordyn Dorsey. Hardaway led at halftime 23-19, but Cross Creek used a big third quarter to take a 33-29 lead going into the fourth quarter. Cross Creek will host Troup County in the second round next week.
BOYS
SECOND ROUND MATCHUPS Class AAAA (Feb. 19-20)
R8 #3 Madison County vs. R4 #1 Woodward
R3 #2 Baldwin vs. R5 #1 Sandy Creek
R8 #2 North Oconee vs. R2 #1 Upson-Lee
R3 #3 Burke County vs. R7 #1 Denmark
R2 #2 West Laurens vs. R8 #1 St. Pius
R7 #2 Blessed Trinity vs. R1 #1 Americus Sumter
R4 #2 McDonough vs. R6 #1 LaFayette
R7 #3 Marist vs. R3 #1 Cross Creek
FIRST ROUND SCORES
R8 #3 Madison County 61, R6 #2 Northwest Whitfield 39
R4 #1 Woodward Academy 77, R2 #4 Spalding 56
R3 #2 Baldwin 59, R1 #3 Westover 38
R5 #1 Sandy Creek 66, R7 #4 Chestatee 50
R8 #2 North Oconee 47, R6 #3 Heritage-Catoosa 42
R2 #1 Upson-Lee 61, R4 #4 Druid Hills 55
R3 #3 Burke County 68, R1 #2 Dougherty 67
R7 #1 Denmark 68, R5 #4 LaGrange 62
R2 #2 West Laurens 70, R4 #3 North Clayton 67
R8 #1 St. Pius X 86, R6 #4 Pickens 48
R7 #2 Blessed Trinity 75, R5 #3 Troup County 56
R1 #1 Americus-Sumter 84, R3 #4 Thomson 58
R4 #2 McDonough 65, R2 #3 Howard 49
R6 #1 LaFayette 61, R8 #4 Oconee County 46
R5 #2 Chapel Hill 52, R7 #3 Marist 51
R3 #1 Cross Creek 58, R1 #4 Carver-Columbus 51
Girls
SECOND ROUND SCHEDULE
Class AAAA (Feb. 19-20)
R6 #2 Gilmer vs. R4 #1 Luella
R1 #3 Dougherty vs. R5 #1 Sandy Creek
R8 #2 Oconee County vs. R2 #1 Spalding
R1 #2 Americus-Sumter vs. R7 #1 Marist
R4 #3 Woodward vs. R8 #1 St. Pius
R7 #2 White County vs. R1 #1 Carver-Columbus
R4 #2 McDonough vs. R6 #1 Northwest Whitfield
R5 #2 Troup vs. R3 #1 Cross Creek
FIRST ROUND SCORES
R6 #2 Gilmer 65, R8 #3 Stephens County 56
R4 #1 Luella 72, R2 #4 Upson-Lee 18
R1 #3 Dougherty 60, R3 #2 Baldwin 59
R5 #1 Sandy Creek 50, R7 #4 Flowery Branch 43
R8 #2 Oconee County 67, R6 #3 Pickens 49
R2 #1 Spalding 60, R4 #4 Druid Hills 53
R1 #2 Americus-Sumter 49, R3 #3 Burke County 32
R7 #1 Marist 65, R5 #4 Cedartown 21
R4 #3 Woodward Academy 55, R2 #2 West Laurens 41
R8 #1 St. Pius X 63, R6 #4 LaFayette 58
R7 #2 White County 63, R5 #3 Central-Carrollton 50
R1 #1 Carver-Columbus 85, R3 #4 Thomson 22
R4 #2 McDonough 66, R2 #3 Perry 40
R6 #1 Northwest Whitfield 52, R8 #4 Madison County 46
R5 #2 Troup County 63, R7 #3 Chestatee 37
R3 #1 Cross Creek 44, R1 #4 Hardaway 38
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