Fort Valley – The top-ranked Buford girls will face undefeated Kell, while the Dutchtown boys will take on Cedar Shoals in the Class AAAAA finals, Friday at the Centreplex in Macon. The girls' game will begin at 6 p.m., followed by the boys' game at 8 p.m.
On the girls’ side, Buford advanced with a 52-30 win over Woodland while Kell held off Eagle’s Landing, 60-55 in the semifinals Saturday at Fort Valley State University.
The Dutchtown boys earned their way to the finals with a 62-56 win over Kell in overtime, while Cedar Shoals outlasted Southwest DeKalb, 73-72 in quadruple overtime, in one of the most exciting playoff games in Georgia high school basketball history.
Boys
Cedar Shoals 73, Southwest DeKalb 72 (4OTs)
Tyler Johnson was a little too early with his first attempt at a game-winning shot for Cedar Shoals. But his second attempt was just in time.
With the Jaguars and Southwest DeKalb tied at 70 with 15 seconds left in the fourth overtime period, Johnson missed a runner in the lane. It looked like Panther senior Michael Wright would be the hero, as he was fouled after grabbing Johnson’s miss, and calmly knocked down two free throws at the other end to put Southwest DeKalb up 72-70 with 12 seconds left.
But after two misses on Cedar Shoals final possession, the ball found Johnson on the right wing. This time his stroke was pure, as his triple at the buzzer set off a wild celebration by the Jaguar faithful, and catapulted Cedar Shoals into the Class AAAAA state finals for the second time in the last four seasons.
“These kids... they just don’t quit,” said an emotional Jaguar head coach L’Dreco Thomas. “Tyler …. He shot it too early the first time, but I wanted to go back to him. Oh, my God. Lord have mercy. These kids have the heart of a champion.”
Southwest DeKalb (19-12) led by as much as 11 early in the third quarter. But Jaguar senior Quincy Canty wouldn’t let the game get away. His fourth consecutive three-pointer pulled Cedar Shoals to within 47-43 with 3:30 left in regulation.
“Quincy is a warrior,” Thomas said of the senior guard, who matched Southwest DeKalb’s Eugene Brown III for the game’s leading scorer with 27 points. “He’s done that for us all year.”
The Jaguars sent the game into overtime when sophomore guard Jerdavian Colbert hit two clutch free throws with 5 seconds left, to tie the game 54-54. Colbert is one half of a diminutive backcourt duo that includes fellow sophomore Kashik Brown. Colbert and Brown did a little bit of everything to keep the Jaguars in the game – scoring, defending, rebounding and hitting key free throws.
“I watched those kids come up through the rec league and middle school,” Thomas said. “They are battle tested. I trust them, and that’s why they are out there on the floor.”
Thomas said his team will have no problem recovering from Saturday’s emotional roller coaster.
“I’m not concerned at all,” said Thomas, who now has led the Jaguars to two semifinal and two final appearances in his 10 seasons at the helm. “We’re going to recover and then get ready to go play on Friday for the championship.”
Girls
Kell 60, Eagle’s Landing 55
Kell (32-0) kept its dream season alive, and advanced to meet Buford in the Class AAAAA finals. But the Longhorns had to earn every inch of their win over Eagle’s Landing.
After jumping out to 17-11 lead after the first quarter, and at various points during the game, Kell appeared as if it would put the Eagles away comfortably. Led by one of the state’s top ninth-graders, point guard Crystal Henderson, the Longhorns went on an 8-0 in the final seconds of the third quarter and led 47-36 heading into the final period.
But spearheaded by pesky defense on the perimeter from seniors Jaleah Storr and Briana Madison, and in the post from senior Jasmine Atkins and junior Kayla Stafford, Eagle’s Landing (21-9) kept chipping away.
Then, wWith a little less than a minute left in regulation, senior Mariyah Fletcher – who led Eagle’s Landing with 15 points – hit one of two free throws to cap a 6-0 run that pulled the Eagles to within a bucket at 57-55. Kell turned the ball over on its next possession but Eagle’s Landing couldn’t capitalize, as Fletcher’s attempt to tie the game on a running one-hander bounced off the rim with 35 seconds left to play.
Henderson made one of two free throws at the other end to extend the lead to 58-55 with less than 30 seconds remaining, before the Eagles missed three consecutive shots within 10 feet of the basket as time was winding down. Henderson’s two free throws with 1 second on the clock were the final points of the game.
Kell head coach Tony Ingle Jr. said competing in a tight game like Saturday’s semifinal is good for his team.
“Absolutely it is,” Ingle said. “It’s very important. Our quarterfinal (64-54 over Jones County) was close, too. Any time you get a win in the Final Four is great, but this was a good test for us as we get ready for Buford.”
Ingle said the Longhorns will go into Wednesday’s championship game just as it has every game this season, with their talented freshman leading the way.
“She’s just phenomenal,” Ingle said of Henderson, who led all scorers with 26 points. “She’s talented but she has so much knowledge of the game at such a young age. She takes over games. She’s a freshman, but she’s our leader.”
Boys
Dutchtown 62, Kell 56 (OT)
Once again, Dutchtown flexed its clutch muscles in the playoffs and advanced to the first state title game in program history.
The Bulldogs (27-4), won their second round playoff game by four and advanced out of the quarterfinals on a buzzer-beater in overtime. In Saturday’s first Class AAAAA boys semifinal at Fort Valley, Dutchtown trailed by as many as nine points early in the fourth quarter, but scrapped back to force overtime before eventually taking a 62-56 win over Kell (26-6).
To add to the dramatics, the Bulldogs played the final 75 seconds of the game and overtime without Region 4 Player of the Year Jamaine Mann, who fouled out. Senior Cam Bryant hit the mid-court buzzer-beater in the quarterfinal win over Columbia. In Saturday’s semifinal, Kameron Hobbs wouldn’t let his team lose.
The senior point guard sent the game into overtime when he drove inside and hit a five-foot floater with 29 seconds left to tie the game at 52. Hobbs gave Dutchtown the lead on the first possession of the overtime period when his layup put the Bulldogs up 54-52. Then, his steal and assist on Dutchtown’s next basket (a layup by senior Jaelyn Anderson) and assist on the next possession (a layup by Bryant) gave the Bulldogs a 58-54 lead they would not give back.
“He’s been great all year,” Dutchtown head coach Jordan Griffin said of Hobbs, who along with Mann, is also a straight-A student. “He took on a different role for us this year, and that says a lot about the kind of young man he is and the kind of player he is. A lot of people doubted him, but I wouldn’t trade my point guard for anyone.”
Griffin said a tough non-region schedule prepared his team for its historic playoff run. “Our hope was that those tough games early would prepare us for this,” Griffin said. “And those early playoff games prepared us for this game today. Our kids just refuse to lose.”
Kell was led by senior Xavier Presley (13 points), sophomore Scoota Henderson (12) and junior Najhae Colon (11). For Dutchtown, Bryant led all scorers with 15 points, while Mann added 14 and Hobbs and Anderson chipped in with 10 apiece.
Girls
Buford 52, Woodland 30
Top-ranked Buford (30-1) shook off a slow start and clamped down on defense to keep its dream of winning a fourth consecutive Class AAAAA state title alive, in the first of two girls’ semifinal contests in Fort Valley.
You wouldn’t think that a team going after its fourth consecutive state championship would be a little shaky in the semifinals. But that was indeed the case as the Wolves trailed Woodland 10-8 after the first quarter.
“We just needed to settle down, regain our composure and do what we do,” said head coach Gene Durden. His team held the Wolfpack (22-10) to just 20 points over the next three quarters. In a day and age where everyone wants high-octane offense, Durden’s teams continue to stress defense first, last and forever.
“We start our players young and so they know [defense] is the way we get it done,” said Durden, who has led Buford to seven state titles in 13 seasons.
Buford outscored Woodland 18-6 in the second quarter and never looked back. The Wolves were led by senior Tate Walters, who had a game-high 23 points, and junior Blair Wallis, who finished with 11 points.
Woodland, which was in the semifinals for the first time since 2014, was paced by seniors Sambresha Everett (8 points), Rayevan Freeman (7) and Nia Lawrence (6).
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