The Class AAAAAA boys and girls basketball semifinals will be played Saturday in Carrollton, but the reality is that the road to the championship in the state’s second-highest classification runs through the Southern Crescent area of metro Atlanta.
The Tri-Cities boys team (of East Point) and the girls from Lovejoy and Forest Park (both in Clayton County) will be the favorites when the semifinalists meet at the University of West Georgia.
No. 1 Tri-Cities is one of only two ranked boys teams to reach the semifinals (No. 6 Tucker is the other). The defending state champion Lovejoy girls are ranked No. 1 and haven’t lost to a Georgia opponent since December of 2017. Forest Park is ranked No. 2, with three of its four losses coming against Lovejoy by a total of 10 points.
Here’s a look the semifinal matchups and how the teams got there:
Boys
*Brunswick vs. Tri-Cities, 4 p.m.: Brunswick (19-10), the Region 2 champion, won a state championship in 2015, making it the only school outside of DeKalb or Fulton County to win the title in the second-highest class since Griffin in 2003. The Pirates have won their three playoff games by a total of 14 points, including 60-59 against 10th-ranked Douglas County in the quarterfinals. Sheydan Baggs had 18 points and five rebounds and made the game-winning free throws with less than eight seconds to play. Tri-Cities (24-6) has traveled a difficult road in reaching the semifinals for the first time in program history. The Bulldogs beat Region 8's top team in the regular season (Lanier, 84-68), eighth-ranked Chattahoochee (75-64) and Mundy's Mill (77-72), a strong No. 2 seed behind Tucker in Region 4. Senior guard Titus Hunter led the way in the quarterfinal victory with 23 points and seven rebounds. The Region 5 champion Bulldogs have lost six games this season but are 14-2 since the start of January.
*Tucker vs. Heritage-Conyers, 8 p.m.: Sixth-ranked Tucker (27-4) is 18-1 since Dec. 15 and comes into the semifinals with a 10-game winning streak. Tucker trailed Gainesville 58-57 with 2:23 to play in the quarterfinals Wednesday but outscored the Red Elephants 8-0 down the stretch for a 65-58 victory. Jermontae Hill scored 23 of his game-high 29 points in the second half. Tucker is in the semifinals for the first time since 2015. Heritage (17-12) is the only No. 3 seed remaining, boys or girls, in AAAAAA. The Patriots advanced to their second consecutive semifinal by upsetting No. 2 Alexander 72-69 Tuesday. Trelan Scott led the way with 23 points. It was their third consecutive road playoff victory, after wins against Richmond Hill and Houston County in the first two rounds. "I know a lot of people didn't think we had enough talent to make it this far," coach Vernon Denmark told Colin Hubbard of the Rockdale Citizen. "We had a good group of seniors to lead us. These guys kept focus throughout the season. This is what we have played all season for."
Girls
*Lanier vs. Forest Park, 2 p.m.: Fourth-ranked Lanier (27-3) rolled to the Region 8 championship and is in the semifinals for the first time in the program's eight-year history. The Longhorns have beaten Alexander, Alpharetta and sixth-ranked Glynn Academy in the first three rounds by an average of 22.3 points. Mekala Fuller, one of four Lanier players on the all-region team, scored a game-high 16 points against Glynn Academy, the Region 2 champion. Forest Park (27-4) suffered three of its losses against Lovejoy, and the other was a 70-55 loss to Miami Country Day, the nation's No. 1 team in the MaxPreps' Xcellent 25 Writers Poll. Sophomore forward Sania Feagin leads the Panthers in scoring (13.9 points per game), rebounds (10.1) and blocks (3.7). She gets help on the front line from Central Florida signee Destiny Thomas (7.0 points, 7.7 rebounds). Both were all-Region 4 selections, as was guard Alana Denson, who averages 11.5 points, 4.3 assists and 2.7 steals. After rolling cruising the first two rounds, Forest Park survived a scare in the quarterfinals, beating No. 8 Creekview 54-48.
*Lovejoy vs. Valdosta, 6 p.m.: Lovejoy (28-3) has won 44 consecutive games against Georgia opponents, a streak that dates to a 56-53 loss to Stephenson on Dec. 16, 2017. That was the Wildcats' only loss during the program's first state-championship season. Junior guards Anaya Boyd and Genesis Bryant run the show. Boyd was the Region 4 player of the year this season, and Bryant was the Class AAAAAA player of the year in 2018. Lovejoy beat third-ranked Northview 65-53 in the quarterfinals. Fifth-ranked Valdosta (26-3) is in the semifinals for the first time since 2001 and the first girls team from outside the metro Atlanta area to reach the semis in the second-highest class since Brunswick in 2016. The Wildcats rallied from a 15-point third-quarter deficit to defeat No. 10 Harrison 54-49 in the quarterfinals. Nia Allen scored 18 points for the Wildcats, and Taylor Taylor had 10 in the fourth quarter, when Valdosta outscored the Hoyas 19-7. The Wildcats outlasted Bradwell Institute 67-66 in overtime in the previous round.
*Scores, schedule
Boys
Quarterfinal results
Brunswick 60, Douglas County 59
Tri-Cities 77, Mundy’s Mill 72
Tucker 65, Gainesville 58
Heritage-Conyers 72, Alexander 69
Semifinal schedule
(All games Saturday at University of West Georgia)
(R2 #1) Brunswick vs. (R5 #1) Tri-Cities, 4 p.m.
(R4 #1) Tucker vs. (R3 #3) Heritage-Conyers, 8 p.m.
Girls
Quarterfinal results
Lanier 42, Glynn Academy 31
Forest Park 54, Creekview 48
Lovejoy 65, Northview 53
Valdosta 54, Harrison 49
Semifinal schedule
(All games Saturday at University of West Georgia)
(R8 #1) Lanier vs. (R4 #2) Forest Park, 2 p.m.
(R4 #1) Lovejoy vs. (R1 #1) Valdosta, 6 p.m.
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