Berkmar (19-6, 13-3) needed only to beat Central Gwinnett (15-10, 8-8) this weekend to clinch the No. 1 boys seed in Region 8-AAAAAA. If not, Shiloh would steal the top spot with a victory over eighth-place Archer.
Both favored teams lost Friday, leaving Berkmar with the title despite the Patriots’ collapse against Central, which came from 13 down to win 51-43 on Berkmar’s home gym.
Central’s Shaun Jones scored 20, his average. A 6-3 guard, Jones is Gwinnett County’s leading scorer.
Archer’s upset was more surprising. The Tigers are only 10-15 overall, 4-12 in the region. No player had more than 10 points (Darrion Taylor).
The tournament begins Monday at Berkmar.
More news from AAAAAA-
- No. 9-ranked Pebblebrook clinched the No. 1 seed in Region 4. The Falcons defeated Marietta 53-51 on Friday. Pebblebrook trailed 50-48 when Ty Hudson went coast-to-coast after a missed free throw and converted a 3-point play for 51-50 lead with 31.7 seconds left. Marietta tied it 51-51, but Hudson made two more free throws with 4 seconds left and chase down a loose ball at the buzzer to clinch it. Note that sixth-ranked Hillgrove lost to Kennesaw Mountain 73-70 on Friday, and McEachern (19-5, 11-4) was upset by Campbell 61-55.
- No. 1-ranked Wheeler clinched the No. 1 seed in Region 5 with a 78-65 victory over eighth-ranked Walton after trailing 25-9. Jaylen Brown, rated the No. 1 junior small forward prospect in the country by 247Sports, scored 29 points.
- Makeba Ponder of Colquitt County scored the 2,000th point of her career in a 60-54 victory over Tift County. Ponder scored 31 in the game. How impressive is 2,000 points? If a high school player gets in 25 games per season for four years, she's have to average 20.0 points per game to reach 2,000. Ponder averages 24.8 points per game this season. She has signed with Georgia State.
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