Seven Georgia high school basketball teams won state titles for the first time this season. Four teams went undefeated. The final day of the state finals in Macon on Saturday added to those historic totals.
It started in Class AAAAAA when Tri-Cities’ boys and Lanier’s girls won the first state titles in any sport for their schools, each after trailing by six points in the fourth quarter. Tri-Cities beat Tucker. Lanier beat Lovejoy.
Other boys teams winning state titles for the first time were McEachern (AAAAAAA) and Therrell (AA). Other girls teams winning their first titles were Carver-Columbus (AAAA), Douglass (AA) and Marion County (A public).
In AAAAAAA, McEachern’s boys and Westlake’s girls became the first pair of teams in the highest class to finish unbeaten since 1995, when Dunwoody’s boys and South Gwinnett’s girls did it.
The only other unbeaten teams this season were Calhoun County’s boys (30-0 in Class A public) and Carver-Columbus’s girls (32-0 in AAAA). Villa Rica’s girls and Woodville-Tompkins boys entered the tournament undefeated but lost and finished No. 2 in the rankings.
Two schools – Buford (AAAAA) and Carver-Columbus (AAAA) – swept the boys and girls titles. That’s happened 20 times since 1945, the year of the first girls tournament. Buford had done it most recently, in 2017.
Therrell and Douglass gave Atlanta Public Schools a sweep of the AA titles. That’s the first time that APS has swept a class since 1959, when Murphy’s girls and Brown’s boys won in AAA, then the highest class.
Buford’s sweep added to the milestones of the Wolves’ head coaches, Gene Durden and Eddie Martin. Durden moved ahead of three others and became the second to win seven girls state championships. Only Wesleyan’s Jan Azar, with 13, has more. Martin became the fourth boys coach with at least nine state titles and the first to win multiple titles at three schools. He won three at Norcross and four at Greater Atlanta Christian.
Three girls teams – but no boys teams – successfully defended their 2018 championships. They were Johnson-Savannah (AAA), Buford (AAAAA) and Westlake (AAAAAAA)
All 16 state champions were ranked in the top five entering the state tournament, and only five were not ranked No. 1. Those that came from behind were Carver-Columbus’s boys (entered No. 5 in AAAA), Therrell (No. 4 in AA), Lanier’s girls (No. 4 in AAAAAA), Johnson-Savannah’s girls (No. 4 in AAA) and Douglass’s girls (No. 6 in AA).
At least one Georgia team is not finished. McEachern’s boys team has accepted an invitation to play in the GEICO National High Nationals next month in New York. McEachern (32-0) is ranked No. 1 in at least three national polls.
BOYS
Class AAAAAAA
1. McEachern (32-0)
2. Meadowcreek (26-6)
3. Norcross (22-9)
4. Grayson (25-4)
5. Pebblebrook (20-10)
6. Newton (22-8)
7. Tift County (21-8)
8. Discovery (23-6)
9. East Coweta (24-4)
10. Wheeler (17-12)
Class AAAAAA
1. Tri-Cities (26-6)
2. Tucker (28-5)
3. Brunswick (19-10)
4. Heritage-Conyers (17-13)
5. Alexander (22-9)
6. Coffee (24-5)
7. Gainesville (20-9)
8. South Cobb (20-7)
9. Douglas County (21-10)
10. Cambridge (20-9)
Class AAAAA
1. Buford (28-2)
2. Fayette County (26-5)
3. Southwest DeKalb (24-7)
4. Lithonia (21-10)
5. Eagle’s Landing (23-5)
6. Woodland-Stockbridge (25-6)
7. Jonesboro (21-9)
8. Kell (25-6)
9. Warner Robins (23-7)
10. Wayne County (22-6)
Class AAAA
1. Carver-Columbus (24-5)
2. Americus-Sumter (26-5)
3. Sandy Creek (27-4)
4. St. Pius (26-4)
5. Upson-Lee (25-2)
6. Woodward Academy (22-9)
7. Thomson (21-6)
8. Dougherty (21-9)
9. Denmark (24-7)
10. Henry County (25-4)
Class AAA
1. Morgan County (30-2)
2. Greater Atlanta Christian (23-6)
3. Hart County (24-8)
4. Dawson County (27-5)
5. Windsor Forest (25-6)
6. Cedar Grove (20-8)
7. Johnson-Savannah (21-8)
8. Tattnall County (21-9)
9. Pace Academy (20-9)
10. Central-Macon (22-6)
Class AA
1. Therrell (25-8)
2. Woodville-Tompkins (29-1)
3. Vidalia (27-5)
4. South Atlanta (25-6)
5. Elbert County (28-4)
6. Northeast (23-6)
7. Laney (23-9)
8. Washington County (20-8)
9. Early County (23-6)
10. Thomasville (22-7)
Class A (Private)
1. St. Francis (28-4)
2. Eagle’s Landing Christian (22-9)
3. Mount Bethel Christian (24-8)
4. Greenforest Christian (20-7)
5. Holy Innocents’ (17-12)
6. Walker (20-9)
7. Riverside Military (21-6)
8. Christian Heritage (22-6)
9. Wesleyan (19-8)
10. Mount Pisgah Christian (17-13)
Class A (Public)
1. Calhoun County (32-0)
2. Treutlen (30-2)
3. Wilkinson County (21-9)
4. Hancock Central (22-7)
8. Irwin County (24-5)
5. Terrell County (22-6)
6. Greene County (21-7)
7. Pelham (23-6)
9. Wilcox County (22-4)
10. Marion County (21-6)
GIRLS
Class AAAAAAA
1. Westlake (30-0)
2. Collins Hill (30-2)
3. Cherokee (27-4)
4. North Forsyth (26-5)
5. Norcross (19-11)
6. Grayson (26-3)
7. Roswell (21-9)
8. McEachern (17-10)
9. North Cobb (24-4)
10. Campbell (19-11)
Class AAAAAA
1. Lanier (29-3)
2. Lovejoy (29-4)
3. Forest Park (27-5)
4. Northview (25-5)
5. Valdosta (26-4)
6. Glynn Academy (25-5)
7. Creekview (24-6)
8. Harrison (22-9)
9. Dacula (22-8)
10. Stephenson (18-12)
Class AAAAA
1. Buford (29-2)
2. Villa Rica (32-1)
3. Southwest DeKalb (24-7)
4. Veterans (25-5)
5. Eagle's Landing (23-6)
6. Columbia (22-8)
7. Harris County (22-6)
8. Statesboro (25-4)
9. Arabia Mountain (20-6)
10. Wayne County (23-5)
Class AAAA
1. Carver-Columbus (32-0)
2. Spalding (25-6)
3. Flowery Branch (27-4)
4. Henry County (28-3)
5. Luella (25-6)
6. Marist (22-8)
7. Sandy Creek (25-5)
8. Heritage-Ringgold (24-6)
9. Madison County (25-3)
10. Northwest Whitfield (23-6)
Class AAA
1. Johnson-Savannah (22-8)
2. Hart County (25-7)
3. Beach (26-5)
4. Jefferson (25-4)
5. Tattnall County (24-6)
6. Greater Atlanta Christian (17-12)
7. Sonoraville (23-9)
8. Dawson County (22-9)
9. North Hall (19-10)
10. Peach County (21-6)
Class AA
1. Douglass (27-6)
2. Fitzgerald (27-1)
3. Early County (27-5)
4. Laney (28-3)
5. Rabun County (28-2)
6. Model (23-8)
7. Dodge County (25-3)
8. Bryan County (26-3)
9. Woodville-Tompkins (24-6)
10. Swainsboro (23-5)
Class A (Private)
1. Holy Innocents' (26-6)
2. Wesleyan (28-4)
3. St. Francis (25-4)
4. Calvary Day (27-4)
5. Lakeview Academy (25-5)
6. Mount Paran Christian (24-4)
7. Stratford Academy (27-2)
8. Eagle's Landing Christian (21-5)
9. Paideia (21-6)
10. Greenforest (19-7)
Class A (Public)
1. Marion County (29-1)
2. Calhoun County (29-3)
3. Telfair County (23-6)
4. Clinch County (21-7)
5. Greenville (26-3)
6. Wheeler County (22-6)
7. Bowdon (22-6)
8. Central-Talbotton (18-8)
9. Mitchell County (23-6)
10. Georgia Military (19-3)
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