The state playoff action resumes this Wednesday and Thursday, but before then, here’s a look back at the first round results and some of the early storylines that have developed.
BOYS
First Round results
R5 #2 Cartersville 73, R6 #3 Heritage-Catoosa 35
Cartersville improved to 9-0 on their home court this season with a prevailing, blowout victory over Heritage-Catoosa on Saturday. Defensively, the Canes limited Heritage to their lowest point total of the season (35). It’s worth noting, however, that Heritage clearly had an especially rough night, expressed perfectly by the team’s dreadful 3-of-16 shooting from the foul line. Now, the Purple Hurricanes (20-6) will hit the road to challenge Blessed Trinity (20-6).
R7 #1 Blessed Trinity 55, R8 #4 Madison County 45
Blessed Trinity advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year and the third time in the past four. The Titans feature Region 7-AAAA Player of the Year CJ Abrams and the shooting guard’s potential impact will compel Cartersville to devote plenty of defense his way.
R1 #2 Americus-Sumter 66, R2 #3 Spalding 33
Like Cartersville, Americus-Sumter showcased its defensive prowess in its first-round blowout. The game started off slow with Americus leading 6-4 early in the second quarter, but then the Panthers got going and a sequence of short-burst scoring runs quickly put the game out of reach. Eric Hall (18), Joshua Lusane (12) and Traveon Brown (10) each finished in double-figures.
R3 #1 Baldwin 71, R4 #4 Druid Hills 45
Baldwin trailed Druid Hills 13-10 at the end of the first quarter, but seized control of the game with a 26-7 advantage in the second frame to lead 36-20 at the half.
R5 #3 Troup County 56, R6 #2 Northwest Whitfield 54 OT
While it was a big road win for Troup, it was a frustrating first round exit for the Bruins. Northwest Whitfield rallied from an 8-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime, but did not get the calls they needed in overtime as Troup scored eight of its 10 points in the extra period from the foul line.
R8 #1 St. Pius X 76, R7 #4 White County 34
St. Pius steamrolled White County, opening the game with a 15-0 run, jumping to a 17-4 lead after one quarter and cruising to a 38-11 halftime lead.
R1 #3 Carver-Columbus 81, R2 #2 Mary Persons 64
Without their star scorer Cam Holden in the lineup, Mary Persons failed to keep pace with Carver-Columbus offensively down the stretch. The visiting Tigers outscored Mary Persons 46-31 in the second half and there is no doubting that Holden’s 28.2 points per game would’ve shaped an entirely different game. Nonetheless, No. 3 seed Carver-Columbus joins Region 1’s Westover and Americus-Sumter in the Sweet 16 field.
R4 #1 Woodward Academy 80, R3 #4 Hephzibah 64
Hephzibah was not given much of a chance considering the 6-17 record they took with them into the playoffs, but they made it as competitive as they could against Region 4 champion Woodward Academy. Carver-Columbus and Woodward Academy should be one of the many great second round matchups on the slate.
R8 #3 Stephens County 68, R7 #2 Marist 44
Disappointing results, including a pair of losses to Jefferson in the past month gave Stephens County a No. 3 seed out of Region 8, but the Indians looked revived in their solid first round win over Marist. The Indians fell short to defending champion Upson-Lee 76-70 in the second round last season and will be put to the test against a talented Sandy Creek squad this time around.
R5 #1 Sandy Creek 101, R6 #4 Ridgeland 43
There are not many teams capable of putting up 35 points in a single 8-minute quarter, but that’s exactly what the Patriots did in the third frame against visiting Ridgeland this weekend. As a team, Sandy Creek shot 57 percent from the field and their 11-of-19 shooting from beyond the arc (58 percent) was even more effective. The sharp-shooting and high-tempo style of Sandy Creek will be a challenge for any team in the field.
R3 #2 Burke County 72, R4 #3 Henry County 67
Zayveon Williams (22), Deontae Carter (10), Stanley Williams (15) and Henry Young (9) led the way as Burke County held off visiting Henry County. This is Burke County’s first playoff win in their last three tries and first trip to the second round since 2015.
R1 #1 Westover 63, R2 #4 Perry 58
After emerging as champions from the classification’s largest region, Westover’s Jordan Brown (20), Kris Gardner (19) and Michael Isler Jr. (14) handled business in a competitive opening round win over Perry. The Patriots trailed 16-14 after the opening quarter, but the game slowly tilted in their favor after they managed to take a 26-25 lead into the half and open up the final frame with a 38-32 advantage.
R8 #2 Jefferson 62, R7 #3 West Hall 48
First-year Jefferson head coach Kevin Morris’s team is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2013-14 season. West Hall kept the game close until Jefferson sparked a 22-6 run to close the game.
R6 #1 LaFayette 75, R5 #4 LaGrange 58
LaFayette’s Dee Southern stepped up and gave Ramblers the strong start they needed. LaGrange had to modify their game plan as a result and focus more attention to Southern instead of high scoring guard Alex Kelehear. In the end, Southern led with a team-high 23 points and Kelehear contributed 17 points. This duo must continue to take defensive pressure off one another to get past a scrappy Jefferson team.
R4 #2 Salem 71, R3 #3 Thomson 37
Salem was so dominant that they were leading 46-19 in the closing minutes of the third quarter. Montez Swann finished with a game-high 19 points, Tehjuan Powell and Tabais Long each netted 13 points and Lance Smith finished with 11. Now, the Seminoles will take a trip to the top-ranked team in the classification.
R2 #1 Upson-Lee 65, R1 #4 Northside-Columbus 34
Despite it ending as a 31-point blowout and the program’s 59th consecutive victory, reigning state champion Upson-Lee got off to an uncharacteristically sloppy start before finding their groove. The Knights shot just 2-of-17 from beyond the arc and will look to sharpen things up before returning to the court.
GIRLS
First Round results
R5 #2 LaGrange 59, R6 #3 Heritage-Catoosa 50
LaGrange trailed Heritage-Catoosa by six points midway through the second quarter before Region 5-AAAA Player of the Year Aryan Dozier and teammate Chnaireia Strozier paced the Grangers to victory. Dozier took 16 trips to the foul line and finished with a team-high 23 points, while Strozier netted 20 points.
R7 #1 Marist 36, R8 #4 St. Pius X 22
Thoroughly in control for all four quarters, Marist locked down St. Pius with their disciplined and devoted defense. The Golden Lions scored just one point in the opening quarter (6-1) and were outscored 12-4 in the decisive fourth quarter (even when the demand for points was at its highest and their season was on the line). LaGrange’s combo of Dozier and Strozier made 21 trips to the foul line in their first round victory and cashed in on 15 of them. LaGrange will need more aggressive offense to get into a rhythm against defensive-minded Marist. Marist just needs to continue dictating their own pace.
R1 #2 Americus-Sumter 54, R2 #3 Perry 32
Americus-Sumter earned the No. 2 seed after falling short to top-ranked Carver-Columbus 61-50 in the Region 1 championship. Playing the Tigers that closely was a bode of confidence and Americus-Sumter showcased that up and down their roster with a strong showing this past weekend. The Panthers opened up a 16-5 lead by the end of the first quarter and senior Jykiera Long’s game-high 18 points was backed by a slew of underclassmen that helped carry the load. Americus-Sumter sophomore Brianna Pope and freshman Nyja Carson each finished with 10 points and sophomore Deasia Ford contributed nine points.
R3 #1 Burke County 57, R4 #4 North Clayton 44
North Clayton took an 8-2 lead out of the gates, but Burke County closed out the quarter on a 10-0 run and never looked back. Senior Quin’DeJa Hamilton led the winning effort with 24 points, junior Qua’Nesha Hamilton scored 13 points and Brikyia Benjamin grabbed 11 rebounds to go with her 10 points. 6-foot-1 sophomore Tyasia Freeman chipped in with 4 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks.
R6 #2 Pickens 65, R5 #3 Troup County 41
Pickens hosted the program’s first home playoff game since 2000 and made it count. Eight Dragonettes scored points as Mykenzie Weaver (22) led the way. Shelby Cook added 10 points and 5 rebounds while Torie Williams, Allie Stephens and Ansley Parker each netted eight. Seven different Dragonettes also registered assists in the game.
R8 #1 Jefferson 43, R7 #4 Chestatee 38
Chestatee led 24-22 at the half, but Jefferson senior Jazmin Allen helped the Dragons take control by netting 10 of her 14 points in their second half comeback.
R2 #2 Upson-Lee 67, R1 #3 Westover 62
Upson-Lee outscored Westover 25-17 in the fourth quarter and rallied its way into a second round trip to Henry County. Lashae Traylor (15), Jakera Ellerbee (14), Zahkia King (14) and Cierra Williams (10) all scored in double figures for the Knights.
R4 #1 Henry County 69, R3 #4 Thomson 31
Henry County took a 42-18 halftime lead before coasting into the second round. The Warhawks haven’t lost to an instate school all year and are led by Region 4-AAAA coach of the year Greg Shook and Player of the Year Brooke Moore.
R8 #3 North Oconee 53, R7 #2 White County 51
Jenna Tulenko’s buzzer beater sent the Lady Titans into the second round for the third consecutive year. North Oconee’s Aubrey Monroe led the way with 17 points and Tatum Thompson finished with 9.
R5 #1 Sandy Creek 45, R6 #4 Gilmer 33
Sandy Creek opened up a 19-6 lead after the first quarter, but scored just 2 points in the second frame and its lead at the half was 21-17. Defensively, the Patriots have a favorable matchup with North Oconee, but only if they can find their consistency on the offensive end and limit their turnovers.
R3 #2 Baldwin 68, R4 #3 Woodward Academy 59
After losing an overtime heartbreaker to Burke County in the Region 3 championship, Baldwin appears to be full steam ahead. The Braves opened their postseason with a 68-59 win over Woodward Academy, but now that pesky No. 2 seed pins them against Carver-Columbus and they’ll be taking on the classification’s top state title contender.
R1 #1 Carver-Columbus 57, R2 #4 West Laurens 42
A young West Laurens squad trailed the classification’s top-ranked team just 21-18 at the half before the game became out of reach. It’s worth noting that West Laurens shot just 30 percent from the field and came up empty on 10 of its 22 free-throw attempts.
R8 #2 Madison County 50, R7 #3 West Hall 32
Madison County held West Hall to just 19 points in the final three quarters and took a 42-26 lead into the final frame. The Red Raiders have won 13 of their last 14 games.
R6 #1 Northwest Whitfield 42, R5 #4 Central-Carroll 25
Central-Carroll committed more turnovers (28) than the points (25) they were able to score against the Bruins’ defense. Nicole Bates led Northwest Whitfield with 13 points on what was a cold night of shooting for both teams.
R4 #2 Luella 74, R3 #3 Cross Creek 48
Kamya Hollingshed was sensational, leading the Lions with a game-high 27 points. Luella opened the game on a 14-3 run, but the lead wasn’t safe until the final quarter where the Lions outscored Cross Creek 22-6.
R2 #1 Spalding 74, R1 #4 Shaw 40
Four Spalding Jags finished in double figures in their first-round blowout victory. Sophomore Corriana Evans led the way with 22 points, while juniors Aniaya Jester (16) and Kayla Milner (15), and freshman Kierstyn Milner (10) provided more than enough support.
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