Five teams ranked in the Class AAAAAA boys and girls basketball top 10s last week were knocked out in the first round of the state tournament, but the damage was particularly widespread in the boys tournament, where No. 4 Cambridge, No. 5 Stephenson, No. 8 Creekview and No. 10 South Cobb were eliminated.
The biggest surprise was Region 4 champion Stephenson’s 65-63 loss to Lakeside-Evans, which came into the state tournament with a 13-12 record and had lost three of its previous four games, including both games in the Region 3 tournament as it finished as the No. 4 seed. Kalen Williams scored 25 points and was instrumental in Lakeside’s rally from a 52-45 deficit with 4:37 remaining. It was Stephenson’s third consecutive first-round loss since a semifinal appearance in 2014. Stephenson’s season ended at 21-6.
South Cobb was the other boys region champion to fall in the first round. Tri-Cities got 15 points from Peyton Daniels and outscored South Cobb 17-5 in the fourth quarter for a 55-42 victory. Tri-Cities (20-9) was the No. 4 seed from a strong Region 5 but had spent much of the season in the top 10 before stumbling down the stretch with four losses in six games heading into the state tournament. South Cobb finished the season 18-9.
Creekview (23-5) was the regular-season champion in Region 6, but a loss to Sprayberry in the region tournament semifinals dropped the Grizzlies to the No. 3 seed for the state playoffs. That proved costly, as it forced Creekview into a first-round road trip to seventh-ranked Douglas County (22-6), which won 72-61.
Cambridge (24-3) faced a similar fate. The regular-season champion in Region 7 lost to North Atlanta in the region championship game and dropped to the No. 2 seed, creating a matchup against Lanier (20-9), which has been ranked for much of the season. Lanier won 74-69.
The only ranked girls team to lose in the first round was also the only No. 1 seed to be eliminated. Tenth-ranked Heritage-Conyers was knocked off by Stephenson 54-49.
Higher-seeded girls teams went 14-2 in the first round, while higher-seeded boys teams were 11-5. The region with the most teams remaining in 5-AAAAAA, which has all four of its boys teams (Hughes, Douglas County, Alexander and Tri-Cities) and two girls teams (Douglas County and New Manchester).
Here are some of the key matchups for the second round, which will be played Wednesday and Thursday. Complete first-round scores and the second-round schedule are listed below.
Boys
*Douglas County at North Atlanta: Ninth-ranked North Atlanta is riding a nine-game winning streak that carried it to the Region 7 championship, The Warriors' 62-49 victory over Apalachee in the first round was their first state-tournament win in school history. Douglas County is 10-2 since a two-game losing streak in early January and is seeking its first quarterfinal appearance since 2006.
*Jonesboro at Brunswick: No. 6 Jonesboro (21-8), the No. 2 seed from Region 4 but the regular-season co-champion, had little trouble in a 62-35 victory over Evans in the first round. Third-ranked Brunswick has been a bit overshadowed by top-ranked Hughes and No. 2 Gainesville this season, but the Pirates had a runner-up finish last season and won a state championship in 2015.
Girls
*Creekview at Winder-Barrow: Second-ranked Winder-Barrow has a potential quarterfinal matchup looming with No. 1 Lovejoy, but the Bulldoggs can't afford to overlook No. 9 Creekview. The Grizzlies (19-8) are 12-3 since the start of 2018, with two losses coming to No. 3 Harrison by a total of 12 points. Winder-Barrow's Olivia Nelson-Ododa is a leading candidate for player of the year.
*Lanier at Harrison: Third-ranked Harrison faces perhaps its biggest hurdle on the road to a return to the state championship game when its hosts the fifth-ranked Longhorns. Harrison's Sarah Woghiren and Audrey Jordan combined for 35 points in a 79-39 first-round win over South Paulding. Lanier was the runner-up to Winder-Barrow in Region 8 but beat the Bulldoggs earlier in the season.
State tournament scores, schedule
Boys
First-round scores
(R5 #2) Douglas County 72, (R6 #3) Creekview 61
(R7 #1) North Atlanta 62, (R8 #4) Apalachee 49
(R2 #3) Bradwell Institute 79, (R1 #2) Valdosta 62
(R3 #1) Heritage-Conyers 69, (R4 #4) Drew 64
(R5 #3) Alexander 62, (R6 #2) Sprayberry 52
(R8 #1) Gainesville 83, (R7 #4) Pope 47
(R2 #2) Richmond Hill 44, (R1 #3) Lee County 43
(R3 #4) Lakeside-Evans 65, (R4 #1) Stephenson 63
(R8 #3) Lanier 74, (R7 #2) Cambridge 69
(R5 #1) Hughes 68, (R6 #4) Allatoona 62
(R3 #2) Grovetown 64, (R4 #3) Tucker 52
(R1 #1) Coffee 70, (R2 #4) Effingham County 54
(R8 #2) Dacula 87, (R7 #3) Alpharetta 50
(R5 #4) Tri-Cities 55, (R6 #1) South Cobb 42
(R4 #2) Jonesboro 62, (R3 #3) Evans 35
(R2 #1) Brunswick 75, (R1 #4) Northside-Warner Robins 61
Second-round games
(R5 #2) Douglas County at (R7 #1) North Atlanta, 7 p.m. Thursday
(R2 #3) Bradwell Institute at (R3 #1) Heritage-Conyers, 5:30 p.m. Thursday
(R5 #3) Alexander at (R8 #1) Gainesville, 7 p.m. Wednesday
(R3 #4) Lakeside-Evans at (R2 #2) Richmond Hill, 6:30 p.m. Thursday
(R8 #3) Lanier at (R5 #1) Hughes, 7 p.m. Thursday
(R3 #2) Grovetown at (R1 #1) Coffee, 7:30 p.m. Thursday
(R5 #4) Tri-Cities at (R8 #2) Dacula, 7 p.m. Thursday
(R4 #2) Jonesboro at (R2 #1) Brunswick, 7 p.m. Thursday
Girls
First-round scores
(R5 #2) New Manchester 54, (R6 #3) Sequoyah 44
(R7 #1) Northview 66, (R8 #4) Gainesville 31
(R1 #2) Coffee 59, (R2 #3) Brunswick 55
(R4 #4) Stephenson 54, (R3 #1) Heritage-Conyers 49
(R6 #2) Creekview 57, (R5 #3) Alexander 40
(R8 #1) Winder-Barrow 54, (R7 #4) Johns Creek 35
(R1 #3) Northside-Warner Robins 49, (R2 #2) Glynn Academy 29
(R4 #1) Lovejoy 54, (R3 #4) Lakeside-Evans 19
(R7 #2) Pope 62, (R8 #3) Dacula 56
(R5 #1) Douglas County 78, (R6 #4) River Ridge 61
(R3 #2) Greenbrier 63, (R4 #3) M.L. King 39
(R1 #1) Valdosta 59, (R2 #4) Richmond Hill 42
(R8 #2) Lanier 58, (R7 #3) Alpharetta 54
(R6 #1) Harrison 79, (R5 #4) South Paulding 39
(R4 #2) Tucker 42, (R3 #3) Grovetown 37
(R2 #1) Bradwell Institute 42, (R1 #4) Houston County 28
Second-round games
(R5 #2) New Manchester at (R7 #1) Northview, 7 p.m. Wednesday
(R4 #4) Stephenson at (R1 #2) Coffee, 6 p.m. Wednesday
(R6 #2) Creekview at (R8 #1) Winder-Barrow, 6 p.m. Wednesday
(R1 #3) Northside-Warner Robins at (R4 #1) Lovejoy, 7 p.m. Wednesday
(R7 #2) Pope at (R5 #1) Douglas County, 6 p.m. Wednesday
(R3 #2) Greenbrier at (R1 #1) Valdosta, 6 p.m. Wednesday
(R8 #2) Lanier at (R6 #1) Harrison, 6 p.m. Wednesday
(R4 #2) Tucker at (R2 #1) Bradwell Institute, 6 p.m. Wednesday
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