Friday QF wrap: Pace Academy, Carter make statement in AA

Now, Pace’s boys basketball team is two victories from its first state championship after leveling No. 1-ranked Thomasville 75-48 in the Class AA quarterfinals Friday night at Georgia College in Milledgeville.

Wendell Carter, a 6-foot-10 forward rated the consensus No. 2 recruit nationally among juniors, had a monster game of 24 points, 11 rebounds, eight blocked shots and five assists for a team that started the season 2-9 but is 16-1 since New Year’s Day.

Pace, ranked No. 2 after winning the Region 6-AA tournament, is in the semifinals for the first time since 1988.

Here are other highlights from 28 quarterfinal games played Friday at seven college venues. The semifinals are Saturday.

Find full game stories on all 28 on AJC.com.

BOYS

-Thomasville wasn’t alone as a No. 1 team that lost. Defending AAA champion Jenkins ousted top-ranked Calhoun 84-78 at Augusta University. Calhoun finished 27-1. Jenkins now faces Cedar Grove, which made the semifinals for the first time since 2002. Cedar Grove (20-7), ranked No. 7, beat No. 8 Westside-Augusta 58-40.

-Third-ranked Crawford County, the 2015 AA runner-up, will be Pace’s semifinal opponent. Crawford (25-3) beat Pace’s Region 6-AA rival Holy Innocents’ 61-51.

-Milton, which hadn’t won a state-playoff game since its 2012 state championship, beat Campbell 94-83 at West Georgia in a game between unranked AAAAAA Cinderellas. Milton now gets 2015 runner-up Pebblebrook (22-9), which beat its Cobb County rival McEachern 78-71. McEachern, the Region 4 winner, finished 26-4.

-Second-ranked Miller Grove (28-2) beat South Paulding 66-41 to reach the AAAAA semifinals at Columbus State. It came exactly one year after Miller Grove was stunned in the quarterfinals last year by Warner Robins. Miller Grove is 35-1 with six state titles in the playoffs since 2009. Next is fourth-ranked McIntosh, a 65-59 winner over Riverwood. McIntosh (29-2) trailed by 15 points at halftime.

-Second-ranked Grady (28-3) of AAAA beat Westover 54-52 on Avi Toomer’s reverse layup off a baseline drive as time expired at Fort Valley State. It sent Grady to the semifinals for the first time since 1994. Next is defending champion Jonesboro (27-4), a 57-37 winner over sixth-ranked St. Pius.

-The only upset in Class A came in the private division, where seventh seed Hancock Central beat second seed Taylor County 75-66. Hancock (23-6) is in the semifinals for the second straight season. Second-ranked and defending private-school champion St. Francis beat Pacelli 105-79 as St. Francis guard Kobi Simmons scored 44 points.

GIRLS

-West Forsyth center Jenna Staiti had a triple-double of 35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in a 49-39 victory over Cherokee in a AAAAAA game. West Forsyth (25-6) had never won a state-playoff game until this season. Next for West Forsyth is defending champion McEachern (23-7), which beat Westlake 62-45.

-Daisa Alexander of No. 1-ranked Southwest DeKalb (25-6) scored 30 points – 24 in the second half - in a 65-50 victory over Columbus in AAAAA. Southwest DeKalb will play 10th-ranked Sequoyah, a 43-38 winner over Loganville. Sequoyah (25-6) is in the semifinals for the first time since a state title in 1994.

-No. 1 Americus-Sumter defeated No. 2 Marist 63-56 at Forty Valley in a game between teams that were undefeated against Georgia opponents. Americus-Sumter’s A’tyanna Gaulden, a Florida State signee, scored 29 points. Marist’s Dominique Oden, who signed with Purdue, scored 26. Americus-Sumter (29-1) now faces defending champion Buford (25-5).

-Third-ranked Maynard Jackson (29-1) and fourth-ranked Beach (26-4) advanced in AAA. Beach, which defeated Kendrick 58-51, was the 2015 runner-up and won a title in 2000. Jackson, which beat West hall 65-53, had been 0-8 in the state playoffs, counting its history as Southside High, until this season.

-AA No. 1 Holy Innocents’ beat No. 2 Pelham 70-61 at Georgia College. Holy Innocents’ (26-4) joins Region 6-AA rivals Wesleyan (26-4) and Greater Atlanta Christian (18-9) in the semifinals with the lone public school, Putnam County (26-4).

-There were two upsets in Class A. Unranked Eagle’s Landing Christian (18-8) beat third-ranked and second-seeded Calvary Day (28-2) 55-44 in the private division. ELCA will play unbeaten Greenforest Christian (26-0) on Saturday in what will be the first girls semifinal for either school. Greenville (20-8) upset fifth-ranked and defending champion Taylor County (26-3) 48-45 in the public division.