By Score Atlanta
Lake City Classic
Boys
McIntosh 74, Milton 68
The 4:00 P.M. slot of Lake City Classic at Allatoona High School was one of the most intriguing games of the day. Powerhouse No. 2 McIntosh playing against the No. 8 ranked team in the state’s highest classification, Milton.
As they do against so many teams, the Chiefs used a devastatingly balanced attack to hang on against a shorthanded Eagles team, 74-68. Milton was once again without Harvard commit, 6-foot-8 Chris Lewis who suffered a severe bone bruise two games ago after being undercut. With Lewis out, Coach Matt Kramer turned to Kyrin Galloway to play a bigger role inside. The skilled 6-foot-8 big was unafraid to show his feathery touch from outside and scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half to keep the Eagles in it.
Rewinding back to the first quarter, it was Will Washington who stole the first eight minutes. He scored McIntosh’s first nine points of the game and scored 12 points in the opening frame while Jordan Lyons was being face-guarded for a majority of the period. McIntosh stretched the lead to 19-13 after Dishon Lowery cleaned up a miss and hammered back a dunk, but the Eagles managed to stay in striking distance and entered the second quarter down 23-19.
With Auburn University Head Coach Bruce Pearl sitting courtside, the hotly recruited baby faced assassin Alex O’Connell went to work. The sweet-stroking junior guard buried two threes (three on the night) and scored 14 of his game-high 25 points in the first half to pull the Eagles into a deadlock at 26 all.
But as quickly as the microwave shooter got hot, McIntosh answered right back with a flamethrower of their own. The Chiefs ripped off a 9-0 run to regain control at 35-26 with 3:05 left behind a personal 7-0 spurt from the Furman signee Lyons.
The final points of the half for McIntosh were more than just two points.
Will Washington threw down the dunk of the year with a vicious facial to give the Chiefs a 37-32 advantage heading into the half. The slithery quick playmaker glided to the basket and exploded for a left-handed stuff that resulted in two Eagles hitting the deck.
In the third quarter Milton started to chip away at the lead behind eight Galloway points. The Eagles hung around within three points but were unable to get over the hump as Lowery, Lyons and Chase Walter began to tear into the Eagle defense while Washington remained scoreless in the third. Lowery (Wofford) broke free for some easy dunks along with Walter. The two bigs cleaned up the glass as well with Lowery posting an 18-point 15-rebound double-double and Walter chipping in 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
Trailing 51-46 heading into the fourth, Milton had one last push in them. The Eagles cut the lead to 56-54 but from that point on, Washington turned on the afterburners. He scored seven points and helped ignite a 12-5 run by hitting Lyons for a three with 5:47 left to eventually gain a comfortable 68-59 advantage with 2:55 to play. Milton hung around, but McIntosh went 8-of-9 from the line during the game to advance on to the second round where they meet No. 10 McEachern, who comes off an impressive 73-37 rout of No. 6 Lambert, the Longhorns’ first loss of the season.
Bulldog Classic
Quarterfinals
Dawson County 54, Athens Christian 45: Dawson County took a 27-21 lead into the half and outscored Athens Christian 18-10 in the third quarter to grow a comfortable 45-31 lead entering the final frame. Senior and Lenoir-Rhyne University basketball signee Karlie Bearden led the way with a game-high 21 points, while surpassing the 1,000 career point milestone. Haley Burgess scored 13 points and teammates Kaylee Sticker (9), Peytan Porter (4), Ansley Costley (3), Tabitha Morrison (2) and Katelynn Simpson (2) contributed scoring. The Lady Tigers improve to 11-0 and will face Prince Avenue Christian Tuesday at 4pm in the semifinal game of the Bulldog Classic at George Walton Academy.
Sweet South Classic
Boys
Southwest Atlanta Christian 59, Central Gwinnett 57: Junior De'Andre Ballard led Southwest Atlanta Christian with 16 points in the Warriors' first round victory over Central Gwinnett at Morgan County. The Black Knights were paced by Jalen Hillery, who netted a game-high 17 points.
Stone Mountain 54, Archer 42: Stone Mountain cruised past Archer with a dominant performance from postman Michael Graham, who finished with a game-high 24 points. Senior point guard Muhammad Dent added 13 points in the victory.
Girls
Southwest Atlanta Christian 75, Riverwood 21: Southwest Atlanta Christian cruised past Riverwood in the opening round of the Sweet South Classic Monday at Morgan County. Dominique Banks led the way with 23 points and teammate Chyna Cotton finished with 22. Senior guard Brooke Carthon netted 18 points.
Monroe (Albany) 73, Meadowcreek 33
Chick-fil-A Invitational
Boys
Winner’s Bracket
Lithonia 56, Meridian (MS) 51
Miller Grove 66, Cedar Grove 26
North Clayton 49, Columbia 45
Loser’s Bracket
Brainerd (TN) 51, Butler 41
Mays 72, Rutland 47
Rockdale County 65, Glenn Hills 53
South Miami (FL) 73, Tri-Cities 59
Other Scores
Boys
Apalachee 71, Elbert County 56
Bartow 89, East Jackson 58
Boyd Anderson (FL) 55, Brooks County 30
Calhoun 61, North Cobb 48
Cambridge 66, Lovejoy 61
Carrollton 58, Alpharetta 47
Cass 60, Gordon Lee 51
Centennial 75, Lanier 55
Central-Macon 66, Monroe Area 60
Dawson County 42, Athens Christian 25
Decatur 50, Burke County 46
Etowah 56, Paideia 24
Flowery Branch 61, Chestatee 50
Greenbrier 41, Cuthbertson 35
Grovetown 73, Lincoln County 51
Habersham Central 57, Pickens 55
Harrison 67, Clarke Central 60
Heritage-Conyers 72, Washington County 46
Hillcrest (SC) 61, Sequoyah 56
Hiram 64, Banneker 46
Johns Creek 60, Spruce Creek (FL) 51
Kell 59, Whitefield Academy 53
Marietta 46, Fellowship Christian 35
McIntosh 74, Milton 68
Mountain View 72, Kennesaw Mountain 63
Mundy’s Mill 46, Opelika (AL) 43
Northeast-Macon 55, Peach County 46
Pope 61, Dunwoody 45
Prince Avenue 58, Mt. Pisgah Christian 47
Riverwood 57, Hillgrove 36
Shiloh 75, Spring Valley, SC 54
South Paulding 58, Hardin County 38
South Paulding 58, Hardin County (TN) 38
Stephens County 66, Easley 65
Stratford Academy 64, Washington 35
SW Atlanta Christian 59, Central Gwinnett 57
Walnut Grove 66, Hebron Christian 57
Westside 83, Forest Park 72
Wheeler County 67, Lanier County 45
White County 61, Hokes Bluff (AL) 45
Woodland-Stockbridge 70, M. L. King 54
Girls
Cairo 63, Stewart County 30
Carrollton 56, Decatur 35
Centennial 65, Lanier 36
Coffee 50, Brooks County 42
Cumberland County (NC) 78, Peachtree Ridge 42
Dacula 72, West Greene 52
Dawson County 54, Athens Christian 45
East Hall 48, Chestatee 39
Elbert County 61, Apalachee 40
Fitzgerald 75, Thomas County Central 35
Glynn Academy 44, West Charlotte 34
Gordon Lee 32, Cass 31
Hapeville Charter 55, Central-Carroll 31
Henry County 62, Christ the King (NC) 44
Heritage-Catoosa 41, Madison County 40
Hoover (AL) 46, Southwest DeKalb 45
Jackson 79, Creekside 23
Jackson County 49, Pickens 41
Jenkins 41, Jenkins County 23
Long County 65, Emanuel County Institute 40
McIntosh 47, Cambridge 23
Mountain View 69, Shiloh 43
North Gwinnett 59, Oconee County 23
North Murray 54, Trion 32
Pepperell 76, Weaver (CT) 35
Prince Avenue 44, East Jackson 35
Putnam County 56, Tullahoma 50
Ramsay (AL) 58, Forest Park 24
Ringgold 53, Ider (AL) 23
Savannah Country Day 51, Johnson County 40
Selma (AL) 68, Cedar Grove 27
Sequoyah 56, Stoneman Douglas (FL) 27
Stratford Academy 56, Washington 38
Strom Thurmond (SC) 45, Aquinas 24
SW Atlanta Christian 75, Riverwood 21
Vidalia 61, Harlem 26
Washington County 62, Clarke Central 48
Westlake 80, Woodward Academy 48
Westside 52, Stephens County 26
Woodstock 64, Fleming County (KY) 38
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