If spots in the state basketball tournament were filled the same way they are in football, Chapel Hill’s boys team wouldn’t even have reached the postseason.
Yet the Panthers almost pulled off one of the biggest upsets in tournament history on Wednesday, coming up just short in a 49-46 loss to top-ranked Miller Grove, which is aiming for its seventh consecutive state championship.
Chapel Hill (12-19) finished in eighth place in 10-team Region 5-AAAAA during the regular season but won three consecutive games in the region tournament to qualify for state. The Panthers lost to fifth-ranked Allatoona 36-35 in the region semifinals and No. 3 seed Alexander 48-45 in the third-place game.
Miller Grove (26-3) trailed Chapel Hill 20-15 at halftime Wednesday but outscored the Panthers 17-9 in the third quarter. The Wolverines appeared to take control with a 7-1 run to start the fourth for a 39-30 lead, but the Panthers stayed within reach.
Miller Grove’s Alterique Gilbert (14 points, seven steals) made two free throws with 8.5 seconds remaining for a 49-46 lead, and Chapel Hill failed to score on its final possession. Miller Grove’s Raylon Richardson finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots.
Here’s a by-the-numbers look at the first round:
31 – Consecutive victories in the state tournament by the Miller Grove boys team. The Wolverines' last loss in the state tournament came against Fayette County, 76-68, in the 2008 Class AAAA semifinals.
9 – Victories by lower-seeded teams in the boys and girls brackets. No. 3 seeds went 7-9 against No. 2 seeds, and No. 4 seeds went 2-14 against No. 1 seeds.
7 – Victories in the first round by 8-AAAAA, the most of any region. The boys teams were 4-0 against Region 7, and the girls teams were 3-1.
3 – Ranked teams that were eliminated in the first round. No. 8 Drew (boys) lost to Statesboro 77-68; No. 3 Effingham County (girls) lost to Dutchtown 63-57; and No. 9 South Effingham (girls) lost to Woodland-Stockbridge 57-41.
3 – Total remaining girls teams from Region 1 (Northside-Columbus), Region 3 (Brunswick), Region 5 (none) and Region 7 (Sequoyah). The even-numbered regions had a combined record of 13-3 in the first round.
2 – No. 1-seeded teams that lost in the first round. The Hiram girls of Region 5 lost 56-53 to Miller Grove (No. 4 seed from Region 6), and the North Atlanta boys of Region 7 lost to Gainesville (No. 4 seed from Region 8).
Here are the best of the second-round games, followed by a complete list of the weekend games:
*M.L. King at McIntosh (boys): M.L. King's loss to Miller Grove in the Region 6-AAAAA championship game last week relegated the fourth-ranked Lions (23-5) to a No. 2 seed and a second-round road game against second-ranked McIntosh, the only undefeated team in Class AAAAA. McIntosh, led by junior guards Jordan Lyons and Will Washington, is 29-0 and has won eight consecutive games by 10 points or more.
*Southwest DeKalb at Forest Park (girls): This will be the fourth meeting in the state tournament in six years between these state powers. Southwest DeKalb won the previous three contests, all of which came in the semifinals (59-42 last season, 43-41 in 2013 and 61-55 in 2010). Fifth-ranked Forest Park (25-4) is the Region 4 champion and has won 11 consecutive games, while Region 6 runner-up Southwest DeKalb is 22-7 and ranked No. 6.
Boys
(R5 #2) South Paulding at (R3 #1) Brunswick
(R8 #4) Gainesville at (R2 #3) Jones County
(R6 #2) M.L. King at (R4 #1) McIntosh
(R2 #2) Northside-Warner Robins at (R8 #1) Cedar Shoals
(R3 #3) Statesboro at (R6 #1) Miller Grove
(R8 #3) Apalachee at (R2 #1) Warner Robins
(R3 #2) Coffee at (R5 #1) Allatoona
(R8 #2) Heritage-Conyers at (R1 #1) LaGrange
Girls
(R6 #3) Stephenson at (R3 #1) Brunswick
(R2 #3) Grovetown at (R7 #1) Sequoyah
(R6 #2) Southwest DeKalb at (R4 #1) Forest Park
(R2 #2) Cross Creek at (R8 #1) Salem
(R4 #2) Woodland-Stockbridge at (R6 #1) Mays
(R8 #3) Gainesville at (R2 #1) Greenbrier
(R6 #4) Miller Grove at (R4 #3) Dutchtown
(R8 #2) Loganville at (R1 #1) Northside-Columbus
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