Round 2 of the Class AA playoffs is in the books on both the boys and girls sides. All eight remaining girls teams are No. 1 seeds, while the boys side saw top seeds Heard County and Banks County exit.
(For an updated boys bracket, go here. For an updated girls bracket, go here.)
On the girls side, top-ranked Laney, No. 2 Model, No. 3 Rabun County, No. 4 Fitzgerald and No. 6 Bryan County all posted double-digit wins, while No. 10 Heard County upset No. 3 Dodge County 56-55, No. 9 Hapeville Charter edged Jeff Davis 55-50 and Bleckley County squeaked by Dade County, 45-43.
Aside from Dodge County, No. 7 Vidalia was the only other ranked team to exit the tournament.
Girls performances of note:
- De'Sha Benjamin (18 points) and Aubriana Bonner (17 points) led Laney to a 76-61 win over Douglass.
- Victaria Saxton had 27 points, 13 rebounds and five steals as Model trounced Berrien 64-30.
- Heard County's Hannah Sanders hit a technical foul free-throw with less than a minute remaining to bring the score to its final margin in the win over Dodge County.
- Yasmine Crawford had 14 points and 16 rebounds to lead Bryan County to a 72-44 win over South Atlanta.
On the boys side, No. 1-ranked South Atlanta topped No. 3 Butler 82-70. Other top seeds to advance include No. 2 Laney, No. 4 Early County, Washington County, No. 8 Chattooga -- the Indians upset No. 6 Thomasville -- and Swainsboro, with all of those teams except top-seeded Swainsboro winning by double digits.
Two No. 1 seeds were eliminated, with No. 9 Banks County losing to No. 10 Josey and Heard County losing to No. 5 Dublin. With its loss to Laney, No. 7 Hapeville Charter joined Butler, Banks County and Thomasville as the ranked teams to lose.
Boys performances of note:
- Dovonta Pullins scored 26 points and Dondre Barnes added 22 for South Atlanta in its win over Butler, Hornets coach Michael Reddick told the AJC.
- Isaiah Foster scored a team-high 19 points for Chattooga, with 12 coming in the final quarter, including 8-for-8 free-throw shooting, in the Indians' 68-51 win over Thomasville.
- Reggie Perry scored a game-high 24 points for Thomasville in a losing effort.
- Kahmal Wiley had 31 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks for No. 9 Banks County in a 77-68 loss to Josey.
- Braylon Sanders scored 24 points for Callaway in its season-ending 72-62 loss to Washington County.
- Ashton Bonner scored 21 points for Monticello in a 68-62 loss to Swainsboro.
Check back on Wednesday, when we'll take a look at the quarterfinals and review playoff predictions made before the tournament started.
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Credit: Craig Sager
Credit: Craig Sager
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