Three days after Class AAAAAA No. 1 Wheeler went out in the first round to unranked Grayson, No. 2 Tift County is gone in the second round, a 56-54 loser to unranked Milton (22-8) on Saturday night in Tifton.
Milton, the second seed from Wheeler's Region 5, won on a 3-point shot in the final second by sophomore Justin Brown, who was falling out of bounds as he hoisted the game-winner. According to the Tifton Gazette, Brown attempted a pass insided. It s was deflected back to him, leaving him little time or choice but to hoist and hope with Milton trailing 54-53.
Tift County failed to hold a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter. Wheeler had failed to hold an eight-point lead earlier this week.
Here is a class-by-class look at some of the highlights of Saturday's second round of the boys state tournaments.
AAAAAA
-In addition to Tift County, two other region champions in the highest classification lost on Saturday. The same Class AAAAAA blog that predicted that Wheeler would win the title (oops!) salvaged some pride by forecasting these outcomes – Campbell over Region 6 champ Lambert and Pebblebrook over Region 7 winner Collins Hill.
-The highest-ranked team remaining is third-ranked Westlake, a 61-50 winner over fourth-ranked Norcross. Westlake and Region 3 are looking strong. Pebblebrook and Campbell also come from that region.
-Campbell is also one of three unranked teams (Milton and Grayson are the other two) and one of three Cobb County teams (McEachern and Pebblebrook are the other two) still playing in AAAAAA.
Quarterfinals at West Georgia
R8 #4 Grayson vs. R2 #1 Newton
R8 #1 Shiloh vs. R3 #1 Westlake
R5 #2 Milton vs. R3 #3 Campbell
R4 #1 McEachern vs. R3 #2 Pebblebrook
AAAAA
-The draw here is generally going as expected. Mays is the only unranked team to reach the quarterfinals. The No. 3 seed from Region 6 beat unranked Jones County 70-68 on Saturday.
-The only team in the top eight that failed to make it was No. 5 Gainesville. The Red Elephants lost to No. 4 McIntosh 87-84 on Saturday.
Quarterfinals at Columbus State
R5 #1 Allatoona vs. R6 #2 Southwest DeKalb
R8 #1 Cedar Shoals vs. R6 #3 Mays
R5 #2 South Paulding vs. R6 #1 Miller Grove
R4 #1 McIntosh vs. R7 #1 Riverwood
AAAA
-There were no upsets in the second round, although No. 1 Jonesboro barely escaped (51-50 over unranked Carrollton), and so did No. 6 St. Pius (56-55 over unranked Thomson on the road).
-The only unranked team in the quarterfinals is Westover (19-11), the fifth-place finisher in Region 1, but the region tournament champion. Westover was 14-11 in the regular season.
Quarterfinals at Fort Valley State
R5 #1 Sandy Creek vs. R6 #2 Lithonia
R1 #3 Monroe vs. R3 #1 Liberty County
R1 #1 Westover vs. R6 #1 Grady
R4 #1 Jonesboro vs. R6 #4 St. Pius
AAA
-Two region champions lost, but each to higher-ranked teams. Region 5 champ Callaway, unranked, was put out by No. 5 South Atlanta. Region 7 champ East Hall, ranked No. 10, lost to No. 8 Westside-Augusta.
-That leaves the eight highest-ranked teams in the quarterfinals, from No. 1 Calhoun to No. 8 Westside. No other class can say that.
Quarterfinals at Augusta University
R4 #3 South Atlanta vs. R2 #1 Central-Macon
R8 #1 Morgan County vs. R3 #1 Laney
R1 #1 Jenkins vs. R6 #1 Calhoun
R4 #1 Cedar Grove vs. R3 #2 Westside-Augusta
AA
-The top-five ranked teams have made the quarters – No. 1 Thomasville, No. 2 Pace Academy, No. 3 Crawford County, No. 4 Manchester and No. 5 Lovett.
-Holy Innocents’ is the lone No. 4 seed alive. The Golden Bears come from loaded Region 6, so it’s not big news.
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
-No. 9 Dublin beat No. 6 Greater Atlanta Christian (Region 6’s No. 3 seed) 101-88.
-The only unranked team in the quarters is Monticello, which beat unranked Region 8 champion Rabun County 81-73 on Saturday. Monticello is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1988.
Quarterfinals at Georgia College
R5 #1 Manchester vs. R6 #2 Lovett
R4 #2 Monticello vs. R3 #1 Dublin
R1 #1 Thomasville vs. R6 #1 Pace Academy
R4 #1 Crawford County vs. R6 #4 Holy Innocents’
A
-Two top-10 teams went out, both victims from Region 5 against non-metro Atlanta opponents – No. 5 Our Lady of Mercy to Pacelli of Columbus and No. 6 Southwest Atlanta Christian to Tattnall Square of Macon.
-In the only public-school upset, No. 13 seed Lincoln County beat No. 4 seed Randolph-Clay 87-69. That puts Lincoln County in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1986. It also marks the first time in history that the boys basketball team has advanced further than the football team, which lost in the first round on the gridiron last fall.
Quarterfinals at Kennesaw State
#1 Greenforest Christian vs. #9 Tattnall Square
#5 North Cobb Christian vs. #4 Stratford Academy
#3 Lakeview Academy vs. #6 Whitefield Academy
#2 St. Francis vs. #10 St. Anne Pacelli
Quarterfinals at Valdosta State
#1 Treutlen vs. #8 Hawkinsville
#13 Lincoln County vs. #5 Wilkinson County
#6 Calhoun County vs. #3 Turner County
#7 Hancock Central vs. #2 Taylor County
