Upsets, notable scores from first round of the state basketball tournament
Only 13 of 160 ranked teams failed to survive the first round of the state basketball tournament Tuesday and Wednesday.
Pebblebrook’s boys, Southwest DeKalb’s boys and Hillgrove’s boys and girls won marquee games between top-10 teams, and defending boys champions Tri-Cities and Savannah proved their championship mettle with impressive road victories.
Pebblebrook’s boys, ranked No. 6 in Class 6A, beat No. 5 Cherokee 79-72. Zyree Brown, a Kennesaw State signee, scored 32 points, as did Cherokee’s Sean Hamilton. Pebblebrook has won 14 straight first-round games.
Hillgrove’s boys, ranked No. 4 in 6A, beat No. 9 Walton 56-53. Asa Montgomery scored 20 points for Hillgrove in the Cobb County showdown.
Hillgrove’s girls, ranked No. 9 in 6A, beat No. 8 Marietta 62-55.
Southwest DeKalb’s boys, ranked No. 8 in Class 5A, beat No. 6 Griffin 49-40 on the road. Jackson Ushery scored 19 for Southwest DeKalb.
South Paulding’s girls upset 2025 Class 5A runner-up
South Paulding’s girls and Warren County’s boys scored perhaps the biggest upsets.
South Paulding, a 13-13 team that made the Class 5A playoffs as the final qualifier from Region 5, beat fifth-ranked Hughes 49-39. Hughes was the 2025 runner-up in 5A. South Paulding’s Naomi Reed-Moore had 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Warren County beat No. 4 Seminole County 47-46 in Class A Division II. Warren entered 16-9. Seminole County finished 25-3.
Franklin County’s girls, 9-18 in the regular season, also were surprise winners with their 43-42 victory over No. 6 Morgan County of 2A. Morgan County finished 20-8.
The only other girls upset was Commerce’s 58-44 victory over No. 10 Washington County in Class A Division I.
Defending champions come through on the road
Tri-Cities and Savannah, defending champions that entered unranked, both won as road underdogs.
Tri-Cities, only 15-13 this season, upset No. 6 Johns Creek (22-7) 71-60 in Class 5A. Savannah (18-11) beat No. 9 Hancock Central, the Region 5 champion, 68-66.
Other top-10 boys teams that lost were No. 7 Newnan of 5A (to Kennesaw Mountain 56-55); No. 9 Spencer of 2A (to Hart County 60-50); and No. 8 Washington County of Class A Division I (to Elbert County 63-47).
Decatur’s boys defeat Milton in overtime
In one of the best first-round matchups, No. 5 Decatur beat unranked Milton 68-64 in overtime in 5A. Decatur’s Tobias Brinkley had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Bryce Howson had 15 points and eight assists. Both teams have been in the top 10 almost every week this season.
North Hall’s girls win after late opponent game change
In six Class 3A first-round games, opponents changed Monday night because of late Georgia High School Association reseeding.
In one of those, the underdog won. That was North Hall’s girls, a No. 22 seed that defeated No. 11 Troup 64-51. North Hall originally was scheduled to play at fourth-ranked Oconee County, likely a tougher opponent.
Oconee County beat Long County 68-24. Long County originally was scheduled to play Ridgeland.
Cairo’s boys, the team that got a last-minute playoff berth when Upson-Lee was forced out, lost at third-ranked Cedar Grove 75-52.
The schedule changes happened when the GHSA discovered four unreported scores that affected teams’ ratings under the Post Season Ranking Formula.
About the Author
Todd Holcomb covers high school sports across the state. He rejoined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2025 and has worked with the AJC in varying capacities since 1985. He is a co-founder and editor of Georgia High School Football Daily.
