2 defending champs eliminated from state playoffs, 6 teams reach 1st finals
Six basketball teams advanced to their first state championship games last weekend with semifinal victories at four venues.
The six are Creekview (Class 5A girls), Milton (5A girls), Heritage-Ringgold (3A girls), East Laurens (A Division I girls), Rabun County (A Division I boys) and Darlington (Private boys). The Milton-Creekview game Friday in the Macon Coliseum guarantees a first-time champion.
The chance at a title has been a long time coming for some. Creekview and Heritage opened this century, but East Laurens dates to the 1950s, and Darlington, Milton and Rabun County opened decades before that.
Gainesville among 4 No. 1 teams knocked out
Four No. 1-ranked teams were eliminated in the semifinals. Gone are Gainesville’s boys, KIPP Atlanta College’s boys, Chattahoochee County’s boys and Josey’s girls.
Woodward Academy, the Class 5A runner-up in 2025, beat Gainesville 61-60 after Jarvis Hayes Jr. made a 3-pointer with six seconds left at Georgia State. Gainesville finished 30-1.
KIPP and Josey lost to defending Class 2A champs at Legacy Arena in Douglasville.
Butler beat KIPP 50-41 and will play Harlem, which will be making its first championship appearance since 1969. Harlem beat another Atlanta team, Douglass, 63-50. That shut off metro Atlanta public schools from making the boys finals in classes 3A, 2A and A.
Josey lost to Hardaway 61-59 in overtime. Josey had won 22 straight games. Hardaway will play Murray County in a rematch of the 2025 final.
Clinch County beat Chattahoochee County 53-44 in Class A Division II at Fort Valley State. Clinch, without a title since 1989, will play Portal, without a title in history and making its first finals appearance since 1957.
No. 1s Wheeler, Hebron Christian beat No. 2s
Nine No. 1 teams survived, including two — Wheeler’s boys and Hebron Christian’s girls — that beat No. 2 teams.
In the marquee boys semifinal, played at Georgia State, Wheeler led after every quarter and defeated McEachern 56-52. Colben Landrew, a UConn signee and the GHSA’s No. 1 senior prospect, scored 22 points. Next for Wheeler is No. 6 Pebblebrook in an all-Cobb County final.
Hebron Christian beat St. Francis 71-62 in 3A-A Private girls in Athens in a game between teams with five state titles since 2021. Gabby Minus, a Tennessee signee coming off an injury-ruined 2025 season, scored 21 points. Next for Hebron is Holy Innocents’, the defending champion.
Class 5A’s defending champions go down
Seven defending champions made it through. Two did not.
Losing were River Ridge’s girls and Tri-Cities’ boys, both in 5A.
Creekview, ranked No. 6, beat River Ridge 57-50 in overtime at Georgia State in an all-Cherokee County semifinal. River Ridge had beaten Creekview twice this season and 15 straight times dating to 2020.
Alexander, ranked No. 2, beat Tri-Cities 85-76. It was Alexander’s 24th straight win. Tri-Cities came in unranked after a 13-13 regular season.
The seven defending champs still playing are Grayson’s girls (6A), Hardaway’s girls (2A), Wilcox County’s girls (A Division II), Holy Innocents’ girls and boys (Private), Wheeler’s boys (6A) and Butler’s boys (2A).
The finals are Wednesday-Saturday at the Macon Coliseum.
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.
