Grayson, Riverwood, North Oconee and Mount Vernon are season-ending No. 1 boys basketball teams for the first time while Kell, Sandy Creek and Westside-Macon successfully defended state championships. Greenforest Christian won its fifth state title, its first since 2022.
All but Riverwood and North Oconee were ranked No. 1 entering the state tournament.
Grayson finished atop the Class 7A rankings after a 51-41 victory over second-ranked McEachern on Saturday in the last of eight boys state championship games in Macon. Jacob Wilkins, a junior committed to Georgia, had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Grayson limited McEachern’s McDonald’s All-American, Ace Bailey, to 18 points, more than a dozen below his average.
Grayson didn’t lose to a Georgia opponent this season, and McEachern lost to only one – Grayson (twice). Both are ranked in the top 20 of several national polls,
The Class 6A champion, Riverwood, was not ranked entering the state tournament but finished a remarkable run with its 67-63 overtime victory over previous No. 1 and defending champion Alexander on Friday.
Riverwood lost its top-10 ranking when it finished fourth in its region tournament, setting the Raiders on a path of needing to win five straight state-tournament games on the road, which they did. Riverwood had never gone past the quarterfinals previously.
Kell defeated No. 2 Eagle’s Landing 62-51 in the 5A final. Kell won its final 27 games after losing to Grayson, McEachern and Newton, teams in the final 7A top four.
North Oconee, which had never advanced past the round of 16, won Class 4A with a 65-60 victory over Holy Innocents’. It was the Titans’ 19th straight win. North Oconee is the first team from Oconee County to win a boys or girls basketball title.
Sandy Creek repeated as Class 3A champion with a 74-49 victory over previously unranked Johnson-Savannah. Sandy Creek won each of its state-tournament games by 25 points or more.
Westside-Augusta won its third straight championship in Class 2A. Westside beat Toombs County 64-29 for the title.
Mount Vernon beat Mount Pisgah Christian 48-40 to win Class A Division I. Five teams from Region 6 made the final rankings. The others were No. 5 St. Francis, No. 7 Mount Pisgah Christian and No. 8 Mount Bethel Christian.
Greenforest beat Manchester 68-39 in the Class A Division II final. Greenforest won each of its state-tournament games by 24 points or more.
Class 7A
1. Grayson (30-2)
2. McEachern (26-6)
3. Wheeler (25-6)
4. Newton (20-7)
5. Milton (20-11)
6. Walton (23-6)
7. Peachtree Ridge (22-8)
8. Norcross (17-14)
9. Buford (25-4)
10. Berkmar (21-8)
Class 6A
1. Riverwood (25-7)
2. Alexander (29-3)
3. Woodward Academy (26-6)
4. Jonesboro (20-11)
5. Hughes (21-9)
6. Douglas County (19-13)
7. Shiloh (23-5)
8. Lee County (23-4)
9. St. Pius (22-7)
10. Pope (23-6)
Class 5A
1. Kell (28-3)
2. Eagle’s Landing (24-8)
3. Dutchtown (19-10)
4. Maynard Jackson (21-9)
5. Tucker (23-6)
6. Winder-Barrow (26-5)
7. Tri-Cities (21-10)
8. Chapel Hill (21-9)
9. Warner Robins (21-8)
10. Greater Atlanta Christian (22-8)
Class 4A
1. North Oconee (30-3)
2. Holy Innocents’ (26-7)
3. McDonough (26-4)
4. Pace Academy (24-5)
5. Baldwin (27-3)
6. New Hampstead (23-6)
7. Benedictine (17-8)
8. Seckinger (23-8)
9. Westminster (21-10)
10. Fayette County (20-8)
Class 3A
1. Sandy Creek (27-3)
2. Johnson-Savannah (20-12)
3. Dougherty (23-8)
4. Monroe (23-7)
5. Carver-Columbus (24-6)
6. Douglass (16-11)
7. Hebron Christian (25-4)
8. Cedar Grove (16-9)
9. Cross Creek (19-10)
10. Richmond Academy (19-7)
Class 2A
1. Westside-Augusta (29-4)
2. Columbia (28-4)
3. Toombs County (29-3)
4. Butler (24-7)
5. Thomson (22-4)
6. Athens Academy (23-6)
7. North Cobb Christian (20-7)
8. South Atlanta (23-9)
9. Model (22-8)
10. Eagle’s Landing Christian (23-7)
Class A Division I
1. Mount Vernon (23-9)
2. Paideia (17-13)
3. Savannah (23-9)
4. Darlington (24-7)
5. St. Francis (13-12)
6. East Laurens (22-5)
7. Mount Pisgah Christian (14-18)
8. Mount Bethel Christian (15-7)
9. Bleckley County (21-9)
10. Woodville-Tompkins (22-5)
Class A Division II
1. Greenforest Christian (27-4)
2. Portal (28-2)
3. Manchester (19-9)
4. Calhoun County (25-6)
5. Macon County (27-4)
6. Warren County (24-6)
7. Christian Heritage (21-6)
8. Clinch County (18-6)
9. Mitchell County (23-6)
10. Early County (20-11)
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