There were plenty of exciting games on the boys’ side in Round 1 of the state playoffs, but the biggest upset comes from the lower-right quadrant, where the defending state champion Mount Pisgah Patriots — ranked No. 4 as champions of Region 7 — lost to unranked George Walton, the No. 4 seed from Region 7. The score was 68-63.
The Patriots, according to their Twitter account, simply got off to a slow start and never recovered. Though George Walton is unranked, they are only seven spots behind Mount Pisgah in the MaxPreps computer rankings, where it’s No. 14 behind the Patriots, who are No. 7. So, maybe it wasn’t so much of an upset as it is a disappointment to the Patriots that their title defense comes to an end this early.
Up next for George Walton is Heritage-Newnan, which is unranked but the top seed in Region 4. Heritage is No. 10 on MaxPreps.
The No. 2 Galloway Scots avoided a Round 1 upset, holding off unranked Walker 59-57. The Scots are the top seed from Region 5. Walker is ranked No. 15 on MaxPreps.
In the only top 10 matchups, No. 7 Providence Christian hosted and beat No. 8 Darlington, 72-54, and No. 6 Christian Heritage lost 56-51 to No. 9 Mount Vernon.
The only top 10 matchup in Round 2 will be Mount Vernon at No. 10 First Presbyterian
On the girls’ side, top-ranked Holy Innocents won by 80, beating Walker 94-14, while the defending champs, No. 2 Mount Paran, beat No. 6 Wesleyan 66-37.
There were no major upsets in Round 1. There’s only one top 10 matchup in the second round, with Mount Paran hosting No. 8 Deerfield-Windsor.s
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