McDonough wore the No. 1 ranking in the boys poll longer than any other team this season, but earned the No. 3 seed after a tough loss to Lovett in the region tournament. After advancing past the first round, McDonough made a big statement over the weekend with a 78-38 win over No. 1 seeded Sonoraville. The Warhawks had four players finish in double-figures—including junior Keenan Gray—who finished with a game-high 22 points to go with five rebounds, four assists and three assists. Zaiden Greene added 16 points, seven rebounds and five steals, Amon Sterr finished with 10 points and Avante Nichols notched a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. The third-seeded Warhawks will take on No. 1 seed Westover in the Elite 8 after the Patriots’ 67-55 win over Southeast Bulloch.
McDonough’s Region 5 rival Pace Academy will take on Baldwin in the Elite 8 and the winner will meet with Westover or McDonough. In Pace Academy’s latest 58-41 win over Walnut Grove, Pace Academy built a 50-24 lead at the end of the third quarter and cruised past top-seeded Walnut Grove. LJ Moore led Pace Academy with 15 points in the first three quarters and finished with a game-high 18. On the opposide side of the boys bracket, Benedictine and Madison County will class in a must-see showdown. Madison County used a last-second game-winner to top Lovett 49-48 and is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1988, while Benedictine cruised to a 72-57 win over Perry. Top-seeded Benedictine outscored visiting Perry 16-9 in the second quarter to pull ahead 31-24 at the half. The Cadets grew the lead to 49-38 at the end of the third quarter before stamping their ninth-straight victory. Benedictine will host No. 2 seed Madison County in the second round after its dramatic 49-48 win over the top-seeded Lions.
The winner of Beneidictine and Madison County will face the winner up Fayette County and Woodland in the semis. Fayette County is coming off a dramatic 61-59 win over Bainbridge. Fayette County saw its 33-24 halftime lead evaporate in the third quarter as Bainbridge used a 22-12 scoring advantage to take a 46-45 edge into the final frame. Bainbridge’s Ked Bryant tied the game up 59-59 before Fayette County’s Keith Gillespie scored the game-winning shot for the Tigers. Gillespie finished with eight points and teammate Sean Van Dorn added 13 points. Bainbridge was led by KJ Cochran’s game-high 25 points.
On the girls side, Top-seeded Northwest Whitfield overcame a 35-32 halftime deficit with a 12-8 advantage in the third quarter to take a 44-43 lead before holding off the Wildcats 56-54. The victory sends the Bruins into the quarterfinals for the second-straight season and results in Westminster’s only loss within Class 4A this season outside of its 1-2 record to its Region 6 foe Holy Innocents’ this year. Northwest Whitfield is also undefeated in Class 4A outside of its region and avenged its previous losses in the region tournament to take the top seed.
Top-seeded Chestatee outscored Stockbridge 16-6 in the second quarter to grow a 35-18 halftime lead. Stockbridge cut the deficit to 48-36 heading into the final quarter of its 66-56 win. Carolina Bull and Riley Black accounted for all 35 of Chestatee’s first-half points. The War Eagles will take on Griffin in the Elite 8.
BOYS
R5 #3 McDonough at R1 #1 Westover
R5 #2 Pace Academy at R2 #1 Baldwin
R8 #2 Madison County at R3 #1 Benedictine
R5 #4 Woodland-Stockbridge at R4 #1 Fayette County
GIRLS
R1 #1 Hardaway at R7 #1 Northwest Whitfield
R2 #1 Griffin at R8 #1 Chestatee
R2 #2 Baldwin at R5 #1 Luella
R6 #1 Holy Innocents’ at R4 #1 Trinity Christian
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