The second round of the GHSA Basketball state playoffs wrapped up over the weekend and set the stage for this week’s Elite Eight action. The no. 4 ranked Cedar Shoals girls are the lone No. 4 seed to advance to this stage and join the No. 1 ranked Jaguars boys as the only program to advance both its girls and boys teams into the quarterfinals.
Fayette County 84, Cedartown 46
Fayette County was led by junior Kaleb Banks’ 32 points and 10 rebounds. Cardell Bailey added 15 points, RJ Kennedy and Donovan Hand finished with nine points and Terry Brown finished with eight points to go with his six assists.
Westover 50, Spencer 49
No. 5 Westover defeated No. 1 ranked Spencer at the buzzer to advance to the Elite Eight. Westover was trailing by one-point until Kavon Johnson’s game-winning court-to-court layup.
Baldwin 46, Hardaway 44
Baldwin was led by sophomore Jacobi Nixon’s 12-point effort in the first half to cling to a 20-20 halftime tie and improve to 14-0.
McDonough 52, Mays 49
McDonough held court against visiting Mays and was led by Anon Sterr’s 16 points and six rebounds. Keenan Gray scored 10 points and Howard Fagan hauled in 11 rebounds to go with his nine points.
Dougherty 61, New Hampstead 56
Visiting Dougherty extended its 12-8 first quarter to lead to 35-20 at the half. No. 1 seed North Hampstead cut the lead to 59-56 with 31 seconds left before the Trojans iced the victory.
Cedar Shoals 75, Stephenson 66
Cedar Shoals trailed 28-6 at the end of the first quarter before roaring back to clinch the victory. Kashik Brown led the way with 28 points and teammate Jah Colbert finished with 20 points to lead Cedar Shoals.
GIRLS
Dutchtown 42, McIntosh 34
The Dutchtown Lady Bulldogs found themselves down 11-10 at the end of the first quarter but managed to go ahead 21-17 at the half and held onto the lead to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. There, Dutchtown will be paired against New Manchester.
Jefferson 88, Arabia Mountain 58
No. 2 ranked Jefferson punched its ticket to the Elite Eight for the fifth-straight year. Deshona Gainther (29) and Livi Blackstock (27) contributed 58 of the Dragons’ points and Ellie Kinlaw turned in a 12-point performance.
Cairo 58, Hardaway 48
No. 1 ranked Cairo was led by Ambria Vicks’ 18-point and 14-rebound performance. Leah Perry added a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Cedar Shoals 42, Northwest Whitfield 29
Host Northwest Whitfield led 13-5 at the end of the first quarter but was outscored 35-16 in the following three quarters. No. 4 seed Cedar Shoals got on the board first to take a 2-0 lead but did not reclaim the lead until it was 19-18 in with 6:13 left in the third.
Flowery Branch 45, Marist 35
Unranked Flowery Branch stunned No. 4 ranked Marist to advance to the Elite Eight. The Falcons stormed to a 30-14 halftime lead and took a 38-23 lead into the final frame.
Troup 48, Bainbridge 41
No. 8 ranked Bainbridge stormed to a 30-10 lead before entering the half with a 32-15 edge. Visiting Bainbridge cut the lead to 36-25 at the end of the third quarter before the Tigers held on for victory.
Class 4A BOYS
R1 #2 Dougherty at R5 #1 Fayette County
R1 #3 Westover at R8 #1 Cedar Shoals
R5 #2 McDonough at R1 #1 Monroe
R4 #1 Baldwin at R6 #1 Miller Grove
Class 4A GIRLS
R8 #4 Cedar Shoals at R4 #3 Spalding
R8 #1 Jefferson at R2 #1 Carver-Columbus
R7 #1 Pickens at R1 #1 Cairo
R2 #2 Troup County at R8 #2 Flowery Branch
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