Class 4A Blog: New Hampstead rallies late, McDonough topples Pace

This past week’s most anticipated top 10 boys matchup was played on Friday as Region 5 rivals Pace Academy and McDonough met for the first time this season. Both teams headed into this matchup with undefeated region records and undefeated records within Class 4A. Pace Academy hosted Friday’s clash and then the action moves to McDonough on Jan. 27. The result was McDonough pulling out a 63-59 victory and stamping its seventh-straight victory and improving to 18-2 overall. The visiting Warhawks jumped out to a 26-14 lead after the first quarter and went into the half with a 35-26 lead. McDonough preserved its nine-point lead after the third to hold on to a 49-40 lead and then closed out the four-point victory.

McDonough’s Keenan Gray led the Warhawks with a game-high 18 points and junior Zion Greene finished with 17 points. 6-foot-9 junior Nathadeus Fambro added 11 points and went 5-of-5 shooting from the field. Gray added eight assists with just one turnover and McDonough won despite just taking eight trips to the foul line (5-of-8) and Pace Academy attempting 23 total free-throws (12-23). Pace Academy was also cold from beyond the arc and connected on just 1-of-12 attempts, while McDonough finished 6-of-20 from three-point range. Pace Academy was led in scoring by Eric Chatfield (15), MJ Madison (15), Lamar Moore (11), Chandler Bing (10) and Kyle Greene (8).

New Hampstead celebrated a thrilling 59-58 road win over Region 3 rival Benedictine on Friday to gain sole possession at the top of the region standings. The Phoenix were trailing by two points and took the victory on a game-winning three-pointer by RaShawn Truell. The result grew New Hampstead’s win-streak to seven-straight games and snapped Benedictine’s six-game win-streak. Benedictine led 55-46 with 2:57 left, but was unable to counter New Hampstead’s furious comeback. The Cadets pushed their lead to 58-53 with 14.5 seconds left, but Toland Daughtrey hit a long three that made it 58-56 with 7.4 left. Benedictine failed to inbounds the ball and Truell picked up the loose ball and knocked down the game-winning shot. Truell finished with a team-high 14 points. The result also snapped Benedictine’s streak of 13-straight home victories in region play. Benedictine was led by junior Caleb Jones—who finished with a game-high 26 points and had a string of 13-straight points in the third quarter to give the Cadets a 45-40 lead heading into the fourth. Additionally, North Oconee avenged its previous 63-61 loss to Seckinger by pouring on an 86-54 home win on Friday. The Titans can shore up the top seed tonight against rival Madison County, which was previously defeated 79-45 by North Oconee on Dec. 15.