Class 4A Blog: Sweet 16 Primer, 14 top seeds advance after thrilling first round

The first round saw seven of eight region champions advance on both the boys and girls side of the bracket following a competitive opening round across the board. Amongst the thrilling finishes was McDonough’s 66-58 win over Holy Innocents’ on the boys side. Third-seeded McDonough closed out a gritty road win over a red-hot Holy Innocents’ team to improve to 25-4 and turn the page on a rough Region 5 tournament. The Warhawks were tied 55-55 with 2:01 left and saw Caleb Wilson foul out with 21 points, 19 rebounds and six blocked shots. McDonough answered the call and closed out the victory with an 11-3 run. Amon McDowell chipped in 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals and Avante Nichols added 15 rebounds, seven rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals. McDonough will visit No. 1 seed Sonoraville in the Sweet 16.

McDonough’s No. 3 seed was the result of a Region 5 loss to Lovett and the Lions are set to faceoff with a Madision County team that is fresh off an impressive 74-49 win over Northwest Whitfield. No. 2 seed Madison County jumped out to a 42-22 halftime lead and will visit No. 1 seed Lovett in the Sweet 16 after the Lions’ 55-48 win over Druid Hills—which extended Lovett’s win-streak to eight-straight games.

No. 3 seed North Oconee rallied back from a 50-40 defecit with less than four minutes left and earned the 53-52 victory over Central-Carroll with a 13-2 run. Carter Byrd capped the run with the game-winning basket and led the Titans’ with a game-high 34 points. North Oconee will get to host the Sweet 16 round after No. 4 seed Woodland-Stockbridge scored its 55-45 win over Region 6 champion Southwest DeKalb.

Wednesday saw the final two girls games completed. Host Baldwin rebounded from its 51-48 loss to Griffin in the Region 2 championship last Friday with a 68-44 win over Shaw and improved to 11-0 at home this season. The Braves will get to host the Sweet 16 after No. 4 seed Troup’s 66-54 victory over No. 1 seed Burke County.

CLASS 4A SWEET 16 MATCHUPS

BOYS

R5#3 McDonough at R7 #1 Sonoraville

R3#3 Southeast Bulloch at R1#1 Westover

R5#2 Pace Academy at R8#1 Walnut Grove

R4#3 LaGrange at R2#1 Baldwin

R3#2 Perry at R3#1 Benedictine

R8#2 Madison County at R5#1 Lovett

R1#2 Bainbridge at R4#1 Fayette County

R5#4 Woodland-Stockbridge at R8#3 North Oconee

GIRLS

R5#2 Westminster at R7#1 Northwest Whitfield

R4#2 Fayette County at R1#1 Hardaway

R5#2 Stockbridge at R8#1 Chestatee

R4#3 Starr’s Mill at R2#1 Griffin

R4#4 Troup at R2#2 Baldwin

R8#2 East Forsyth at R5#1 Luella

R1#2 Westover at R4#1 Trinity Christian