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.