A first round that was relatively free of major upsets has paved the way for a blockbuster Round 2 in the Class 6A boys and girls basketball playoffs this weekend.
Six second-round games – three on the boys’ side and three for the girls – will match teams ranked in the top 10.
The headliner will take place at 7 p.m. Friday when second-ranked Westlake travels to No. 1 Wheeler, which will be seeking its third consecutive state championship and ninth overall. The Wildcats (24-4) have won 13 straight games since their last loss, a 91-88 setback against John Marshall (Va.) on Jan. 17. Wheeler has lost just once this season to a Georgia opponent, 86-63 against McEachern on Dec. 4.
Westlake (20-5) has won three state titles, most recently in 2016 in the highest classification. The Lions had a 13-game winning streak broken with a 51-45 loss to No. 5 Tucker in the Region 4 championship game, a loss that relegated them to a No. 2 seed and put them in Wheeler’s quarter of the bracket.
Other top-10 boys matchups include No. 9 Alexander at No. 8 Grovetown (7:30 p.m. Friday) and No. 4 Buford at No. 10 Statesboro (6 p.m. Saturday).
The girls matchups include No. 4 Hughes at No. 3 Kell (6 p.m. Friday), No. 9 Sprayberry at No. 2 Lovejoy (6:30 p.m. Friday) and No. 8 Buford at No. 5 Brunswick (6 p.m. Friday). A victory by Lovejoy could set up a quarterfinal matchup with top-ranked River Ridge, which hosts Lee County in the second round.
The higher-seeded girls teams went 16-0 in the first round, while the higher-seeded boys went 13-3.
The biggest upset was the Osborne boys’ 51-50 overtime victory over third-ranked Shiloh. Both teams were 16-0 midway through January but struggled down the stretch. Shiloh recovered to win the Region 8 championship, but Osborne fell to the No. 4 seed from Region 6 and dropped out of the rankings.
Shiloh led 45-39 with less than a minute and a half left in regulation, but Osborne took advantage of two missed free throws by the Generals and got 3-pointers from Kyle Hanson and Zocko Littleton to send the game to overtime. Akai Fleming made a driving layup with 7.2 seconds remaining for the winning points.
The first-round game that captured the most attention, however, was the Sequoyah boys’ 135-112 victory over Paulding County. The seventh-ranked Chiefs broke the school record for points in a game (115), which had stood for 31 years, and advanced to a second-round matchup with Rockdale County, which won 64-54 at Lee County.
Sequoyah made 12 of its 24 3-point attempts and was 29-of-33 from the free-throw line. The Chiefs had five players in double figures – Dylan Wolle with 36, Kyle Keener with 34, Preston Parker with 20, Fisher Mitchell with 15, and Conner Harris with 11. Paulding County, which was 17-of-24 on 3-pointers, got 36 points from Javonne Williams, 30 from Frantzyr Chardavoine, 11 from Kahlil Jones and 10 from Elijah Fisher.
One girls game of note was Bradwell Institute’s 72-64 victory over Westlake, which was trying to become the fourth school in GHSA history to win five consecutive girls basketball titles. The Lions, seeded third out of Region 4, finished the year 13-10.
*State tournament scores, matchups:
Girls
First round
Rockdale County 58, Valdosta 56
Carrollton 44, Creekview 30
Buford 54, Osborne 49
Brunswick 70, Lakeside-DeKalb 33
Lee County 68, Lakeside-Evans 31
River Ridge 60, Dalton 31
Sprayberry 73, Habersham Central 43
Lovejoy 80, Glynn Academy 32
Hughes 59, Statesboro 53
Kell 62, Winder-Barrow 36
Rome 60, Cambridge 59
Grovetown 58, Northside-Warner Robins 37
Bradwell Institute 72, Westlake 64
Dacula 47, Pope 46
Sequoyah 56, East Paulding 35
Houston County 50, Heritage-Conyers 32
Second round
(R3 #2) Rockdale County at (R5 #1) Carrollton
(R8 #2) Buford at (R2 #1) Brunswick
(R1 #2) Lee County at (R7 #1) River Ridge
(R6 #2) Sprayberry at (R4 #1) Lovejoy
(R4 #2) Hughes at (R6 #1) Kell
(R5 #2) Rome at (R3 #1) Grovetown
(R2 #2) Bradwell Institute at (R8 #1) Dacula
(R7 #2) Sequoyah at (R1 #1) Houston County
Boys
First round
Evans 64, Houston County 56
Carrollton 48, Centennial 45
Buford 60, Pope 49
Statesboro 58, North Atlanta 44
Rockdale County 64, Lee County 54
Sequoyah 135, Paulding County 112
Kell 81, Habersham Central 66
Tucker 78, Bradwell Institute 55
Westlake 62, Glynn Academy 60
Wheeler 88, Winder-Barrow 59
Alexander 65, Chattahoochee 57
Grovetown 93, Northside-Warner Robins 37
Hughes 51, Effingham County 44
Osborne 51, Shiloh 50
River Ridge 55, Rome 44
Valdosta 58, Heritage-Conyers 50
Second round
(R3 #2) Evans at (R5 #1) Carrollton
(R8 #2) Buford at (R2 #1) Statesboro
(R3 #3) Rockdale County at (R7 #1) Sequoyah
(R6 #2) Kell at (R4 #1) Tucker
(R4 #2) Westlake at (R6 #1) Wheeler
(R5 #2) Alexander at (R3 #1) Grovetown
(R6 #4) Osborne at (R4 #3) Hughes
(R7 #2) River Ridge at (R1 #1) Valdosta
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