Unranked Washington got 21 points from Darius Miles and used its speedy, aggressive defense to upset No. 6 Allatoona 59-56 in the Class AAA quarterfinals at the Northwest Georgia Trade Center in Dalton.
“Our guys just wanted it,” Washington coach William Faulkner said. “They were going to fight to the end. That’s the Booker T. Washington way.”
Washington’s boys advanced to the semifinals for the first time since winning the Class AAAA title in 1987.
The Bulldogs (20-9) led by as many as seven points (51-44) in the fourth quarter, but never could shake the Buccaneers (26-5).
Allatoona cut the lead to one on two occasions and missed two 3-point shots in the final seconds that would have forced overtime.
The Bucs were led by Dimychael Ross with 22 points.
In other quarterfinals games:
Class AAAAA
Milton 80, North Gwinnett 58: Evan Nolte scored 30 points on 9-of-11 shooting and blocked four shots for No. 1-ranked Milton (27-4). Georgia Tech signee Chris Bolden scored 28 for North Gwinnett (21-9). Milton point guard Charles Mann, who has signed with Georgia, was ejected in the third quarter for a second technical foul after hanging on the rim after a dunk. The ejection means he must sit out two games, ending his season.
Savannah 59, North Cobb 43: In Fort Valley, Kavon Freeman scored 14 points, Jamal Norman 12 and Russell Famble 10 for unranked Savannah (29-2), which outscored No. 2 North Cobb 17-1 over the final 3:07 to earn its first appearance in the state semifinals since 2008.
Saxon Steele scored 17 points and Lee Moore 10 for the Warriors (26-5), who led for most of the first half.
Class AAA
Drew 60, Henry County 40: In Milledgeville, junior Barry Mayes scored 18 points as Drew won the rubber match between the two Region 4 rivals and advanced to the semifinals for the first time in the school's three-year history.
The teams split their two regular-season games. On Saturday, the Titans (27-4) blew open what had been a tight game with a 13-4 run early in the fourth quarter, capped by a deep 3-point shot by Mayes, that pushed their lead to 47-36 with six minutes left to play.
The Warhawks (18-13) were led by junior Tondric Johnson’s eight points.
Eagle's Landing 68, Crisp County 66: Marquis Griffin's bucket-and-one with :15 seconds left in regulation broke a 65-65 tie and propelled the Golden Eagles to their second consecutive state semifinals. Crisp County (17-10), which battled back from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter, had one final chance to win the game on an in-bounds play with .7 seconds left, but Javoris Cooks' desparation 3 was short at the buzzer.
Eagle’s Landing (28-3) was playing without Region 4AAA Player of the Year Eric Wortham, who suffered a seizure at school Friday and is recovering in a local hospital.
Class AA
Laney 71, Morgan County 59: In Savannah, Laney jumped to a 34-22 halftime lead and never looked back.
Shaquille Cook led the Bulldogs with 26 points, while Jammie West and Raven Rodriguez each had 13.
Freshman Tookie Brown led Morgan County with 18 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter.
Class A
Athens Christian 61, Wilkinson County 58: In Marietta, Zach Lillie scored 21 points, including a layup in the final seconds, as the seventh-ranked Eagles (29-2) knocked off the defending state champions 61-58.
Freshman Will Jackson scored 18 points, and Demetrius McWhorter added 11 for Athens Christian, which trailed 44-40 entering the fourth quarter.
Rico Simmons scored 21 points, including ninth in the fourth quarter, for third-ranked Wilkinson County (27-3).
Correspondents Stan Awtrey, S. Thomas Coleman, Todd Holcomb, Chip Saye, Jay Stone and Score Atlanta contributed to this article.
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