State boys basketball roundup

Central Gwinnett 67, McEachern 60: At West Georgia in Carrollton, Central Gwinnett's Jordan Adams scored 32 points, including five 3-pointers. The 6-foot-4 Adams scored 14 of his points in the fourth quarter. McEachern was led by Trae Golden's 24 points.

Class AAA

LaGrange 59, Dougherty 51: At Columbus State, Dionte Mains had a key steal and three-point play late in the game to help send the Grangers (30-0) to the semifinals. Mains finished with 14 points, while Jamius Gunsby added 10 and Randazzero Chaney had eight, including four consecutive free throws down the stretch to seal the win. It was the end to an improbable playoff run by Dougherty (13-13), which entered the state playoffs with a losing record. The Trojans were led by Arabian Williams and Raymond Payne, who each scored 14.

Westover 67, South Atlanta 62: Also at Columbus State, Westover won in overtime behind Malcolm Sapp's 21 points. South Atlanta (28-3) was led by Rashaud Bell, who scored 18 points and Nickalus Jacobs with 16.

North Hall 53, Riverwood 49: At the Northwest Georgia Trade Center in Dalton, the Trojans (27-3) came back from eight points down, then took the lead for good on Lance White's two free throws with 1:36 left to reach their first semifinal. North Hall's Chase Syfan finished with 10 points, followed by eight each from Trevor Ross and Chris Barnes. Alex Vital scored 14 points and Kyle Davidson added 10 for Riverwood (19-13).

Columbia 68, Elbert County 54: Also at the Northwest Georgia Trade Center, Chris Grier scored 24 points and JerShon Cobb 21 as the Eagles, state champions in 2006 and '08, won to reach their fifth consecutive semifinal. Rod Rucker and Keldrick Rambert led Elbert with 17 and 13 points, respectively.

Class AA

Laney 83, McIntosh County Academy 68: At Georgia Southwestern in Americus, Rod Hall led all scorers with 24 points and Jammie West scored 20 as Laney moved on to the semifinals. The Wildcats (29-2) broke open a tied game in the second quarter, ending the first half on a 20-0 run to lead 46-26. Corinthians Brown added 11 points for Laney. Kion Button and Mario Dixon led McIntosh County Academy (22-8) with 15 points each.

Thomasville 65, Henry County 54: Also at Georgia Southwestern, Trey Gosier scored 20 points and Willie Clayton added 16 as Thomasville pulled away in the final minutes to advance to its first semifinal since 2006. The Bulldogs (23-4) trailed 41-38 entering the final period, but outscored the Warhawks 27-13 the rest of the way. Larrentis Thomas led all scorers with 24 points and Jeffery Weeks chipped in 10 for Henry County (15-14).

Class A

Whitefield Academy 86, Commerce 38: At Marietta High School, Whitefield Academy used a relentless full-court pressure defense to build a 31-9 first-quarter lead and cruise to victory. Kennard Backman scored 14 of his game-high 25 points in the first quarter for Whitefield Academy (27-3), the defending state champion. Kenneth Gaines scored 18 points and Tekele Cotton had 16. Brandon Romans scored 17 points to lead Commerce (23-8), which did not score in the fourth quarter.

Michael Carvell in Carrollton, Todd Holcomb in Fort Valley, Seth Coleman in Columbus, Chip Saye in Marietta, Michael Alpert in Dalton and Chris Whitaker in Americus contributed to this article.