Milton took care of surprising Harrison (23-8) Thursday night, 73-52, to end the Hoyas’ Cinderella run to their first semifinal ever. Milton (28-4) is now 4-0 in semifinals under coach David Boyd and moves on to the program’s fourth state final in a row. The No. 1 Eagles lost last year’s final to Norcross in a 59-55 shocker after winning the 2010 championship game over Westlake. Jalyn Patterson led Milton with 20 while Evan Nolte added 17. Harrison’s Marshall Guilmette led all scorers with 21. The Eagles led just 37-31 at the half, but rolled through the third quarter to take an eventual 60-41 lead.
In the other Class AAAAA semifinal, Savannah (30-2) continued its impressive run through the state tourney with a 51-46 win over Alpharetta. Like Harrison, the Raiders saw their program-best season come to an end after also making their first-ever final four. It is the Blue Jackets’ 12th win in a row. A senior and freshman each led Savannah with 11 points as Russell Famble and Jermaine Williams spearheaded a balanced attack. Raiders catalyst Ty Toney, who had been averaging 31 points in the playoffs, was held to 18. Carlos Burse had 10 for Alpharetta. The Blue Jackets took control of the game by outscoring the Raiders 18-1 in the third quarter.
Manchester (23-2) made its first finals appearance since 2007, when it won the school’s only state title. The Blue Devils defeated Vidalia 71-62 in a Class AA semifinal behind Saiquan Taylor’s 24 points. Devin Atkins had 22 for the Indians, who were in their first semifinal since 1982.
Laney (27-4) beat Jordan (27-4) in the other Class AA final four game 52-44 to make the school’s first-ever finals appearance. Shaquille Cook had 22 for the Wildcats, who led 27-19 at the half. But Jordan came back and tied the game at 39 early in the fourth quarter only to see Glenn Rodriguez make three straight baskets to get the lead back for Laney.
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