The Class 4A Basketball State Championships are set to tip off today as teams look to etch their names in the record books as 2025 state champions. Here are four quick team previews to get caught up on everything going on on the state championship matchups today:
CLASS 4A
BOYS
3.6.25 – 7:30 PM
NORTH OCONEE vs. PACE ACADEMY
DID YOU KNOW?
The Class 4A boys basketball matchup is between the past two state champions in the classification.
NORTH OCONEE | TITANS – 29-2 – REGION 8
One of the only harder things to do in sports than winning a championship is becoming a back-to-back champion. This is the opportunity that the North Oconee boys basketball team finds themselves in this week as the Class 4A defending champions will take the court in efforts to become champions once again. The Titans will face off against a well-coached Pace Academy team as they are looking to become the first Class 4A boys basketball back-to-back state champions since the Upson Lee Knights in 2017 and 2018. While they have a tall task ahead of them, this year’s North Oconee roster has been sensational all season long, including only two losses all season while going an undefeated 12-0 in Region 8-4A. The Titans are led by a handful of playmakers who hold big game experience from playing on the team a season ago. Sophomore guard Justin Wise took home the state championship game MVP honors a year ago as a freshman, totaling 19 points. Along with Wise, Khamari Brooks, Banks Pourcier and Thrasher Wilkins are other names to watch as they will look to slow down a hot-handed Pace Academy team. North Oconee has handled their opponents in the postseason thus far, with wins over Hampton, Marist, Mays and McDonough before facing the Knights in the state championship.
PACE ACADEMY | KNIGHTS – 27-4 – REGION 4
Pace Academy finds themselves in a familiar position in this year’s state championship as the program is seeking its sixth state championship in program history. Led by legendary coach Sharman White, this year’s Knights hold all the tools to be the final team standing. The Knights have coasted through the Class 4A postseason, winning by an average of just around 38 points per game in four games in the playoffs against teams such as Central-Carrollton, Kell, Union Grove and Tucker ahead of their highly anticipated matchup with North Oconee. The Knights are led by a dynamic scoring duo in seniors Chandler Bing and Georgia Tech-commit Eric Chatfield. The two each average just about 18 points per game and have been sensational throughout the entire season, helping Pace Academy remain undefeated in Region 4-4A with a 14-0 record. The two continued their hot streak in their semifinal matchup against Tucker that saw the Knights win by over 30 points for the fourth-straight game. In their 36-point victory, Bing led the Knights with 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists followed by Chatfield’s 20 points and five rebounds to lift Pace Academy to the state title game. The Knights will be seeking their fourth state championship since 2020 as White will be attempting to win his 11th state championship as a Georgia high school basketball head coach.
GIRLS
3.6.25 – 5:30 PM
JACKSON-ATLANTA vs. CREEKSIDE
DID YOU KNOW?
Jackson-ATL and Creekside have previously met twice at the beginning of the season. Creekside won both games with the first being on Dec. 3 (65-53) and the second on Jan. 17 (58-38).
JACKSON-ATLANTA | JAGUARS – 20-7 – REGION 4
Jackson is looking to become the first back-to-back state champions in Class 4A since Southwest-DeKalb won three state championships in a row from 2008 to 2010. The Jaguars escaped a close semifinal matchup with the North Oconee girls, downing the Lady Titans 80-79 for their second-consecutive trip back to the state championship. The Jaguars had three players score in double figures in their semifinal win including senior Aaliyah Weaver’s 29 points on 63% shooting followed by junior Cayden Cornish’s 23 points and senior Journey Conley’s 16 points as Jackson-ATL needed every point they could in the previous round to defeat the Titans. This season, the upperclassmen production has been crucial to the Jaguars success with Cornish averaging just over 17 points per game, Weaver averaging 11 points per game and senior Journey Conley averaging 10 of her own as well. The Jaguars defense has been a big storyline for the team as they have four players who average more than two steals a game in Cornish, Weaver, Janiyah Weaver and Janiya McCoy. The Jaguars draw a tough matchup in the state championship game as the Creekside Seminoles have remained perfect on the season, winning over 30 games heading into the state championship.
CREEKSIDE | SEMINOLES – 31-0 – REGION 4
Creekside has been nothing short of sensational this season as the program has remained undefeated all season long with a 31-0 record. Following their 20-9 season from a year ago where the Seminoles were eliminated in the second round by Dalton, the program has turned the page on last season and has continued to show it on the court this year. This year’s Seminoles are averaging close to 70 points per game and have dominated their opponents in the postseason, defeating teams such as Griffin, Cass, Ware County and Marist by an average of just over 30 points during their playoff run. This year, the Seminoles are led by sophomore C’India Dennis as she has truly taken her game to the next level. Dennis averages close to 21 points per game to go along with six rebounds and six assists per game as well as stealing the ball from her opponent four times per game as well. Dennis has been all over the stat sheet in any way she can doing whatever it takes to help her team win. Along with the standout sophomore in Dennis, Skye Cleveland and Jacy Mitchell have each helped contribute to the Seminoles success, with Cleveland averaging just over 11 points per game and five rebounds along with Mitchell’s nine points per game. The Seminoles are searching for their first-ever girls basketball state title.
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