With the wrestling and swimming state championships in the books, all eyes have shifted to the basketball court where the playoffs are in full swing (our paper went to press shortly before the beginning of the second round).
In Class 5A, after falling to Milton in overtime last week, and being forced to settle for the third seed, Wheeler came out strong in round one on Friday, defeating Peachtree Ridge for the second consecutive year. Wheeler got off to the right start, going into the second quarter with a 10-point lead. Although Wheeler never let up, an impressive performance by Peachtree Ridge junior C.J. Blackwell kept the Lions in the game. Blackwell scored 35 points in the contest, leading all scorers. Twenty-two of Blackwell’s points came in the Lion’s valiant second half effort. Wheeler put up some impressive performances of their own with Phil Taylor knocking down 24 points and Jelan Kendrick adding 22. The Lions hung with the Wildcats in the fourth quarter, with Wheeler barely outscoring them 25-23. However, Peachtree Ridge never got closer than 11 points, eventually falling to Wheeler 84-67.
In another exciting Class 5A game on Friday, Campbell was almost one basket away from the end of their season, when Justin Haffad scored a layup as time expired to knot the score at 65-65 and send the game into overtime. Campbell was leading 58-51 with 4:05 remaining in the game when North Gwinnett went on a 14-5 run to take a 65-63 lead with 11.6 seconds on the clock, until Haffad tied things with just two seconds left. Spurred by Haffad’s season-saving basket, the Spartans went on a 9-0 run in overtime to retake the lead and seal the 74-65 victory. Justin Seymour and Matt Cotton led the Spartans in the game, both scoring 18 points. Jack Shanks and Jamel Turner scored in double figures as well, contributing 15 and 10 points, respectively.
Campbell’s victory over North Gwinnett pitted them against McEachern in round two. McEachern defeated Berkmar 69-61 last Saturday, despite the Patriots holding their leading scorer, Trae Golden to just 13 points. With Berkmar focusing much of its efforts on Golden, the Indians were forced to rely on other key contributors. Kei’erre Richards came through, leading McEachern with 20 points, while Rory Anderson added 12, 10 of which came in the second half.
Along with Wheeler, Campbell, and McEachern winning, Marietta, Hillgrove and Whitefield also advanced to the second round in their respective classifications.
GIRLS HOOPS ACTION …
Meanwhile, on the girls side, Hillgrove advanced to the second round of the Class 4A tournament for the third time in school history after defeating Marist 43-37 on Saturday. In addition to prolonging their season, the game signified another achievement as well, as Hillgrove junior Larryqua Hall recorded the 1,000th point of her career. The Lady Hawks were in control of the game from the start, ending the first quarter with a 12-2 lead. Marist rebounded in the second quarter, outscoring Hillgrove 9-6 to remain in the game. Marist would get as close as 38-35 with 1:51 remaining, but Hillgrove held on to pull out the victory and send themselves into a second-round game against Madison County. Celina Rodrigo led all scorers in the game with 13 points.
In Class 5A, the Lady Spartans stayed strong in the first round as well, with Campbell defeating Chattahoochee 54-39 in the first round. Campbell was impressive throughout the game, opening up a 13-7 lead in the first quarter. The Lady Spartans never looked back, holding their lead throughout the game. Erica Norwood led Campbell with 17 points, with Chakecia Miller adding 14, while Brittany Hodges contributed 12 along with 10 rebounds. In addition to her 17 points, Norwood also recorded the 1,000th point of her career in the first quarter, to make her second 1,000-point scorer on the Lady Spartans this season, with Miller being the first.
McEachern put up an impressive round one performance as well on Saturday, dominating Berkmar 71-45. Dominique Wilson put on a show for those in attendance, scoring a season-high 36, going 14-for-19 from the field to lead the attack for the Lady Indians. Lauren Coleman also scored in double figures for McEachern with 10 points, all of which came in the second half.
Perhaps the most exciting girl’s playoff game thus far came in Marietta’s stunning 44-43 victory over Parkview. With just four seconds left to play and down by two, Marietta’s Courtney Sprague sunk a 3-pointer to put the Lady Blue Devils up by one and ultimately end Parkview’s season. Parkview, who came into the matchup as the No. 1 seed and Region 8-AAAAA champion had not lost a game all season. Keyona Hayes and Brianna Thomas kept Marietta close throughout the game, scoring 18 and 15 points, respectively. With the win, Marietta earned the right to face off against Norcross in the second round.
Wade can be reached at kwade@scoreatl.com.
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