Basketball, basketball, and more basketball. The story of the week last weekend was the first round of the state basketball playoffs. The Norcross Blue Devils boys and girls teams were in action and both managed to advance to the second round, though the way each did so was vastly different. The boys, ranked No. 1 in the state and champions of Region 7-AAAAA, needed overtime to thwart No. 6 Centennial, the four-seed out of Region 6-AAAAA, 56-54. Jeremy Lamb had 21 points and Malcolm McDonald scored the go-ahead basket with less than 10 seconds remaining to give Norcross its 23rd straight win and a home game against No. 4 Meadowcreek in the second round (results not available at press time).
The Norcross girls, meanwhile, cruised to an easy win over Roswell, 58-50. The Devils led the Hornets 43-28 after three quarters, mainly behind Kaela Davis’s 22 points. Alex DeMercy added 12 points and Briana Jordan contributed 10 points in the win. Norcross, the second seed out of Region 7 will host Marietta in the second round after Marietta traveled to Lilburn and knocked off previously unbeaten Parkview. The Lady Panthers won the Region 8-AAAAA title but could not advance past the first round after Marietta received a huge 3-pointer from Courtney Sprague with four seconds left to propel the Lady Blue Devils to a 44-43 win. Lauren Coleman had 16 points for Parkview and Katie Carroll added 15 in the loss. Marietta used an 18-11 third quarter to get into a position to win the game.
In other girls basketball results, Mill Creek, champion of Region 7-AAAAA, advanced past Alpharetta with a 63-48 win. Moneshia Simmons tallied 21 points and snagged 13 rebounds, and had eight points and seven boards in the final quarter to push the Hawks to the win. Mill Creek pulled away from Alpharetta in the fourth with a 23-6 margin. Jac’ Weathers had 11 points and Sierra Menzies contributed 10 for the Hawks, who hosted Etowah in second-round action. Brookwood fell to Etowah 65-40 as the Lady Broncos’ season came to an end. Katie Mallow finished with just four points and Jazmine Jackson led the Broncos with 11, but it was not enough. Etowah led by 11 at halftime and 21 after three quarters. Autumn Adams came close to a double-double for Brookwood with eight points and nine rebounds.
Region 8-AAAAA No. 3 seed Grayson received 25 points from Taren White but no other Ram managed double digits as North Cobb ran away with a 70-46 win. The Rams were down 22 to start the fourth and tried to rally, but North Cobb proved to be too much at the end. Finally, North Gwinnett fell to Milton 63-43 after scoring just 13 first half points.
In Class 2A, GAC pulverized Calhoun 55-29 to win its 12th straight game. Sierra Lawrence led the Lady Spartans with 15 points and Peyton Whitted notched 14 points in the win. Meanwhile Buford was led by Andraya Carter’s 22 points in a 63-43 win over Model. Senior Alysha Rudnik poured in 15 points for the Wolves as they try and go back-to-back.
In Class A, Wesleyan nearly cracked triple digits with a 97-31 win over Darlington. Erin Hall led all scorers with 21 points and the Lady Wolves led 24-0 before Darlington even managed a shot. The score after the first quarter was 40-5 and Wesleyan led 61-9 at halftime.
On the boys side, Berkmar fell to McEachern 68-61 behind Yonel Brown’s 28 points and Brandon Thompson’s 21. Berkmar led the Region 5-AAAAA champion Indians after the first quarter and pulled to within three in the fourth after McEachern led by 10 entering the final frame.
Central Gwinnett dispatched Harrison 63-54 behind 21 points from Brian Williams. Central Gwinnett (27-2) hosted Wheeler in the second round after Wheeler defeated Peachtree Ridge 84-67 in round one. The Lions received 35 points from C.J. Blackwell but it was not enough to overcome the defending state champions. North Gwinnett saw its season end at the hands of Campbell after the Bulldogs committed 29 turnovers in a 74-55 OT loss. Other Gwinnett boys winners included GAC, Wesleyan and Meadowcreek. Collins Hill and Shiloh also lost to end their seasons.
COACH MOVEMENT …
In other news, Collins Hill named assistant coach Josh Stephens the new boys wrestling coach after Cliff Ramos announced his retirement. Ramos announced his retirement last week just days after his team won a third straight traditional wrestling title. Over Ramos’s career with Collins Hill, the Eagles won five traditional titles and four state duals titles.
And Buford will need a new boys basketball coach after Milt Travis and Buford parted ways after a 9-16 season. The Wolves have missed the state playoffs the last three seasons but Travis posted four 20-win seasons in his eight years at Buford.
Proctor can be reached at fproctor@scoreatl.com.
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