Holiday Hoops: Karlie Bearden leads 11-0 Dawson County into Bulldog Classic semis

Photo by Ty Freeman

By Score Atlanta

Lake City Classic

Boys

McIntosh 74, Milton 68

The 4:00 P.M. slot of Lake City Classic at Allatoona High School was one of the most intriguing games of the day. Powerhouse No. 2 McIntosh playing against the No. 8 ranked team in the state’s highest classification, Milton.

As they do against so many teams, the Chiefs used a devastatingly balanced attack to hang on against a shorthanded Eagles team, 74-68. Milton was once again without Harvard commit, 6-foot-8 Chris Lewis who suffered a severe bone bruise two games ago after being undercut. With Lewis out, Coach Matt Kramer turned to Kyrin Galloway to play a bigger role inside. The skilled 6-foot-8 big was unafraid to show his feathery touch from outside and scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half to keep the Eagles in it.

Rewinding back to the first quarter, it was Will Washington who stole the first eight minutes. He scored McIntosh’s first nine points of the game and scored 12 points in the opening frame while Jordan Lyons was being face-guarded for a majority of the period. McIntosh stretched the lead to 19-13 after Dishon Lowery cleaned up a miss and hammered back a dunk, but the Eagles managed to stay in striking distance and entered the second quarter down 23-19.

With Auburn University Head Coach Bruce Pearl sitting courtside, the hotly recruited baby faced assassin Alex O’Connell went to work. The sweet-stroking junior guard buried two threes (three on the night) and scored 14 of his game-high 25 points in the first half to pull the Eagles into a deadlock at 26 all.

But as quickly as the microwave shooter got hot, McIntosh answered right back with a flamethrower of their own. The Chiefs ripped off a 9-0 run to regain control at 35-26 with 3:05 left behind a personal 7-0 spurt from the Furman signee Lyons.

The final points of the half for McIntosh were more than just two points.

Will Washington threw down the dunk of the year with a vicious facial to give the Chiefs a 37-32 advantage heading into the half. The slithery quick playmaker glided to the basket and exploded for a left-handed stuff that resulted in two Eagles hitting the deck.

In the third quarter Milton started to chip away at the lead behind eight Galloway points. The Eagles hung around within three points but were unable to get over the hump as Lowery, Lyons and Chase Walter began to tear into the Eagle defense while Washington remained scoreless in the third. Lowery (Wofford) broke free for some easy dunks along with Walter. The two bigs cleaned up the glass as well with Lowery posting an 18-point 15-rebound double-double and Walter chipping in 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

Trailing 51-46 heading into the fourth, Milton had one last push in them. The Eagles cut the lead to 56-54 but from that point on, Washington turned on the afterburners. He scored seven points and helped ignite a 12-5 run by hitting Lyons for a three with 5:47 left to eventually gain a comfortable 68-59 advantage with 2:55 to play. Milton hung around, but McIntosh went 8-of-9 from the line during the game to advance on to the second round where they meet No. 10 McEachern, who comes off an impressive 73-37 rout of No. 6 Lambert, the Longhorns’ first loss of the season.

Bulldog Classic

Quarterfinals

Dawson County 54, Athens Christian 45: Dawson County took a 27-21 lead into the half and outscored Athens Christian 18-10 in the third quarter to grow a comfortable 45-31 lead entering the final frame. Senior and Lenoir-Rhyne University basketball signee Karlie Bearden led the way with a game-high 21 points, while surpassing the 1,000 career point milestone. Haley Burgess scored 13 points and teammates Kaylee Sticker (9), Peytan Porter (4), Ansley Costley (3), Tabitha Morrison (2) and Katelynn Simpson (2) contributed scoring. The Lady Tigers improve to 11-0 and will face Prince Avenue Christian Tuesday at 4pm in the semifinal game of the Bulldog Classic at George Walton Academy.

 

Sweet South Classic

Boys

Southwest Atlanta Christian 59, Central Gwinnett 57: Junior De’Andre Ballard led Southwest Atlanta Christian with 16 points in the Warriors’ first round victory over Central Gwinnett at Morgan County. The Black Knights were paced by Jalen Hillery, who netted a game-high 17 points.

Stone Mountain 54, Archer 42: Stone Mountain cruised past Archer with a dominant performance from postman Michael Graham, who finished with a game-high 24 points. Senior point guard Muhammad Dent added 13 points in the victory.

Girls

Southwest Atlanta Christian 75, Riverwood 21: Southwest Atlanta Christian cruised past Riverwood in the opening round of the Sweet South Classic Monday at Morgan County. Dominique Banks led the way with 23 points and teammate Chyna Cotton finished with 22. Senior guard Brooke Carthon netted 18 points.

Monroe (Albany) 73, Meadowcreek 33

 

Chick-fil-A Invitational

Boys

Winner’s Bracket

Lithonia 56, Meridian (MS) 51

Miller Grove 66, Cedar Grove 26

North Clayton 49, Columbia 45

Loser’s Bracket

Brainerd (TN) 51, Butler 41

Mays 72, Rutland 47

Rockdale County 65, Glenn Hills 53

South Miami (FL) 73, Tri-Cities 59

 

Other Scores

Boys

Apalachee 71, Elbert County 56

Bartow 89, East Jackson 58

Boyd Anderson (FL) 55, Brooks County 30

Calhoun 61, North Cobb 48

Cambridge 66, Lovejoy 61

Carrollton 58, Alpharetta 47

Cass 60, Gordon Lee 51

Centennial 75, Lanier 55

Central-Macon 66, Monroe Area 60

Dawson County 42, Athens Christian 25

Decatur 50, Burke County 46

Etowah 56, Paideia 24

Flowery Branch 61, Chestatee 50

Greenbrier 41, Cuthbertson 35

Grovetown 73, Lincoln County 51

Habersham Central 57, Pickens 55

Harrison 67, Clarke Central 60

Heritage-Conyers 72, Washington County 46

Hillcrest (SC) 61, Sequoyah 56

Hiram 64, Banneker 46

Johns Creek 60, Spruce Creek (FL) 51

Kell 59, Whitefield Academy 53

Marietta 46, Fellowship Christian 35

McIntosh 74, Milton 68

Mountain View 72, Kennesaw Mountain 63

Mundy’s Mill 46, Opelika (AL) 43

Northeast-Macon 55, Peach County 46

Pope 61, Dunwoody 45

Prince Avenue 58, Mt. Pisgah Christian 47

Riverwood 57, Hillgrove 36

Shiloh 75, Spring Valley, SC 54

South Paulding 58, Hardin County 38

South Paulding 58, Hardin County (TN) 38

Stephens County 66, Easley 65

Stratford Academy 64, Washington 35

SW Atlanta Christian 59, Central Gwinnett 57

Walnut Grove 66, Hebron Christian 57

Westside 83, Forest Park 72

Wheeler County 67, Lanier County 45

White County 61, Hokes Bluff (AL) 45

Woodland-Stockbridge 70, M. L. King 54

 

Girls

Cairo 63, Stewart County 30

Carrollton 56, Decatur 35

Centennial 65, Lanier 36

Coffee 50, Brooks County 42

Cumberland County (NC) 78, Peachtree Ridge 42

Dacula 72, West Greene 52

Dawson County 54, Athens Christian 45

East Hall 48, Chestatee 39

Elbert County 61, Apalachee 40

Fitzgerald 75, Thomas County Central 35

Glynn Academy 44, West Charlotte 34

Gordon Lee 32, Cass 31

Hapeville Charter 55, Central-Carroll 31

Henry County 62, Christ the King (NC) 44

Heritage-Catoosa 41, Madison County 40

Hoover (AL) 46, Southwest DeKalb 45

Jackson 79, Creekside 23

Jackson County 49, Pickens 41

Jenkins 41, Jenkins County 23

Long County 65, Emanuel County Institute 40

McIntosh 47, Cambridge 23

Mountain View 69, Shiloh 43

North Gwinnett 59, Oconee County 23

North Murray 54, Trion 32

Pepperell 76, Weaver (CT) 35

Prince Avenue 44, East Jackson 35

Putnam County 56, Tullahoma 50

Ramsay (AL) 58, Forest Park 24

Ringgold 53, Ider (AL) 23

Savannah Country Day 51, Johnson County 40

Selma (AL) 68, Cedar Grove 27

Sequoyah 56, Stoneman Douglas (FL) 27

Stratford Academy 56, Washington 38

Strom Thurmond (SC) 45, Aquinas 24

SW Atlanta Christian 75, Riverwood 21

Vidalia 61, Harlem 26

Washington County 62, Clarke Central 48

Westlake 80, Woodward Academy 48

Westside 52, Stephens County 26

Woodstock 64, Fleming County (KY) 38

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