Class AAAA
GIRLS
Veterans 54, Carrollton 48: Veterans coach Nicki Miranda called it redemption. Starting point guard Kya Cochran referred to sweet revenge. Cochran led Veterans with 12 points and hit two key free throws in the closing minutes to lead the Warhawks to a 54-48 victory against Carrollton in the Class AAAA girls quarterfinals at Fort Valley State University.
Veterans also used a pair of layups from the Nicholson sisters – Anna and Audrey – to erase memories of last year’s semifinal loss to Carrollton. Veterans lost on a last-second miracle shot in that game.
“We feel like this was redemption after last year, and we were thankful for the opportunity to play against such a wonderful program,” said Miranda. “It was great to have things go the other way.”
Veterans maintained a double-digit lead for much of the game, until Carrollton began going inside at the start of the third quarter. Much of the damage was done by Emily Waters and Erial Daniel, who led Carrollton with 13 and 11 points respectively.
Carrollton pulled to within 46-45 with 2:24 remaining in the game, setting the stage for free throws from Cochran and Jana Aultman and the Nicholson layups.
Aultman and teammate Carrington Kee added 10 points each for Veterans.
Wayne County 47, Bainbridge 38: Wayne County hit five free-throws in the final minutes to pad the lead and put away the game against an ever-present Bainbridge squad in the Class AAAA semifinals.
The Yellow Jackets took a strong lead (19-9) at the half but the Bearcats cut into the lead and applied pressure. Tania Ward led Wayne County with 17 points, Amiah Height added 16 points and Alex Thomas notched seven. Wayne County coach Kala Hobbs said of her squad, “We struggled from the line early, but hit crucial freethrows when we needed them”
Bainbridge found scoring from Nadia Marshall who tallied 17 points, Tytianna Roseborough who added nine points and Asia Gordon who scored eight.
BOYS
Liberty County 71, Monroe 61: Basketball games often fluctuate with scoring runs, but Liberty County came out and took control early with a 10-0 run. Monroe fought back but never seemed to gain ground as Liberty County’s Davion Mitchell (Auburn commit) led the way with 29 points.
When asked if the lead was ever threatened, Mitchell was confident in his answer, “We’ve seen them play before and we knew that they were going to try to get back at us, so we had to go hard.” Teammate Richard LaCounte (UGA football commit) added, “We’ve been playing together since we could walk, we know each other, and we play well together. We are confident.” Mitchell was helped by LaCounte who notched 18 points and Will Richardson who added 12.
Monroe County found scoring from Emeshuan Offord with 24 points, K’Naurtica George with 16 points and Napoleon Harris who added 12.
Lithonia 55, Sandy Creek 53: Lithonia’s Jacara Cross scored seven of his team’s last 11 points and added a game-changing block with 18 seconds remaining to lead his team to a 55-53 victory against Sandy Creek and into the Class AAAA semifinals. The Bulldogs led 52-45 with 1:26 remaining when the Patriots got two 3-pointers from Elias Harden, the last pulling Sandy Creek to within one point, 54-53, with 36 seconds left. Sandy Creek forced a turnover with 20 seconds left and had chance to take the lead.
With 18 seconds remaining, Harden drove in the lane toward the basket, with a chance to give his team the lead, but Cross made a possible game-saving play above the rim. Sandy Creek began fouling, but Lithonia did not capitalize, missing three of four free throws in the final seconds.
“It took our defense until the fourth quarter to wake up, but when I saw (Harden) spin and go low, I knew I had my chance,” said Cross, who finished the game with 15 points.
Lithonia Coach Wallace Corker was not pleased with how his team played in the final minute.
“I am very disappointed,” he said. “We are better than that. I think they got caught up in the moment. I feel when it’s your first time here, the atmosphere and excitement kind of got the best of them, but we’re better than that.”
Lithonia’s Tyheem Freeman scored 17 points, and Rodney Chapman added 11 points. Sandy Creek was led by Harden, who finished with 18 points and had eight points during the Patriots’ furious late rally. Christian Turner added 16 points, Javon Jackson had nine points, and Evan Jester scored eight.
Class AAA
GIRLS
Morgan County 62, Laney 53: Sometimes the third time isn’t a charm. After losing 78-69 and 72-53 in the regular season, Laney (25-5) had a chance to turn the tables on top-ranked Morgan County (26-3), but instead Pumpkin Brown and Tatyana Davis lifted the Lady Bulldogs to a 62-53 win after leading 26-25 at the half after a Brown three at the buzzer. Laney came out hot in the third quarter and led 36-32 with three minutes left. The Lady Wildcats led by De’Sha Benjamin held steady and carried a 42-38 lead into the fourth quarter. Halfway through the period Laney clung onto a 47-46 lead. With three minutes remaining the score was deadlocked. Morgan County surged ahead 55-51 with 2:07 to play and used a 7-2 run to seal Laney’s fate. Brown scored 13 points while Davis poured in 23. Benjamin scored 20 in the loss.
Johnson-Savannah 46, Peach County 43: Alexis Pierce’s three-pointer from the top of the key with three seconds left sent Johnson-Savannah (25-6) to the Final Four after surviving a Peach County (26-3) onslaught in the second quarter. The Atomsmashers jumped out to an 8-0 lead and took an 8-3 advantage into the second quarter. From there, Peach County led by Florida State signee Nausia Woolfolk over. Jordan Davis sank a three at the 2:32 mark of the second quarter to take a 15-10 lead as the Lady Trojans held an 18-10 lead at the half after holding Johnson-Savannah to 1-of-14 shooting in the frame while outscoring them 15-2. Woolfolk scored nine in the opening 16 minutes with her running mate Jordan Davis tagging on eight points. Peach went cold in the third quarter but still led 29-24 going into the fourth. Johnson-Savannah’s Sy’Marieona Williams tied it at 29 with a layup at the 6:13 mark, Peach County going six minutes without scoring. Johnson-Savannah led 41-36 before the Lady Trojans ripped off a 7-0 run capped by a Davis three to take the lead 43-41 with 1:36 left. The Atomsmashers tied it with 1:24remaining before Pierce buried the dagger.
BOYS
Morgan County 55, Laney 50: No. 1 Morgan County took the rubber match with No. 3 Laney after the Wildcats rallied to win Round 1 65-64 and then losing to the Bulldogs 65-63. Not only did Morgan County take the series deciding third game, they also swept the Wildcats as the girls team took care of business as well 62-53. The Bulldogs’ size caused problems for the smaller Wildcats. Florida Atlantic signee Jailyn Ingram pumped in a game-high 22 points while teammate and fellow FAU signee DeVorious Brown added 12. Laney led 27-26 at the half but the Bulldogs quickly ate away at their lead. Morgan County took a 39-34 advantage into the fourth quarter and were able to hold on. College of Charleston signee Zep Jasper scored 17 in his final game, but leading scorer Christian Keeling, who averages over 23 points per game, was held to just five.
South Atlanta 92, Central-Macon 79: No. 6 South Atlanta (25-6) had the task of slowing down red-hot No. 4 Central-Macon (27-3), who entered as winners of 20-straight out of Region 2. Led by senior Derrick Evans Jr. and juniors Anterious McCoy and Kentrevious Jones, the Chargers had been rolling for months. South Atlanta tripped up in the Region 4 tournament and fell to the three-seed, but that didn’t mean much as the Hornets stung Central-Macon for a 92-79 win, advancing to the Final Four for the first time since 2013. South Atlanta jumped out to a 10-4 lead with 5:49 remaining in the first quarter before taking a 21-19 lead into the second quarter of the track meet. The Chargers went on an 8-0 run to knot the game at 23, but a quick 7-0 answer from Coach Michael Reddick’s team answered the bell and put the Hornets back in front 30-23. The Chargers struggled to contain the explosive offense of South Atlanta that began draining nearly every shot they threw up, led by Devonta Pullins who scored a team-high 20 on the night. At the half, it was the Hornets with a 43-30 lead. The bright spot for Central-Macon came in the form of 6-foot-11, 280-pound junior Kentrevious Jones. The big man posted a 16-point 12-rebound double-double in the first half, but sloppy play and an inability to get stops on defense neutralized his overall effect. Jones dealt with foul trouble in the second half and South Atlanta took advantage. The Hornets began to push the lead out, taking a 53-37 edge with just over five minutes to play and a 66-43 lead before settling with a 70-51 mark heading into the fourth quarter. To begin the final frame, the Chargers started to show signs of life led by their senior captain Evans. The guard ripped off 7-straight points to make it 70-58 with six minutes left. Central closed to 77-67, while Evans scored 15 of his game-high 26 in the fourth quarter, but in the end the Hornets were able to seal the game from the line as Devontae Dean sank 7-of-8 free throws in the fourth to move ontoSaturday’s semifinals.
CLASS A-PUBLIC
BOYS
Wilkinson County 76, Lincoln County 39: Lincoln County took a brief 9-4 lead before the Warriors climbed back and ran away with the victory. Wilkinson County closed out the first quarter on an 18-1 run and outscored Lincoln County 16-11 in the second quarter to take a 38-21 edge. Wilkinson County used its size to dominate the Red Devils, recording over 20 blocks.
Treutlen 62, Hawkinsville 55: No. 1 seed Treutlen overcame a 10-point deficit in the first half and tied it at 41-41 at the break after an Elijah Johnson lay-up. Hawkinsville’s Javon Singletary got fouled on a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left in the half but missed all three free throws, a trend that would continue for the Red Devils in the second half. Titus Benjamin scored on a putback to open the second half and gave Treutlen its first lead since the opening quarter (43-41). A 7-2 run to open the third quarter put the Vikings up 48-43 but Singletary drilled a 3-pointer that sparked a fast-paced finish. Hawkinsville settled for several quick deep shots and Benjamin and T.K. McLendon crashed the boards and turned the miscues into Treutlen transition baskets. Foul trouble impacted both teams and McLendon fouled out with 44 seconds left as Treutlen held a 58-54 lead but Singleton missed both free throws. Johnson scored a breakaway lay-up to put Treutlen up by six (60-54). Singleton got back to the line with 22 seconds left and made the first attempt but missed the second as the deficit remained 60-55. Hawkinsville got the rebound but missed a barrage of desperation shots and Kevin Mills Jr. iced the game with a lay-up at the buzzer that made it 62-55.
GIRLS
Turner County 52, Telfair County 46: Turner County opened up a four-game matinee of A-Public quarterfinal matchups on Thursday at Valdosta State by defeating Telfair County for the fourth time this season. The top-seeded Rebels and Region 2-A champions jumped to a 25-5 lead and led 46-28 entering the final quarter before Telfair County outscored Turner County 18-6 in the fourth. With the victory, Turner County advances to the semifinals for the second straight year and improves to 29-0. Head coach Tasha Kimble is also the boys head coach for Turner County and will lead the Rebels against Calhoun County Friday at 4:45 p.m. with at least one semifinal game guaranteed for Saturday. The girls face Wheeler County Saturday at 3 p.m. If the Turner County boys win on Friday, they would tipoff in the semifinals at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday.
Wheeler County 53, Treutlen 50: No. 4 Wheeler County took a 34-30 lead into the final quarter of its Elite 8 showdown at Valdosta State and held off a back-and-forth battle in the fourth quarter with clutch foul shots and vexing defense as No. 5 Treutlen fought to keep its season alive. Treutlen opened the fourth quarter with a Denesha Beacham 3-pointer that cut it to one point, but Wheeler County’s Lakaitlin Wright withstood the Vikings early outburst. Wright scored the first 11 Bulldog points of the fourth quarter as Wheeler County clung to a 45-40 lead. Le’Andrea Gillis cut the deficit with a lay-up but Brianna Hinton drew a foul and split the free throws to hold a 46-42 edge. A Beachum floater and a Jasmine Brown free throw made it a 46-45 game. Wright got Wheeler County going in the fourth quarter, but Tyesha Parker was the closer. Parker scored off her own steal to put the Bulldogs up 48-45 but Gillis answered with a pair of free throws after drawing the foul on Parker to cut it back to 48-47 with 2:19 left. Parker drove right at Gillis and hit a lay-up with the foul as she flew hard into the stands. Parker drilled the free throw and then the defense tightened up as Treutlen turned it over on its next three possessions. Gillis hit a late 3-pointer that kept Treutlen alive 52-50 but Parker netted a free-throw and the Vikings final attempt missed the mark.
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