9 minute read
2019-20 GHSA Basketball Semifinals
CLASS 7A GIRLS Hughes has won its last 23 games against in-state opponents entering Friday’s semifinal showdown with Region 2 No. 1 seed Glynn Academy. The Panthers have battled past Alpharetta (45-34), Heritage-Conyers (61-43) and Lovejoy on the road (59-55) to advance to the Final Four. Glynn Academy is coming off a dominant 47-36 victory over Johns Creek in the semifinals. In the win, the Terrors held Johns Creek to a single point in the first quarter as they jumped out to a 16-1 lead. Offensively, senior Zoesha Smith connected on 12-of-21 field goal attempts and posted a game-high 24 points and 18 rebounds. The 6-foot-1 senior exploded for a season-high 38 points and 15 rebounds in Glynn Academy’s 67-50 win over Sequoyah in the Sweet Sixteen. In the other matchup, Valdosta and Forest Park are each riding dominant playoff performances into tipoff. Forest Park demolished Douglas County 62-21 in Tuesday’s quarterfinals victory and Valdosta picked up a 57-46 road victory over Dacula. Forest Park’s lineup features 6-foot-4 junior Sania Feagin in the paint. Feagin notched six blocks and five steals while only picking up one foul in the Panthers’ 39-point semifinal victory. Two-time defending state champion Westlake has won 76-straight games against Georgia opponents heading into its semifinal showdown with Cherokee this Saturday. The 28-2 Lions’ only losses this season came to Paul VI (VA) and Centennial (NV) and the experience gained from taking on a challenging circuit of out-ofstate opponents gives an already seasoned squad even more to build from. So far this postseason, Westlake has compiled a 38-point average margin of victory. Cheorkee is also 28-2 heading into its matchup with the reigning two-time state champs and the Warriors avenged their only instate loss by defeating North Forysth 53-47 in Tuesday’s quarterfinal victory. Ashlyn Andrus led Cherokee with 17 points, Kate Johnson scored 13 and Sydne Watts netted 12. In Saturday’s second girls game, Campbell (23-7) will take on undefeated Collins Hill (30-0). The Spartans scored a 53-50 win over Brookwood in the Elite 8 to advance to the semis. Collins Hill outscored McEachern 38-21 in the second half of its 61-40 win over the Indians in the quarterfinals. Sasha Washington scored a game-high 17 points Kam Collins scored 15 points and Eden Sample scored 13 points to pace the Eagles. GIRLS CLASS 6A BY CRAIG SAGER II BY CRAIG SAGER II
Top seeds Milton and Wheeler are meeting in the first boys Class AAAAAAA semifinal matchup in what will mark a rematch of Milton’s 64-62 win over the Wildcats on Jan. 25. In that road victory, Milton jumped to a 12-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and held off Wheeler in spite of a 13-of-15 shooting and 27-point, 11-rebound performance by 6-foot-7 junior Ja’Hiem Hudson. That win was also part of a 10-game winning streak that Milton carries into Saturday’s showdown. Wheeler is making its first semifinal appearance since winning the state title on 2015’s Jaylen Brown-led squad. In the nightcap, Nationally-ranked Grayson will take on defending state champion McEachern. When these two teams met back on Dec. 14 in the Atlanta Hawks Naismith Classic, the Rams left with a commanding 83-57 victory. Similar to Grayson’s impressive December victory over the Indians, the Rams warranted their Nationally-ranked status in Wednesday’s 65-27 quarterfinals blowout victory against Norcross. In addition to a devastating defensive performance, Winthrop-commit Toneari Lane netted 17 points and South Florida-commit Caleb Murphy posted a game-high 20 points in the victory. BOYS
Defending state champion Tri-Cities is back in the semifinals after picking up a 67-65 road victory over Tucker this Wednesday. The win was a rematch of the Bulldogs’ 46-43 championship-clinching victory against Tucker in last year’s finals. Tri-Cities will now take on a surging Chattahoochee squad that played lights out in Tuesday’s 82-67 win over Sequoyah. The Cougars opened the game on a 10-3 run and took a 22-9 lead into the second quarter en route to celebrating the program’s first-ever semifinal berth. Cameron Sheffield led the way with a game-high 30 points and AJ White chipped in 26 points. Top seeds Lanier and South Cobb will meet on the hardwood for the first time since the Eagles defeated Lanier 65-55 in the opening round of the 2017 state playoffs. South Cobb has dominated the competition this postseason, ousting Winder-Barrow 60-38, Brunswick 75-49 and Evans 85-61 in Tuesday’s quarterfinal victory. Lanier is coming off a 58-55 victory over Langston Hughes that was preceded by a 60-58 Sweet 16 victory over Stephenson. The Longhorns’ experience from playing in back-to-back close games will be something to consider heading into tipoff. BOYS
Three-time defending state champion Buford will take on Woodland-Stockbridge in Saturday’s opening game. In the quarterfinals, Buford jumped to 14-8 lead after the first quarter and never trailed in its 58-47 win over Carrollton as Tate Walters finished with a game-high 16 points. Woodland-Stockbridge defeated Arabia Mountain 60-53 in double-overtime on Tuesday to punch its ticket to the semifinals. In the second girls matchup, Eagle’s Landing will challenge undefeated Kell (31-0). Crystal Henderson scored nine of her 20 points in the second quarter as the No. 1-ranked Longhorns took command in Tuesday’s 64-54 quarterfinals victory over Jones County. Kell also got 13 points apiece from Makyah Favors and Jamaiah Gregory. Eagle’s Landing defeated Veterans 57-43 in its quarterfinals victory. The Golden Eagles broke open a close game with a 16-0 run in the third quarter. Jaleah Storr scored 20 and Mone Florence added 16 for Eagle’s Landing. Eagle’s Landing earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs by defeating Woodland 52-51 in its region title game. It was the Wolfpack’s third loss to Eagle’s Landing this season. Woodland opened its season 0-4 before hitting its stride and possesses remarkable resiliency. Defending state champion Carver-Columbus will take on 26-1 Troup in Friday’s opener in what will be a Tiger vs. Tiger semifinal. Carver jumped out to a 23-16 lead at the end of the first quarter and took a 40-31 lead into the half of its 70-63 win over Woodward Academy in the quarterfinals. McDonald’s All-American Olivia Cochran picked up her second technical foul of the game with 2:41 to play. By rule, Cochran will have to sit out the semifinal game. Troup’s Aniya Palmer is averaging 10 ppg and eight rebounds per game this postseason and Amber Gilbert is scoring 13 points per game to go with her 11 rebounds per game average. Luella enters the semifinals after three dominant rounds of victories. The Lions opened the playoffs with a 72-18 win over Upson-Lee, defeated Gilmer 56-31 and then topped Sandy Creek 66-48 on Tuesday. Americus-Sumter is 27-2 with its only two losses coming to Carver-Columbus. Those losses resulted in a No. 2 seed and the Panthers had to battle past Marist 33-32 on the road in the Sweet Sixteen to keep their season alive. GIRLS GIRLS
The Class 5A State Playoffs have been packed with thrilling finishes and Saturday’s two contests should continue the trend. Southwest DeKalb comes off of its 52-50 win over Clarke Central and will take on Cedar Shoals, which scored a 52-50 win over Wayne County in the Sweet Sixteen before defeating a talented Lithonia team 50-47 in the quarterfinals. In the win over Lithonia, Cedar Shoals trailed 23-17 at the half and was locked in a 43-43 tie with under 30 seconds left. Quincy Canty’s go-ahead three-pointer put the Jaguars up 46-43 with just 23.9 seconds left and helped seal the victory. Dutchtown’s Cameron Bryant kept the Bulldogs’ season alive with a game-winning 35-foot 3-pointer in Tuesday’s 73-72 win over Columbia. Now, Dutchtown will face Kell, which is fresh off a 57-45 win over defending state champion Buford. In the Longhorns’ latest victory, Kell jumped out to a 30-16 halftime lead before closing out defending state champion Buford on the road. Senior Ty Clark posted 12 points and 13 rebounds, Scoot Henderson finished with 14 points and Najhae Colon scored a team-high 15 points to lead the Longhorns. The four boys quarterfinal games this week were decided by combined total of just 11 points as Woodward Academy (58-56 over Sandy Creek), Denmark (71-68 over Upson Lee), St. Pius (73-70 2OT over Americus-Sumter) and Cross Creek (58-55 over LaFayette) each scored dramatic victories to set the semifinal stage. Woodward Academy’s 7-foot North Carolina signee Walker Kessler is one of the country’s top prospects and posted 33 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in Wednesday’s win over Sandy Creek. Second-year program Denmark has reached the quarterfinals in each of its two seasons and its win over Upson-Lee results in the program’s firstever semifinal berth. Across the bracket, St. Pius served Americus-Sumter its only loss of the season in Tuesday’s double-overtime thriller. The Golden Lions will take on a talented Cross Creek team that opened the playoffs with a 58-51 win over defending state champion Carver-Columbus before scoring a 34-32 win over Marist and overcoming a 31-15 deficit on the road to defeat top seed LaFayette this past Tuesday—resulting in the program’s first-ever Final Four appearance. BOYS BOYS
Hughes has won its last 23 games against in-state opponents entering Friday’s semifinal showdown with Region 2 No. 1 seed Glynn Academy. The Panthers have battled past Alpharetta (45-34), Heritage-Conyers (61-43) and Lovejoy on the road (59-55) to advance to the Final Four. Glynn Academy is coming off a dominant 47-36 victory over Johns Creek in the semifinals. In the win, the Terrors held Johns Creek to a single point in the first quarter as they jumped out to a 16-1 lead. Offensively, senior Zoesha Smith connected on 12-of-21 field goal attempts and posted a game-high 24 points and 18 rebounds. The 6-foot-1 senior exploded for a season-high 38 points and 15 rebounds in Glynn Academy’s 67-50 win over Sequoyah in the Sweet Sixteen. In the other matchup, Valdosta and Forest Park are each riding dominant playoff performances into tipoff. Forest Park demolished Douglas County 62-21 in Tuesday’s quarterfinals victory and Valdosta picked up a 57-46 road victory over Dacula. Forest Park’s lineup features 6-foot-4 junior Sania Feagin in the paint. Feagin notched six blocks and five steals while only picking up one foul in the Panthers’ 39-point semifinal victory.
Defending state champion Tri-Cities is back in the semifinals after picking up a 67-65 road victory over Tuckerthis Wednesday. The win was a rematch of the Bulldogs’ 46-43 championship-clinching victory against Tuckerin last year’s finals. Tri-Cities will now take on a surging Chattahoochee squad that played lights out in Tuesday’s82-67 win over Sequoyah. The Cougars opened the game on a 10-3 run and took a 22-9 lead into thesecond quarter en route to celebrating the program’s first-ever semifinal berth. Cameron Sheffield led the waywith a game-high 30 points and AJ White chipped in 26 points. Top seeds Lanier and South Cobb will meeton the hardwood for the first time since the Eagles defeated Lanier 65-55 in the opening round of the 2017state playoffs. South Cobb has dominated the competition this postseason, ousting Winder-Barrow 60-38,Brunswick 75-49 and Evans 85-61 in Tuesday’s quarterfinal victory. Lanier is coming off a 58-55 victory overLangston Hughes that was preceded by a 60-58 Sweet 16 victory over Stephenson. The Longhorns’ experiencefrom playing in back-to-back close games will be something to consider heading into tipoff.
