Archive for February, 2013

Compiled by Score Atlanta

First Round

Saturday

Wilkinson County 65, Clinch County 46

Friday

Claxton 46, Treutlen 35

Gordon Lee 81, Greenville 55

Mitchell County 60, Irwin County 46

Randolph-Clay 73, Portal 27

Seminole County 60, Marion County 50

Towns County 83, Calhoun County 73

Turner County 45 Hancock Central 31

Quarterfinals

Tuesday

Gordon Lee 73, Seminole County 68

Randolph-Clay 72, Mitchell County 55

Towns County 45, Claxton 43

Wilkinson 76, Turner County 74, 2OT

Semifinals

Fort Valley State

Friday

Gordon Lee 57, Towns County 49

Randolph-Clay 57, Wilkinson County 34

Finals

Macon Coliseum

Thursday

Gordon Lee 61, Randolph-Clay 56

Continue reading State Tournament: A/Public girls scores »

By Score Atlanta

Girls

Class AAAAAA

Cherokee 65, North Forsyth 53: Kiana Howell scored with less than a second left in regulation to force overtime for Cherokee. Nisha Williams took over from there, scoring 15 pints in the two overtime periods for the host Warriors. Howell finished with 18 points and Williams led all scorers with 29. Caroline Bowns had 23 for North Forsyth, while first-round hero Lochlain Corliss was held to seven points.

North Gwinnett 66, Archer 42: The host Bulldogs used a 9-0 run late in the second quarter to put a relatively close game out of reach at intermission. North Gwinnett drilled eight 3-pointers in the first half. Lexie Brown finished with 23 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals to pace North Gwinnett. Joshlyn Belcher scored 17 points with four rebounds and Peyton Whitted filled the stat sheet with 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Class AAAAA

Southwest DeKalb 68, Villa Rica 37: The Panthers outscored visiting Villa Rica …

Continue reading Friday basketball playoff roundup »

Nate Mason of Shiloh and Madison Newby of Archer are the  basketball players of the year in Region 8-AAAAAA as selected by the region’s coaches.

Mason, a junior guard who transferred from Columbia, is coming off a 26-point game in the first-round victory over Walton during which he made the game-winning shot with 2.3 seconds left.

Newby is a sophomore guard averaging 18.3 points, 4.2 steals and 4.6 assist per game.

BOYS

Player of The Year: Nate Mason, Shiloh
Coach of The Year: Daniel Bowles, Brookwood

1st Team
Randall Smith, Archer
Tim Rowe, Berkmar
Bryan Hamlet, Archer
Trayvon Reed, Shiloh
Jaylen Williams, Dacula

2nd Team
Logan Adams, South Gwinnett
Shaun Jones, Central Gwinnett
CJ Foster, Berkmar
Marquise Lanier, Grayson
Brandon Goodson, Dacula

Honorable Mention
Deion Dedeaux, Brookwood
TJ Thomas, Parkview
Kendall Joseph, Brookwood
Brian Egejuru, Central Gwinnett
Kevon Tucker, Dacula

GIRLS

Player of the Year – Madison Newby Archer
Coach of the Year – Tony Watkins …

Continue reading 8-AAAAAA selects all-region basketball team »

Ranked teams went 43-7 in the first round of the girls state tournament this week. Three of the losses were by AAAAAA teams and three were by AAAAA teams (No. 1 Kell being one of them). That means the ranked teams in AAAA, AAA and AA were a combined 29-1.

Here are some of the best games and story lines for the second round of the girls tournament:

AAAAAA –

Best game: No. 3 Norcross at No. 2 Parkview

Story lines: The Norcross-Parkview game is a classic, with Norcross’  roster of blue-chip recruits led by Diamond DeShields against undefeated Parkview’s deep but unspectacular roster. … Region 1 sent three teams to the round of 16 in Valdosta, Colquitt County and Tift County. That’s a shock considering that the region they beat – Cobb County’s Region 4 – sent four teams to the final eight last season. Biggest shocker was Colquitt County over 2012 champion McEachern.

AAAAA –

Best game: No. 10 Allatoona at No. 3 Miller Grove

Story lines: No. 1-ranked Kell is done, …

Continue reading Girls second round: Top games, story lines »

Here are some of the best games and story lines for the second round of the boys tournament:

AAAAAA –

Best games: No. 8 Westlake at No. 1 Tift County, No. 6 Peachtree Ridge at No. 4 Shiloh.

Story lines: Druid Hills and Tri-Cities, the two Cinderfellas that won their region tournaments after finishing fifth and sixth in the regular season, have tough home games. Fourth-ranked Hillgrove, the No. 2 seed from Region 4, travels to Tri-Cities. Both looked good in the first round – Tri-Cities in beating Luella 67-51 and Hillgrove in beating Valdosta 57-43. Brunswick, the No. 2 team in Region 2, plays at Druid Hills. … Tri-Cities has won its first-round game and lost its second-round game each of its last six trips to the state playoffs.

AAAAA  –

Best game: No. 6 Tucker at No. 7 Allatoona

Story lines: Region 6 (Miller Grove, Stephenson, Mays, Tucker) swept Region 7 in the first round. The four could sweep again, with Tucker getting the toughest  challenge. Fourth-ranked …

Continue reading Boys second round: Top games, story lines »

Dell McGee, the former Auburn football player who turned Carver of Columbus into a state football power, is returning to his college alma mater to be part of Auburn’s football support staff, according to several media reports.

McGee, 39, reportedly was hired by new Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn. Auburn has not announced the hire.

“I’m very grateful for the years I spent at Carver,” McGee told David Mitchell of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.  “And I’m grateful for the opportunity Coach Malzahn has given me here.”

A graduate of Kendrick High in Columbus and former NFL defensive back, McGee  arrived at Carver in 2005, when the school had not had a winning football season since 1995 or a state-playoff victory since 1987.

After a 3-7 start in his initial season, McGee led Carver to seven straight seasons of at least 11 victories. The run included a Class AAA championship in 2007.

In 2012, Carver had 33 of its former players on college football rosters, including …

Continue reading Carver football coach McGee takes job at Auburn »

Clay Crump, coach of No. 1-ranked Eagle’s Landing’s boys, says he’d like to see Georgia adopt a shot-clock rule after his team beat Albany 39-13 in the Class AAAA first round this week.

It was the lowest-scoring game in the state playoffs in 65 years, according to Becky Taylor of the Georgia Basketball Project.

Eagle’s Landing led only 9-7 after one quarter as Albany played a slow-down offense, but what was strange was Albany’s strategy after Eagle’s Landing bolted to a 28-12 halftime lead, according to Gabriel Stovall’s account of the game for the Henry Herald.

Albany twice held the ball for three minutes in the third quarter – which was scoreless for both teams.

“It’s not fun,” Crump  told the Henry Herald. “We practice to play basketball, not to play catch. It’s kind of an admission from the other team that they don’t really want to play with us.”

Albany coach Archie Chatmon defended his strategy in a story in the Albany Herald.

“They booed us, …

Continue reading Eagle’s Landing coach wants shot clock after lowest-scoring playoff game since 1948 »

Savannah schools have won 19 state titles in boys basketball, but none since 1998.  Perhaps the glory days are coming back. Savannah schools went 5-0 Wednesday, their best-ever showing in the first round.

Two of those schools  – Beach and Windsor Forest – upset region champions on the road. The other three  – Savannah, Johnson and Jenkins – are ranked in the Top 10 with serious hopes of giving Chatham County public schools their first basketball state champion in 15 years.

The reason? One is that Savannah schools are no longer choosing to compete in the highest classification with smaller enrollment numbers.

For years, the Savannah schools played up in class by choice. The idea was to have them in one class, one region, and save on travel costs, even if it meant little chance at a state championship in any sport.

The GHSA’s move to six classifications this academic year prompted the school board to let its schools play where they belong enrollment-wise. Now, …

Continue reading Glory days are back: Savannah boys teams go 5-0 in first round »

For 19 minutes, Gilmer gave Columbia everything it wanted.

For the next 13, the Eagles couldn’t be stopped.

Columbia turned up the defensive pressure and blew open a close game in the second half, beating Gilmer 60-36 in the Class AAAA first round.

When Tanner Reece hit a layup for the Bobcats with about 5 minutes left in the third quarter, Gilmer was down 29-28 and looked like it might just make a run at the three-time defending state champs.

But they finally found an opportunity to employ the defensive strategy they’d been wanting to use the entire game, and they took advantage of it.

“Our plan all along was, we didn’t want them to get into a rhythm and then get comfortable,” Columbia coach Kerry Sandifer said. “We had intended to press from the beginning, but it’s kind of hard when you’re not making shots, and we got off to a slow start. A couple of times, I don’t know if it was jitters, or we were tired, but we just didn’t set up our press. But that was …

Continue reading AAAA boys: Columbia 60, Gilmer 36 »

Compiled by Score Atlanta

First Round

Wednesday

Bleckley County 62, Thomasville 45

Calhoun 59, Hapeville Charter 55

Dade County 80, Wesleyan 72

Greater Atlanta Christian 80, Coosa 37

Jordan 88, Washington-Wilkes 50

Kendrick 63, Jefferson 56

Laney 72, Benedictine 48

McIntosh County Academy 75, Dublin 70

Model 49, Westminster 47

Northeast-Macon 67, Early County 58

Spencer 70, Rabun County 58

Taylor County 45, Cook 40

Vidalia 84, Harlem 63

Westside-Augusta 74, Jeff Davis 53

Tuesday

Macon County 56, Pelham 53

Second Round

Saturday

Bleckley County 62, Westside-Augusta 61

Greater Atlanta Christian 88, Spencer 56

Jordan 97, Dade County 79

Kendrick 92, Model 76

Laney 68, Taylor County 52

Macon County 54, McIntosh County Academy 53

Manchester 73, Calhoun 70

Vidalia 87, Northeast-Macon 58

Quarterfinals

Wednesday

Bleckley County 69, Vidalia 67

Greater Atlanta Christian 77, Manchester 52

Jordan 84, Model 63

Laney 73, Macon County 46

Semifinals

Friday

Milledgeville

Bleckley County 64, …

Continue reading State Tournament: AA boys scores »

Druid Hills guard Deshon Burgess scored 20 of his 23 points after halftime to help the Red Devils defeat Douglas County 72-63 in a Class AAAAAA first-round playoff game Wednesday night.

Burgess scored 13 of his second-half total in the fourth quarter, including nine from the free throw line. He also hit a jumper to put his team ahead for good at 57-56 inside of four minutes to play, and completed a 3-point play to put Druid Hills up 62-58 with at 2:12 to go.

“He’s a three-year starter for us,” Druid Hills coach Jerome Lee said of the 6-4 senior. “He’s been our leader all year long.”

The teams played furiously in the first half and Douglas County led by as many as 10 early in the second quarter, but Druid Hills fought back to lead 33-31 at halftime behind hot shooting from senior guard Kyle Simmons. Simmons hit five of his six 3-point baskets in the first half, including one a few seconds before the break.

Justin Bridges scored a game-high 29 points for Douglas …

Continue reading AAAAAA boys: Druid Hills 72, Douglas County 63 »

Compiled by Score Atlanta

First Round

Wednesday

Beach 80, Callaway 72

Buford 61, Cedar Grove 43

Cartersville 103, Elbert County 74

Carver-Columbus 62, Swainsboro 50

Dodge County 66, Henry County 56

Gordon Central 47, Franklin County 38

Johnson-Savannah 73, Rockmart 36

Morgan County 61, Ringgold 34

North Hall 61, Decatur 48

North Murray 69, Hart County 58

Savannah 69, Chapel Hill 36

Tattnall County 54, Douglass 48

Thomson 60, Peach County 59

Washington County 55, Central-Macon 44

Woodward Academy 51, Dawson County 39

Tuesday

St. Pius 47, East Hall 45

Second Round

Saturday

Buford 84, Gordon Central 68

Johnson-Savannah 70, Carver-Columbus 65

North Hall 50, Morgan County 46

Savannah 71, Dodge County 42

St. Pius 51, Cartersville 44

Tattnall County 68, Thomson 57

Washington County 45, Beach 43

Woodward Academy 48, North Murray 39

Quarterfinals

Wednesday

Buford 60, Woodward Academy 54

Johnson-Savannah 66, Tattnall County 48

North Hall 51, St. Pius 44

Savannah 61, Washington County …

Continue reading State Tournament: AAA boys scores »

When the first-round pairings for the state tournament were announced, the No. 1-ranked Buford boys knew their opponent wasn’t going to be the typical pushover that a top-seeded team sees in the opener.

Buford, the Region 7-AAA champion, had to open the tournament against Cedar Grove, a team that was ranked as high as seventh in the state a month ago.

“We wrote it on the board. This was not a typical No. 4 seed,” said Buford coach Allen Whitehart. “They had a letdown in the region tournament and lost a couple of games. Our kids were aware of the situation.”

The properly prepared Wolves broke free midway in the first quarter, using a 12-2 run to set the pace as they rolled to a 61-43 win over Cedar Grove. Buford improved to 23-6.

The difference was the defense. Buford was able to physically impose itself on Cedar Grove, with Kyle Doyle grabbing rebounds and knocking away passes and shots. Point guard Isaiah Williams didn’t have much trouble against the Cedar Grove …

Continue reading AAA boys: Buford 61, Cedar Grove 43 »

A month ago it would have been hard to believe Tri-Cities would even be in state playoffs.

After an improbable run to the Region 2-AAAAAA title, the Bulldogs now have a state tournament win to their credit after whipping Luella 67-51 Tuesday night at home.

As recently as a week ago, they were looking for their 10th win. They had lost their point guard in Emmanuel Rainey and they ground their way through the last month of the regular season, looking for ways to fill his shoes.

In his place, though, DeAndre Slaughter learned how to be a point guard , and it was Slaughter’s confident start Tuesday night that buried Luella early.

“We just wanted to attack,” said Slaughter. “Attack, attack attack. Attack the basket, attack the big guys and then if they get help, distribute the ball.”

Slaughter scored 20 points, nine of them coming in the first quarter, as the Bulldogs jumped out to a big early lead and was never seriously threatened.

Tri-Cities (11-15) had its full …

Continue reading AAAAAA boys: Tri-Cities 67, Luella 51 »

By Score Atlanta

BOYS

Class AAAAAA

Archer 47, Cherokee 45: Host Archer went into the half ahead 31-20 and barely edged past Cherokee. The Warriors outscored Archer 13-2 in the third quarter to even the score at 33-33 heading into the fourth. Bryan Halmet was able to keep Archer ahead and scored a team-high 17 points. With the game knotted, senior guard Randall Smith drove, got fouled and hit both free throws with 4.5 seconds to keep the Tigers alive.

Brunswick 71, Campbell 53: Brunswick received a huge effort from Tracy Walker to score a home victory over Campbell. Walker finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds while Marquice Jones added 12 points. Ty Jackson and Rodriquez Hamilton each contributed 11 points for Brunswick. Campbell was led by Donte Scott’s 16 points and Rasheed Merritt finished with 10 points in the loss.

Peachtree Ridge 57, Centennial 38: The host Peachtree Ridge Lions received double-digit points from both senior Jordan Capps and junior Amir Warnock to …

Continue reading Wednesday basketball playoff roundup »