Archive for the ‘Basketball’ Category

Sandy Creek Patriots Patriots Sydney Jarmon (10) and Jasmine Jones (12) are overcome by emotion in the last- second loss. (Kent D. Johnson, AJC)

No one had struggled more than Shaundricka Mann in a Class AAAA girls basketball championship game in which neither team could get anything going offensively.

But Columbia’s senior forward, who had been held scoreless for most of the game, made her only field goal of the night on a put-back with five seconds to play to lead the top-ranked Eagles to a 38-37 victory over Sandy Creek at the Macon Centreplex on Thursday for their second consecutive state title.

It was the first girls championship game in any classification since 1980 in which both teams failed to reach 40 points.

The championship was the third in four seasons for the Columbia (27-3), which won AAA titles in 2010 (40-36 over Carver-Atlanta) and 2012 (57-33 over Washington County).

Mann scored her only three points of the night in the game’s final seconds, beginning …

Continue reading Class AAAA girls: Columbia 38, Sandy Creek 37 »

When Wilkinson County needed it, Torrico Simmons provided it, and the Warriors walked away with their third state championship since 2007 and sixth overall.

Wilkinson (30-2) took the lead for good on Simmons’ 3-pointer with just under five minutes left and won despite scoring just three  points after that, all on free throws.

In a game where neither team shot well  - Wilkinson shot 33.9 percent for the game and Wilcox 28.1 percent -

Simmons scored eight of Wilkinson’s nine points in the fourth quarter finished with 20.

Simmons added three assists and made six 3-pointers.

Wilkinson held Wilcox (23-5) scoreless for the last 4:38.

Makail Graced scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Wilcox, which had four chances to take the lead in the final 3:30 but could not get a shot to fall.

After a first half that finished tied at 28, Wilkinson opened the third quarter with an 8-3 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from Derrick Trawick and Simmons. The Warriors led by as many as six in …

Continue reading Class A Boys (Public): Wilkinson County 53, Wilcox County 49 »

Macon – Gordon Lee had a 19-point lead going into the fourth quarter and held off a Randolph-Clay rally for a 61-56 victory in the Class A-Public girls final at the Macon Centreplex on Thursday to win the first basketball state championship in school history.

Senior Kassidy Blevins led the way for the Trojans (25-7), scoring 21 points to go along with eight rebounds, four steals, three assists and a blocked shot. Fellow senior Katie Barger had a big first half, scoring all 14 of her points as No. 6 seed Gordon Lee built a 36-19 halftime lead.

Barger made two 3-pointers and was 6-for-8 from the field in the first half. Gordon Lee shot 55.2 percent (16-for-29) from the field in the first two quarter while holding Randolph-Clay to 30.4 percent (7-for-23).

“We shot it well in the first half, but we’ve shot it better,” Gordon Lee coach Lester Galyon said. “That’s what our advantage was going into this game. I felt like we had a chance if we could shoot it well, and we …

Continue reading Class A (public) girls: Gordon Lee 61, Randolph-Clay 56 »

Columbia’s boys and girls teams will be the first four pairs trying to sweep state titles this week in Macon.

Columbia’s girls play Sandy Creek today (Thursday) at 7 p.m., and the boys follow against Eagle’s Landing.

The other three schools trying to sweep the boys and girls titles are Norcross (AAAAAA), Miller Grove (AAAAA) and St. Francis (A private).

Columbia and Miller Grove can become the first schools to sweep the titles in consecutive seasons.

‘’It’s been an exciting ride,’’ said Miller Grove girls coach Renee Breedlove, whose team plays Southwest DeKalb on Friday. ‘’Last year the boys coach [Sharman White] told us to take care of business and that they’ll come right behind us and take care of theirs. At the beginning of this season, we both talked about back-to-back sweeps. It seems like we’re both in tune with this same goal.’’

It’s happened only 14 times that a school has swept the boys and girls titles, although it’s increasingly …

Continue reading Sweep success: Norcross, Miller Grove, Columbia, St. Francis try to win boys, girls titles »

Several head coaches have a chance to stamp their names in history this week during the state finals in Macon.

Weslayan’s Jan Azar can become the first girls coach to win 10 GHSA state titles. Only Selby Buck, Lanier boys coach, has won more state titles. The Macon legend won 12, the last in 1951.

Angie Hembree of  Norcross can become the fourth girls coach to win six titles, joining Azar, Norman Carter and N.P. Malcom. Hebree can become the first girls coach to win three titles at two schools. (Collins Hill was the other.)

Kathy Walton of Southwest DeKalb can win her fourth state titles. Only 13 coaches of girls teams have won four, and all of those coaches were men except Azar and Hembree.

On the boys side, Eddie Martin of Greater Atlanta Christian and Aaron Geter of Wilkinson County can win their sixth state titles. Only six boys coaches have won six.

David Jones of Greenforest Christian can win his fifth GHSA state title and set a state record for years between …

Continue reading List of most state titles: Coaches Azar, Hembree, Martin, Geter, Jones chase history »

We’ve finally made it. Just a couple more days until we start finding out who this year’s state champs will be. We can’t wait to load up the rickety old Listmobile and head to Macon.

We’ll have Columbia trying to become just the fourth school to win four straight boys titles, and the third such school is one bracket over – Miller Grove will be seeking its unprecedented fifth consecutive state championship against Gainesville.

Meanwhile, in the highest classification, there’s Hillgrove looking to become the first public-school Cobb County school other than Wheeler to win it all since Marietta in 1999.

Yeah, it’s gonna be an awesome weekend of hoops. History will be made, and so will big shots. So, to prime you for the basketball smorgasbord that is to come, here are the 10 best boys title games of the past 10 years.

10. 2012 AAAA Miller Grove 63, Southwest DeKalb 57

Who knows how this one would have turned out if Shaq Goodwin hadn’t fouled out for the Panthers? …

Continue reading Jeff Haws’ Top 10 List »

The Miller Grove-Southwest DeKalb girls final (AAAAA) on Friday guarantees that a school in DeKalb County will win at least one state title in basketball for the 10th straight year.

Other DeKalb teams in the finals this week in Macon are Miller Grove (boys), Columbia (boys, girls), St. Pius (AAA girls) and Greenforest Christian (A private boys).

That’s one in four state finalists from DeKalb, which has claimed 25 state basketball championships with nine different schools since 2004.

‘’That speaks a lot about the communities in DeKalb, not just the schools,’’ said Southwest DeKalb girls coach Kathy Walton. “There are a lot of grassroots programs, and you can go to any church or recreation center that has a basketball program and find quality adults working with the children. ’’

Walton, a 25-year resident of DeKalb, has had three children graduate from DeKalb schools and play sports in college on scholarship, one in basketball.

If DeKalb teams win five titles …

Continue reading DeKalb Domination: One in four state finalists are from Georgia’s basketball hotbed »

State records fell during the last weekend’s semifinals of the state basketball tournament. They’re nothing to brag about, though.

The average margin of victory of the girls games was 21.1 points, making them the most lopsided girls semifinals in state tournament history. The record had been 19.4 in 2011.

The boys semifinals last week were more competitive, with an average margin of 11.9 points, but still on the rise from 11.0 in 2012 and 9.9 in 2011. Miller Grove won 72-38 in Class AAAAA. Eagle’s Landing won by 26, Columbia by 27. Johnson of Savannah won by 22.

The lack of parity in semifinals has risen since the 1970s, when the average margin of victory was 9.7 points. Thanks to the Georgia Basketball Project for providing the scores that allowed for that calculation.

Is it the trend of transfers and the evolution of super teams? Is it the move to six classifications? Is it the way that the GHSA sets up the bracket? Or was last weekend a fluke?

Consider the shock and …

Continue reading Semifinal blowouts: Where is the parity in Georgia high school basketball? »

After escaping with their lives in the quarterfinals against Tucker, the Miller Grove boys removed all the guesswork early and rolled to a 72-38 win over Northside-Columbus in the Class AAAAA semfinals at Kennesaw State.

The No. 1-ranked Wolverines (29-3) jumpted out to a 10-2 lead after one quarter and survived a little second-quarter lapse to earn a spot in the championship game against Gainesville on Friday at the Macon Coliseum. Miller Grove will be playing for its fifth straight state championship.

“We tell our kids that if they play together and play hard, that good things will happen,” said Miller Grove coach Sharman White. “At Miller Grove we want to play for championships every year”

White credited his team’s defensive effort as being crucial in the win. The offense sputtered early, but the defense was strong throughout — challenging shots, scrambling for balls – and never trailed.

“I’m proud of the way our defense played the whole game,” White …

Continue reading AAAAA boys: Miller Grove 72, Northside Columbus 38 »

Fort Valley – Trevin Joseph scored 30 points and Isaiah Dennis 24 for No. 1 Eagle’s Landing (27-5), which took control of the game with an 18-5 run over the last five minutes of the third period, then outscored South Atlanta (27-5) 28-8 in the fourth to earn their first appearance in the state final.

Eagle’s Landing opened the game with a 12-0 run, keyed by five points each from Joseph and Eric Wortham, who finished with 13 points.

South Atlanta trailed 23-14 midway through the second period before putting up a 14-2 run to take the lead.

South Atlanta led by as many as five in the early stages of the third before Joseph and Dennis got untracked. The pair combined for 36 second-half points for Eagle’s Landing, making its third straight semifinals appearance. They’ve been eliminated in the semifinals each of the past two years by Columbia, whom they’ll face with the championship on the line.

Naquavious King scored 18 for South Atlanta (27-5).

Continue reading Class AAAA boys: Eagle’s Landing 77, South Atlanta 51 »

Norcross’ Brandon Goodwin scored 22 points, and North Cobb’s Lee Moore missed one of two free late free throws, as Norcross won a 59-54 thriller over North Cobb in the Class AAAAAA semifinals.

Goodwin led Norcross, hitting 8 of 10 crucial free throws down the stretch – including the front end of three one-and-ones – but it was Moore who threatened to steal the show.

In a stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters, Moore scored 15 consecutive North Cobb points and 17 of 20, bringing the Warriors back from as many as 11 down to a 44-42 deficit in the closing minutes.

The senior scored 21 of his team-high 23 in the second half, but it was the final two free throws he may remember.

Down 55-53, Moore stepped to the free throw line with a chance to tie the game with 12.7 seconds left, pumping his fist and smiling as he got set to take the ball.

He calmly made the first, but the second rattled out, and Norcross got the rebound. A Jon Beausejoir potential game-tying …

Continue reading AAAAAA boys: Norcross 59, North Cobb 54 »

Fourth-ranked Southwest DeKalb overcame a 12-point third-quarter deficit and then held off a late Forest Park rally to win 43-41 in the Class AAAAA girls basketball semifinals Saturday at Kennesaw State.

The victory sets up a rematch of last year’s final against region rival Miller Grove, which beat Effingham County earlier in the day. It will be the fifth meeting of the year between the DeKalb County schools. Miller Grove won the three regular-season games, and Southwest DeKalb won 60-47 in the championship game of the region tournament.

Miller Grove won its first state title last season when it beat the Panthers 46-39. Southwest DeKalb won championships in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The matchup also guarantees that a team from DeKalb will win the championship in the classification for the seventh time in eight years.

Darsan DeShazier gave Southwest DeKalb (23-8) the lead for good when she hit a jumper with 36 seconds remaining to make it 41-39. After Forest Park’s Kanisha …

Continue reading Class AAAAA girls: Southwest DeKalb 43, Forest Park 41 »

If every championship team needs a dirty work player, No. 1 North Gwinnett will be in good shape with Stephanie Amichia heading to next Saturday’s state AAAAAA title game.

The junior post player works in the shadows of seniors Lexie Brown, a Maryland signee, and Peyton Whitted, a Penn State signee, yet Amichia stepped into the light Saturday in North Gwinnett’s 57-40 win over No. 6 North Cobb with 14 points and 17 rebounds – her 13th double-digit rebounding game.

It’s conceivable that when North Gwinnett (30-1) and Norcross meet in the state championship game in an all-Gwinnett County, all-Region 7-AAAAAA rematch that Amichia could be a wildcard. Each team will have two senior Division I signees. Then, there’s the junior Bulldog who grinds like mad.

“That’s a big-time clutch performance in a big game,” North Gwinnett coach Bryan Sellers said of Amichia. “When we have big nights like that from her, it makes it easier on everybody else.”

Usually, Brown …

Continue reading AAAAAA girls: North Gwinnett Trips North Cobb »

Tray Harrison only scored nine points, but the last four were some of the biggest of the game — and the season —  for Gainesville.

The senior guard scored a basket that drew the Red Elephants to within a point, then drove the lane through traffic and scored the winning basket with 2.3 seconds remaining to give No. 9 Gainesville a 63-62 win over No. 2 Effingham County in the Class AAAAA boys semifinals at Kennesaw University.

Gainesville blew an 11-point third-quarter lead to put itself in a position that required a comeback. The Red Elephants led 48-37 with 1:35 left in the third period, only to see Effingham go on a 20-5 run and holed a 57-53 lead with 3:54 remaining.

The two sides traded leads, with Effingham going ahead 62-59 on two free throws by T.J. Johnson and a slam by Jakeenan Gant. Harrison scored on a drive to trim the lead to one and scored the winning basket after Effingham missed a pair of free throws with 19.4 seconds left.

Gainesville (23-9) was led by Shaquan …

Continue reading AAAAA boys: Gainesville 63, Effingham County 62 »

Fort Valley – The opening tip of Saturday’s AAAA semifinal between No. 3 Columbia and No. 6 Statesboro was a highlight for Statesboro’s Zaquavian Smith, who grabbed opening tip and dunked to immediately put the Blue Devils ahead.

The rest of the night was Tahj Shamsid-Deen’s show.

The senior guard continually did whatever he wanted in Columbia’s 69-42 win, which kept the Eagles in position to win their fourth straight state title and sixth in eight years.

“Tahj has been a great leader for us. We definitely play off of him. That’s no secret,” said Columbia coach Kerry Sandifer, who received a warm embrace from former his predecessor, Dr. Phillip McCrary, who left after last year to become the DeKalb County Athletics Director.

Shamsid-Deen scored 32 points, 25 in the first half, and was credited with four assists, four steals and two rebounds.

Smith rolled his left ankle coming down from a jumpshot midway through the second quarter – a play on which he scored the last of …

Continue reading Class AAAA Boys: Columbia 69, Statesboro 42 »