GHSA BOYS STATE TOURNAMENT HOOPS ROUNDUP: Dougherty pulls upset; Miller, Mitchell, Calhoun all fall

MCDONOUGH — MacArthur Gaines led all Dougherty scorers with 16 points, Arabian Williams added 14 and Chris Holmes dropped 11 as the Trojans went on the road Friday and dropped Eagles Landing, 58-51, in the first round of the GHSA Class AAA state tournament.

“I’m not surprised at all,” said Dougherty coach Donald Poole, whose team will now play Tuesday against No. 5 state-ranked Liberty County on the road. “I knew if we could get into the flow of the game we would win. I’m actually surprised we didn’t win by more.”

The Trojans jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back, leading by as many as 14 points in the second half.

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CLASS A

MILLER THRASHED BY WILKINSON, 88-25:

IRWINTON — When Miller County coach Tim Martin answered the phone Friday night — and was asked if he had good news or bad — the coach’s response was telling.

“Terrible news,” he said. “Just terrible.”

In what Martin described as the “worst defeat of my career” and “something I’ve never seen before in all my years of coaching,” his Pirates were “straight whooped,” by undefeated, Class A state-ranked No. 1 Wilkinson County, 88-25, to end Miller County’s season in the first round of the state tournament.

The part Martin was referring as never-before-seen, meanwhile, was how the game started — and ended.

The result, however, was simply a blur.

“We came out, went ahead 5-0 and I could see it my kids’ eyes: we felt we could hang with these guys,” Martin said.

Well, at least for a moment anyway.

Wilkinson (28-0) then proceeded to reel off a 43-0 run — that’s right, 43-0 — en route to a 45-7 halftime lead.

“I just couldn’t believe it!” Martin exclaimed. “I never imagined in a million years that not one of my four seniors could score against those guys. But we didn’t. Our only other two points came off free throws — right before halftime.”

Cosby Salters was the only Pirate in double figures, scoring 10 of his team’s total 25 points. Will Martin, the team’s go-to guy all season, scored only two.

“(Wilkinson) is big, they’re fast and they have depth like nobody I’ve seen,” said the coach, who was then asked whether Region 1-A champ Terrell County, which beat Miller twice in the regular season, had a chance if the two met down the road in the state playoffs. “Man … I don’t think so. I root for Terrell because they’re in our region, but … shoot. That bench is too deep for Wilkinson. I don’t know that anyone’s gonna beat them.”

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AQUINAS 64, CALHOUN COUNTY 54:

The Cougars had a lot better season than many expected under first-year coach Marcus Shaw, but it ended at 16-8 overall Friday night at the hands of Aquinas.

“A lot of people didn’t think we’d make it this far, but I feel good about season,” Shaw said. “I’m really proud of our kids, I just hate to see it end like this.”

Knyhiah Zackery and Andre Carroll — two of Calhoun’s seniors who played above the rim all season — led all Calhoun scorers with 14 points each.

Calhoun was trailing by 10 points at halftime, and ended the game the same way. The Cougars did cut it lead by Aquinas down to four points at one juncture of the game, but could get no closer.

“(Aquinas) was a good ball club, but we didn’t rebound,” Shaw said. “And that was the difference.”

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CLASS AA

EAGLES GROUNDED BY GREENE:

CAMILLA — The Mitchell County boys basketball team saw its season end as well Friday, 71-57, against Greene County, despite leading by six points at halftime.

Of course, Mitchell County coach Kenneth Harris was fuzzy on the details of the loss.

And, why, might you ask?

“I stopped looking at the scoreboard once we got far behind,” said Harris, whose team ends the season at 15-10. “I couldn’t even tell you how many points (leading scorer Kentavius) Silas had. He led us, though.”

Harris said his guys would be relegated to cheerleaders for the girls team, which hosts Putnam County today at 6 p.m. in their state opener.

“The girls were here (Friday night) cheering us on,” began Harris, “and we’ll be right here (tonight) cheering them on.”