STATE TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP: Albany High boys fall in first round
Staff Reports
AUGUSTA – Albany High School dug itself in too deep of a hole to start and couldn’t overcome an early deficit in a 74-45 loss at Glenn Hills Saturday afternoon in the first round of the boys Class AAAA state basketball tournament.
The Indians, who entered as the No. 4 seed, fell behind the Region 3-AAAA champions and never saw the lead. Tyler Cheese led the way with 17 points, while Malik Dungee-Ali added 13 for the Indians, who end their season at 14-10.
Albany fought back in the final quarter to trim the deficit to 11 points but ran out of gas.
“We played a good team and (Glenn Hills) played great,” Albany High boys coach Archie Chatmon said. “Our kids didn’t give up. Early in the fourth quarter, we had fought our way back into the game. But they hit us with that next run and we were not able to overcome.”
WORTH COUNTY BOYS 71, BUTLER 68: Worth County didn’t throw in the towel when they lost their lead late in the third quarter. Instead, the second-seeded Rams kept fighting and pulled out a tough victory over Butler High of Augusta Saturday night in Sylvester in the Class AAAA state tournament.
Herald Super 6er Anfernee McLemore finished with a double-double, scoring 13 points and adding 16 rebounds. He also added six blocked shots.
Ken’Darrius Collier led the way with 18 points, while Dontate Cooper added 16 and Jamon Moore nine.
Butler’s Don Coleman gave Worth County fits, finishing with 29 points to lead all scorers.
But Worth County outscored the Bulldogs 21-15 in the final period with Collier sinking some clutch free throws down the stretch.
“I’m proud of the guys and the way we responded when they went up,” said Worth County boys coach Arthur Davis. “We could have put our heads down, but we kept working, scratching and clawing and found a way to win. I’m just so proud of these guys.”
Worth County will visit Region 4-AAAA champion Jonesboro, who defeated Perry 58-47, Tuesday night.
CRISP COUNTY BOYS 56, LIBERTY COUNTY 53: In Hinesville, Crisp County’s boys won their first road playoff game under coach Terry Smith, upsetting Region 3-AAAA No. 2 seed Liberty County.
In a tight game that went back-and-forth, neither team led by more than eight points.
Herald Super 6er Javorris Cooks led the way with 20 points, while Davion Harvey added 12 for the third-seeded Cougars.
“They were very fundamentally sound and they had two bigs guys inside,” Crisp County boys coach Terry Smith said of Liberty.
“And we don’t have much size, so you know that gave us a problem at times. But our kids fought hard and in the third and fourth quarter, we ruled the boards.”
Crisp County advances to meet Region 2-AAAA champion Rutland, who clobbered North Clayton 101-77 in its first round matchup on Saturday. That game will be in Macon on Tuesday night.
EARLY COUNTY BOYS 65, JOSEY 58: Early County scored one of its biggest wins of the season, advancing to the second round after disposing of visiting T.W. Josey of Augusta.
Javarious Thornton led the way with 17 for the Bobcats, while Dentavious Thornton added 12. Qubilah Hall added 11 points, while Traquez Wells tossed in 10. Malik Thornton added seven.
“Josey is a heckuva team,” said Early County boys coach Randy Isom. “I’m just tickled to death that we have five freshmen, five sophomores and one senior finish the game so well in the fourth quarter. They hit some big shots and made some big free throws.”
Early County will be in Macon for the second round, meeting Northeast-Macon who defeated Bryan County in its first-round game Saturday night.
BAINBRIDGE BOYS 87, BRADWELL INSTITUTE 74: Bainbridge shook off its Region 1-AAAAA Tournament Championship Game loss to Northside-Columbus with a strong victory over Bradwell Institute in the first round of the Class AAAAA state tournament.
The Bearcats got 34 points from Herald Super 6er Tyree Crump in the victory. Trayvon Shaw added 20, while Devontae Jones and Stephen Johnson finished with 16 and 10 points respectively.
Bainbridge will play the winner of the Evans-Mundy’s Mill game in the second round on Tuesday. That game was incomplete at press time.
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