Sweet Sixteen: Dougherty, Monroe, Westover, Calhoun Co. all advance

Dougherty 95 Salem 81

ALBANY – The Dougherty Trojans advanced to the Sweet 16 with their largest offensive output of the season, beating Salem 95-81 at Dougherty High School on Albany’s Eastside.

Dougherty built a 46-25 halftime lead, and the game was never in serious doubt.

The Trojans got 25 points from Jawuan Jinks Jr. to lead five players in double figures. Jinks’ brother Kaleke Singletary-Jinks scored 15, Jai’on Burns put in 12, Jeremiah Kitchens knocked in 11, and Markelle Jones added 10.

The Trojans will host Upson-Lee Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Dougherty for the Sweet 16. Upson-Lee (18-10) beat Long County 53-49 to advance.

Monroe 47 Harlem 39

ALBANY – The Monroe Golden Tornadoes outscored Harlem 17-10 in the final quarter Wednesday to beat the visitors 47-39 to advance to the Sweet 16.

Heading into the final quarter, Monroe held a 30-29 advantage but senior Justin Burns scored nine fourth-quarter points to help take his team to victory.

Monroe (22-6) will now host Calvary Day (9-17) of Savannah which upset the Peach County Trojans in the first round.

Westover 63 Fayette County 60

FAYETTEVILLE – The Westover Patriots (14-12) upset top-seeded Fayette County 63-60 Wednesday night in Fayetteville to advance to the Sweet 16 of the Class AAAA state basketball tournament.

The Patriots finished a disappointing fourth in the region tournament last week, but turned around and surprised the state’s No. 8- ranked team and eliminated them from the tournament with the win. Fayette County finished 20-8 on the year.

Sophomore Bryson Carter poured in 22 points to lead Westover, followed by Aden Reese with 16, Anthony Milton with nine, and Greg Williams with 6.

The Patriots will now travel to Savannah to take on Benedictine (15-7) on Saturday. Benedictine advanced by beating Griffin 53-51.

Calhoun Co. 95 Wheeler Co. 49

EDISON – The Calhoun County breezed past Wheeler County Wednesday 95-49 to head to the Sweet 16 of the Class A state basketball playoffs.

Dallas George scored 27 points for Calhoun County. Kenari Harris put in 22 and Ricardo Cannon added 15 for the winners.

Wheeler County got 16 points from Jeremiah Kinsey.

Calhoun County (22-5) will now travel to Lakeland to take on Lanier County (23-5) on Saturday. Lanier County advanced with a 58-36 win over Montgomery County. Game time is still to be determined.

By Joe Whitfield
Sports EditorJoeWhitfield[email protected]