Three Albany teams still fighting in GHSA basketball playoffs

ALBANY — Three Albany high school basketball teams are still standing in the GHSA state basketball tournament — two will host this week, and one will travel. The Dougherty Trojans (22-7) and the Monroe Lady Tornadoes (20-9) will both host this week, while the Monroe boys (23-6)will be on the road for Elite Eight games. Just outside of Albany, the Calhoun County Cougars and the Pelham Hornets have made their way to the Elite Eight and will be on the road Wednesday as well.

The Trojans will host Douglass High School (16-10) out of Atlanta Wednesday with tipoff set for 6 p.m. It is a rematch since Douglass came to Albany for the Elite Eight last year and knocked the Trojans out of the tournament. Dougherty head coach Bakari Bryant said this Douglass team may be even better.

“They have four transfers that can play,” Bryant said. “They are taller than they were last year and have been playing great ball the last few games. They shoot well from the outside and will attack the basket. They like to pressure you defensively and create turnovers.

“I believe us and Monroe have the toughest matchups in the Elite Eight, but we are up for the challenge,” Bryant said. “We’ve got to be solid on defense in this game. We can’t afford to get off on a slow start and expect to win this game.”

The Monroe girls will host White County (22-8) here in Albany at Monroe today, with tipoff set for 6 p.m. Monroe head coach Jennifer Acree is expecting a real battle to advance into the final four. According to MaxPreps, White County is currently ranked No. 5, while Monroe is ranked No. 10.

“They are a quality team,” Acree said.”They come from Region 6 with Wesleyan (ranked No. 1), which is probably the strongest region in Class AAA. They have a couple of guards that can really shoot and they have a really strong hybrid forward.”

Monroe’s boys will face the No. 1 team in Class AAA Sandy Creek on Wednesday in Tyrone. Head coach Michael Hoffpauir knows his team has a big challenge ahead.

“I think they have been ranked No. 1 all season,” Hoffpauir said. “They are a very good team. They are the defending state champions. They play very aggressively defensively plus they have good shooters and ball handlers.”

Calhoun County (25-5) will travel to Manchester to take on the Blue Devils (19-8), who beat Towns County 72-58 on Saturday night. Pelham beat Screven County 50-47 and will now travel to Paideia of Atlanta (15-12). Paidiea beat Jasper County to advance to the Elite Eight.

By Joe Whitfield
Sports EditorJoeWhitfield[email protected]