Pace Academy’s boys and Creekside’s girls are ranked No. 1 in Class 4A. Both must beat reigning state champions in Macon next week to win their titles.
Here’s a wrap up of Saturday’s Class 4A and Class A Division semifinals.
Class 5A semifinals game stories from Georgia State
Class 4A at Fort Valley State
Girls: Maynard Jackson, the 2024 Class 5A champion, beat North Oconee 80-79 in overtime. Jackson will play Creekside, which defeated Marist 54-43 behind CeCe Dennis’s 30 points. Marist’s Katie Harpring, the state’s top junior girls prospect, scored 28.
Boys: Pace defeated eighth-ranked Tucker 76-40. Chandler Bing scored 24 points and had nine rebounds. Eric Chatfield scored 20 points. Second-ranked North Oconee, the reigning champion, beat No. 6 McDonough 70-60. Khamari Brooks, a blue-chip football player who is also outstanding at hoops, scored 22 points, according to the Oconee Enterprise. Justin Wise scored 20.
Class A Division I at Georgia College
Girls: North Georgia teams Banks County and Fannin County, both on long winning streaks, reached the final. Banks, ranked No. 1, beat third-ranked Model 51-44 in overtime. Banks County (25-5) has won 22 straight games. Banks County was a runner-up two years ago but has never won a state title. Fannin County (28-2) won its 19th straight with a 72-63 victory over No. 4 East Laurens.
Boys: Third-ranked B.E.S.T. Academy reached the state finals for the victory time with a 73-58 victory over fifth-ranked East Laurens. B.E.S.T. is an Atlanta city school that with only one previous state-tournament victory until this season. Second-ranked Southwest-Macon beat unranked Toombs County 65-54. Southwest has won six state titles, but this will be the Patriots’ first finals appearance since winning Class 4A, then the highest, in 1989.
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