Tucker’s Mariyah Trimble (left) goes in against Lowndes’ Zakiya Hunter (right) for two of her 20 points on the night. (Photo by Mark Brock)
First round victories on Wednesday by six DeKalb County teams gives the district nine teams in the Sweet 16 of the GHSA High School Basketball Tournaments this weekend.
Miller Grove, Stephenson and Southwest DeKalb advanced in the Class 5A girls’ tournament with victories on Tuesday.
Class 6A action had Tucker sweeping at home in a girls’/boys’ doubleheader in first round play on Wednesday.
The Tucker Lady Tigers (18-11) rallied from an early 10-point deficit for a convincing 63-39 victory over the Lowndes Lady Vikings (11-15) to start the night.
Lowndes jumped to a 14-4 lead with 5:00 to play in the first quarter on a basket by Zakiya Hunter. Mariyah Trimble started the Tucker rally with an offensive put back that got the Lady Tigers off to a 10-0 run to end the quarter. Trimble would have six points in the run and Najla Shamsid-Deen had four as the teams went into the second quarter.
Tucker would go on a 30-8 run to after the 10-point deficit to take a 34-22 lead at the half as Shamsid-Deen’s layup to end the second quarter gave Tucker the 12-point lead.
Lowndes would pull within 9 (41-32) early in the fourth quarter, but Tucker responded with an 11-3 run led by Trimble (4 points) and Shamsid-Deen (3 points) again to push the lead out to 52-35. Tucker opened the fourth quarter with 9 quick points, four from Trimble, to push the lead to 61-35 before cruising the rest of the way to the win.
Trimble finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds while Shamsid-Deen added 19 and Bria Bass 7 points and 11 rebounds. Tucker moves on to face No. 3 ranked Mountain View (22-5), a 44-35 winner over Dacula on Tuesday, in a 6:00 pm game at Tucker on Saturday as part of another playoff doubleheader.
Tucker’s Joshua Parker dribbles against Lee County’s Otis Reece while running the offense in the Tigers’ big win. (Photo by Mark Brock)
Boys: Tucker 77, Lee Co. 51
The No. 6 ranked Tucker Tigers jumped out to a 10-3 and ran away from Lee County for a 77-51 victory in Class 6A boys’ action at Tucker on Wednesday.
Ayinde Russell got the game started with a quick jumper from the left side and had six of the first 10 points for the Tigers (27-2) as they got out ahead of Lee County (10-17).
The No. 6 ranked Tigers had a flurry of eight quick points on a three by Bryce Brown, a three-point play by Russell and a steal for a basket before the end of the quarter to take a 27-12 lead into the second quarter.
Russell added two three-pointers in the second quarter to go with a third from Joshua Parker and Brown had two quick back-to-back layups to send Tucker in to the half up 45-22.
Lee County would get no closer than 18 in the second half as the Tigers closed out the first round victory.
Russell and Brown finished with game-highs of 21 points each while Joshua Parker and Adonis Green had 11 each. Malik McCray had 19 and Otis Reece added 12 for Lee County.
Tucker plays host to Archer (20-9), a 51-46 winner over Duluth in first round play, at 7:30 pm on Saturday at Tucker.
Class 5A Boys
The No. 1 ranked Miller Grove Wolverines battled their way to a 49-46 first round victory over Chapel Hill despite falling behind early.
Chapel Hill led 20-15 at the half before Miller Grove took a 32-29 lead at the end of the third quarter. A 7-1 start to the fourth looked to put the Wolverines in the driver’s seat but Chapel Hill pulled with 47-46 with 16.6 seconds to play. A strong 18 points, 9 rebound and 4 blocks performance by Raylon Richardson helped the Wolverines pull ahead.
Alterique Gilbert, 14 points and 7 steals, sank two free throws with 8.5 seconds to play for the final margin of 49-36 and the Wolverines kept Chapel Hill from scoring in their last possession.
Miller Grove (26-3) will host Statesboro (17-10), a 77-68 winner over Drew in first round play, at 4:00 pm on Saturday.
The No. 7 ranked Martin Luther King Jr. Lions (23-5) ousted Alexander (17-12) 64-58 leading from start to finish in a tight contest at Arabia Mountain.
The Lions led at the end of each quarter including a 33-37 advantage at the half. The victory puts the Lions on the road to No. 2 ranked McIntosh (29-0), a 74-47 winner over Camden County in first round action. Game time is set for 7:30 pm.
The Stephenson Jaguars (15-14) season came to an end with a 66-37 loss to South Paulding (21-7) on Wednesday night.
Class 4A
The No. 3 ranked Lithonia Bulldogs rolled past Fayette County 64-44 to advance to the Sweet 16 on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (26-2) led 33-16 at the half and 50-32 after three quarters on the way to the win. Lithonia takes on Mt. Zion-Jonesboro (24-6), a 72-55 winner over New Hempstead in the first round, with a second consecutive home game at 6:00 pm on Saturday.
In other Class 4A boys’ play Columbia (19-10) will miss the Final Four for the first time since 2006 following a 54-43 loss to Carrollton (26-2).
The defending Class 4A girls’ champion Redan (19-8) will not return for a shot at defending its 2014 title after falling to Carrollton (22-7) 63-52.
Class 3A Boys
The No. 3 ranked Cedar Grove Saints (21-4) stormed past Josey (19-9) 71-51 to reach the Class 3A Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.
The Saints jumped out to a 23-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and never flinched on the way to the big win. Cedar Grove travels to Calhoun (22-3), an 81-48 winner over Pepperell in the first round, for a 6:00 pm tipoff on Saturday.
DeKalb Co. State Tournament Results
Wednesday, Feb. 18
Class 6A
Girls
Tucker (18-11) 63, Lowndes Co. (11-15) 39
Boys
Tucker (27-2) 77, Lee Co. (10-17) 51
Class 5A Boys
South Paulding (21-7) 66, Stephenson (15-14) 37
M.L. King Jr. (23-5) 64, Alexander (17-12) 58
Miller Grove (26-3) 49, Chapel Hill (9-19) 46
Class 4A
Girls
Carrollton (22-7) 63, Redan (19-8) 52
Boys
Carrollton (26-2) 54, Columbia (19-10) 43
Lithonia (26-2) 64, Fayette Co. (13-16) 44
Class 3A Boys
Cedar Grove (21-4) 71, Josey (19-9) 51
DeKalb Co. State Tournament Schedule
Friday, Feb. 20
Class 5A
SW DeKalb (22-7) at Forest Park (26-4), 6:00 pm
Miller Grove (15-11) at Dutchtown (16-13), 6:00 pm
Saturday, Feb. 21
Class 6A
Girls
Mountain View (22-5) at Tucker (18-11), 6:00 pm
Boys
Archer (20-9) at Tucker (27-2), 7:30 pm
Class 5A
Girls
Stephenson (24-5) at Brunswick (28-0), 6:00 pm
Boys
M.L. King (23-5) at McIntosh (29-0), 7:30 pm
Statesboro (17-10) at Miller Grove (26-3), 4:00 pm
Class 4A
Mt. Zion-Jonesboro (24-6) at Lithonia (26-2), 6:00 pm
Class 3A
Cedar Grove (21-4) at Calhoun 22-3(), 6:00 pm