The No. 5 ranked Tucker Lady Tigers rolled behind Bria Bass (21 points) to open the Class 6A state playoffs with an 81-63 victory over the Campbell Lady Spartans at Tucker on Wednesday night.

Tucker trailed 11-7 with 3:37 left in the first quarter on a three-pointer by Campbell’s Aisha Joyner before going on a 12-0 run to end the period with a 19-11 lead. Mariya Trimble started the run with a basket and had six points in the final 2:54 to lead Tucker on its run to take control of the game.

The run was extended to 18 as Trimble opened the second quarter with a layup on a nice pass from Kiera Johnson-Graham. Sierra Wright’s layup with 6:03 left in the first half gave Tucker a 25-11 lead. By the time Johnson-Graham ended the half by putting one of her 15 rebounds in the game back in for a score, Tucker took a 42-21 lead into the break

Johnson-Graham had six points in the third quarter and Quinlan Hughes three-point play with 55 seconds left in the period sent Tucker into the final quarter with a commanding 65-36 lead.

Campbell closed the gap to 16 twice in the fourth quarter (57-73 and 63-79) before Tucker closed out the game hitting eight of 12 from the charity stripe, including 4-6 by Najila Shamsid-Deen.

Bass had 21 points to lead Tucker followed by Shamsid-Deen with 15, Johnson Graham 14 points and 15 rebounds and Mariya Trimble 12 points.

Campbell got a game-high 30 points from Marisa Hall in the losing effort.

Tucker (24-4) moves on to host Mountain View (14-12) in a rematch of last year’s second round game won by Mountain View.

Class 6A Boys
Campbell 71, Tucker 68 OT
A steal of an inbounds pass by Tyler Payne and a hurried three-point try came up short as the Tucker Tigers fell 71-68 in overtime to the Campbell Spartans.

The Tigers had rallied from an early fourth quarter deficit of 14 points (49-35) to within 60-57 with 3.9 seconds following a free throw by Campbell’s Tamaar Lee. Kenton Eskridge took the inbounds pass and raced up court for a three-point attempt. Eskridge was fouled on the shot as the buzzer sounded the end of regulation.

Eskridge hit the first two of his three attempts and Campbell tried to ice him with a timeout. He stepped back to the line and calmly sank the free throw to send the game into overtime tied at 60 apiece.

Campbell scored the first seven points of overtime before Jalen Knowlton hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 67-63 with 1:13 to play in the game.

Tiger freshman Jevon Tatum had two drives to the basket in the final 22 seconds, including one with seven seconds remaining to pull Tucker within three at 71-68. Payne then made his steal and came up just short on a game tying three that would have sent the game into a second overtime.

Tucker (20-7) was led by Eskridge with 17 points, Tatum with 13 (all in 4th quarter and overtime) and Adonis Green with 9 points and 12 rebounds.

Campbell (20-8) was led by Lazarus Walker with a game-high 26 points.

Class 5A
(B) Miller Grove 101, Sprayberry 41
The No. 1 ranked Miller Grove Wolverines had little trouble with the Sprayberry Yellow Jackets as they hit the century mark in a 101-41 Class 5A boys’ first round playoff game at Miller Grove.

Tae Hardy and Aidan Saunders hit for 20 points apiece to lead Miller Grove (26-2) as they cruised to a 48-20 halftime lead. Alterique Gilbert added 17 points while Aaron Augustin chipped 13 points and 10 assists.

Miller Grove hosts Richmond Academy (22-6) which advanced with an 85-74 victory over No. 10 Effingham County on Friday at 6:30 pm.

(B) SW DeKalb 66, Kell 42
The Southwest DeKalb Panthers dispatched the Kell Longhorns 66-42 in a first round state playoff game at Southwest DeKalb on Wednesday.

Keith Gilmore led four players in double figures with 19 points for the Panthers including 11 points each from Mandarius Dickerson and TiQuan Lewis and 10 more from Nathaniel Ambersley.

The Panthers (24-5) travel to No. 7 ranked Warner Robins, an 89-61 winner over Ware County, for a 6:00 pm tip on Saturday.

In girls’ state tournament play, defending state champion Stephenson (20-9) dropped a 53-43 decision on the road at Creekview (23-5) and Miller Grove (15-13) also had its season come to an end with a 77-39 loss to Sequoyah (23-6).

Class 4A Boys
Lithonia 86, Northwest Whitfield 38
Four players hit double figures for the No. 4 ranked Lithonia Bulldogs (23-5) to energize an 86-38 whitewashing of the Northwest Whitfield Bruins in a Class 4A boys’ state playoff game at Lithonia on Wednesday.

Jacara Cross put together a strong 17 point, 9 rebound and 5 block performance to lead the way for Lithonia. Tennessee-Chattanooga signee Rodney Chatman added 14 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists to aid the Bulldog cause.

Ty Freeman (12) and Ty Patterson (11) joined their teammates in double figures in the win. Lithonia moves on to face New Hampstead (17-10) an 82-67 upset winner over No. 5 ranked Upson Lee in a 5:00 pm game on Saturday at Lithonia.

Columbia 70, Heritage-Catoosa 38
The Columbia Eagles (14-12) showed some of the Region 6-4A firepower as the No. 3 seed rolled to a 70-38 upset of Heritage-Catoosa (22-6) in a road playoff game.

The Eagles move on to the Sweet 16 and face a road trip to Hinesville to face No. 2 ranked Liberty County (24-1), an 87-61 winner over Howard in first round play. The two teams tipoff at 6:00 pm on Saturday.

Class 3A Boys
Cedar Grove 66, Dodge Co. 48
The No. 8 ranked Cedar Grove Saints (19-7) outscored Dodge County (19-8) 19-7 in the final five minutes of the game for the 66-48 Class 3A boys’ first round playoff victory.

Cedar Grove led 45-34 entering the fourth quarter only to have Dodge County make a run to close within 47-41 with five minutes to play. The Saints then got things on track to pull away for the 18-point victory.

The Saints move on to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season and play hosts to East Jackson (17-11) at 6:30 pm on Saturday. East Jackson was a 72-63 winner over Central of Carrollton.

DCSD State Playoff Results
Wednesday, Feb. 17
Class 6A
Girls
Tucker (24-4) 81, Campbell (15-12) 63

Boys
Campbell (20-8) 71, Tucker (20-7) 68

Class 5A
Girls
Sequoyah (23-6) 77, Miller Grove (15-13) 39
Creekview (23-5) 53, Stephenson (20-9) 43

Boys
Miller Grove (26-2) 101, Sprayberry (18-11) 41
SW DeKalb (24-5) 66, Kell (16-13) 42

Class 4A
Girls
Arabia Mountain (19-10) 46, Heritage-Catoosa (22-6) 44

Boys
Columbia (14-12) 70, Heritage-Catoosa (20-9) 38
Lithonia (23-5) 86, NW Whitfield (20-7) 38

Class 3A
Boys
Cedar Grove (19-7) 66, Dodge Co. (19-8) 48