Lithonia senior post player Jacara Cross made two big plays in the final 53 seconds to help the No. 4 ranked Bulldogs hold off No. 10 Sandy Creek 55-53 at Fort Valley State University on Thursday  to advance to the Class 4A Final Four on Saturday.

Cross took a nice no-look pass from Tyheem Freeman on the run down the right wing and took the ball to the goal for a one-handed jam to give the Bulldogs (25-5) a 54-50 lead with 43 seconds to play in the game.

Sandy Creek’s Elias Harden answered with his second three-pointer in 16 seconds to pull Sandy Creek back within 54-53 with 36 seconds to play.

The Bulldogs who had easily broken the Sandy Creek press on several occasions after taking a 46-38 lead with 3:12 to play on another Cross layup had trouble in the last 60 seconds with three big turnovers that allowed Sandy Creek climb back within striking distance.

One of the turnovers gave Sandy Creek a chance to tie with 28 seconds to play. Harden got the ball on the left wing and drove to the basket and spun away from his defender for an apparent open shot. That is when Cross moved over to help and blocked the shot into the hands of teammate Freeman with 17.7 seconds to play with the Bulldogs clinging to the one-point lead.

Lithonia had four chances at the free throw line to put the game away but only hit one of  five (Tyleen Patterson 1-2 with 12.9 seconds to play) to lead 55-53.

The Bulldogs forced a hurried three by Sandy Creek and Rodney Chatman grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 1/10th of a second left in the game. A last second heave after a free throw violation by the Bulldogs was caught by Cross as the buzzer ended the game.

Tyheem Freeman finished the game with 17 points, including a drive for a basket in the third quarter that gave Lithonia the lead for good at 35-34, to lead the Bulldogs. Cross finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds and Rodney Chatman had 11 points for Lithonia

Harden finished with 18 points to lead Sandy Creek and Christian Turner had 16. Sandy Creek had led 27-24 at the half and 29-23 before Lithonia started its climb to regain the lead.

Lithonia moves on to face No. 2 ranked Liberty County (26-1) which knocked off Monroe 71-61 on Thursday to advance to the Final Four. The two play at 4:45 pm on Saturday at Fort Valley State University.

The trip to the Final Four is Lithonia’s first since a Class 5A semifinal loss to Tift County in 2004.

Class 6A Girls
Tucker 74, Woodstock 60
The No. 5 ranked Tucker Lady Tigers took a 15-10 lead at the end of the first quarter and never trailed on the way to a 74-60 Class 6A State Playoff quarterfinal victory over No. 9 ranked Woodstock on Thursday at West Georgia University.

Jayla Morrow scored 20 points to lead Tucker in the win. Tucker led 33-20 at the half and was up 10 heading into the fourth quarter.

Tucker returns to a state semifinal for the first time since their Class 5A state title in 2014 and will have a rematch of their Peach State Tournament semifinal game with Douglas County (26-1), a 74-64 win by Tucker. The game is set for 3:00 pm at West Georgia on Saturday.

Class 5A Boys
Allatoona 56, SW DeKalb 44
The Southwest DeKalb Panthers had their 2016 season come to an end at the hands of No. 2 ranked Allatoona with a 56-44 loss at Columbus State on Thursday.

The Panthers (25-6) battled undefeated Allatoona (30-0) and trailed just 27-23 at the half. Allatoona was able to pull away in the fourth quarter.

DCSD State Playoff Results
Thursday, Feb. 25
Class 6A Girls
Tucker (26-4) 74, Woodstock (26-4) 60

Class 5A Boys
Allatoona (30-0) 56, SW DeKalb (25-6) 44 Columbus State, 8:15 pm

Class 4A Boys
Lithonia (25-5) 55, Sandy Creek (21-6) 53

DCSD State Playoff Schedule
Friday, Feb. 26
Class 5A Girls
SW DeKalb (24-6) vs. Columbus (23-5), Columbus St., 3 pm

Class 5A Boys
Miller Grove (27-2) vs. South Paulding (25-4), Columbus St., 4:45 pm

Class 4A Girls
Arabia Mountain (20-10) vs. Buford (24-5), Ft. Valley State, 6:30 pm

Class 3A Boys
Cedar Grove (20-7) vs. Westside-Augusta (18-5), Augusta University, 8:15 pm