DeKalb County’s Region 5-5A boys’ teams made some noise in the Class 5A State Tournament as three teams advanced pushing DeKalb’s Sweet 16 participants to a total of 11 teams.

Southwest DeKalb (18-11) opened the run for the Region 5-5A boys’ teams with a 56-43 home win over North Springs (13-15).

An 11-point halftime lead of 29-18 shrunk to 39-32 with 6:34 remaining when Southwest DeKalb’s Kendarius “KD” Johnson spurred a 10-0 run to help put the game out of reach.

Johnson had a pair of steals for easy layups and a nice pass inside to James Glisson in the 10-0 run. Eugene Brown finished off the run with a three-pointer to make it 49-32 with 4:11 to play.

Another steal and basket by Johnson made it a 52-35 game with 2:26 to go. The Panthers hit four free throws from that point on to keep North Springs at a distance.

Southwest DeKalb had pulled away to a 29-18 lead at the half as Glisson hit a pair of free throws, Demarion Johnson got an offensive put back and Brown hit two free throws a shot at the buzzer. Brown’s shot at the buzzer was made possible by a nice long inbounds pass from the backcourt baseline to just inside the opposite three-point line with just 1.1 seconds left in the half.

Johnson and Brown both hit for game highs of 17 points while Glisson added 11 points and 9 rebounds in the win. Marcus Moultrie had 12 points to lead North Springs.

Southwest DeKalb goes on the road on Thursday to take on Region 7 No. 1 seed Hiram (21-9), a 39-35 winner over Cedar Shoals.

Miller Grove 69, Riverwood 49
The No. 4 ranked Miller Grove Wolverines had stumbled in the Region 5-5A tournament and had to go on the road to 6-5A No. 2 seed Riverwood where a huge fourth quarter gave Miller Grove a 69-49 victory.

The Wolverines (20-7) headed into the third quarter with a 39-32 as the pulled away from 26-26 tie with a 13-6 run.

A 30-point final quarter was on the horizon as Timothy Stargell helped engineer a 12-6 run with a pair of jumpers to go with a Maurice Harvey basket to take a 51-38 lead with 4:50 to play. He later had a steal and passed to Lorenzo Anderson for a jam and a 55-38 advantage as the Wolverines continued to roll in the final quarter.

Stargell’s three-pointer extended the lead to 60-41 as the game was winding to an end.

Maurice Harvey led the way with 16 points, Terrence Edwards added 15, Lorenzo Anderson 13 and Stargell 12.

Miller Grove goes on the road to face No. 1 ranked Buford (24-4) on Wednesday.

Lithonia 57, Banneker 49
The No. 3 ranked Lithonia Bulldogs led 42-22 at the end of the third quarter on the way to a 57-49 home win over Banneker on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (22-6) led 28-16 at the half and held Banneker to just six points in the third on he way to the 42-22 advantage.

Lithonia is set to host Region 8 No. 3 seed Flowery Branch (18-11), a 45-44 road winner over Villa Rica, on Thursday.

Class 3A Boys
The No. 4 ranked Cedar Grove Saints got off to a late start but rolled to a 60-40 home win over Region 6 No. 4 seed Ringgold to advance to the Class 3A boys’ Sweet 16.

The Saints trailed 11-10 at the end of the first quarter and led just 20-18 at the half. Cedar Grove put things together in the third quarter behind the play of Keshun Byrd, Jamari Dean and Kanaris Cummings. The trio helped the Saints (22-6) pull away to a 40-20 lead with big plays on both ends of the floor.

Byrd finished with a team high 18 points followed by Dean with 15 and Cummings with a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double.

The Saints play host to Dawson County (19-9), a 66-53 winner over Monroe Area, on Thursday.

Redan (14-13) pulled off the road upset of Region 6 No. 1 seed Calhoun (13-14) with a big 45-41 win on Saturday. The Raiders had pulled of a one-point thriller in the Region 5-3A tournament with a three-quarters court shot against Westminster with just over one second to play.

Redan moves on with a road trip to Hartwell to take on Region 8, No. 2 Hart County (16-12) which won its opening round game 65-50 over East Hall.

Towers (18-9) which won its first-round game for the first time since 2002 81-59 over Bremen this past Thursday travels to Madison to take on No. 1 ranked Morgan County (27-1), a 61-29 winner over North Hall on Saturday, on Thursday.

Class 6A Boys
DeKalb took a hard hit in Class 6A boys as No. 5 ranked Stephenson and Tucker both fell in first round games on Saturday.

Stephenson (21-6) dropped a 65-63 decision to Lakeside-Evans (14-12) as the visitors got hot in the fourth quarter to rally from a 52-45 deficit for the win.

The Jaguars had bounced back from a 41-41 tie in the third quarter to take a 47-43 lead into the fourth period as Charles Fairchild let loose a shot from just inside half court for the three-pointer at the buzzer.

Nigel Clarke’s layup on an assist from Fairchild with 4:37 to play made it 52-45 despite having lost leading scorer Bryce Latimer to injury that prevented him from playing the final 14 minutes of the second half.

Lakeside then began to get hot from outside as Kalen Williams hit a pair of threes as the gap closed to 56-55. The second of two drives for baskets by Anthony Newsom made it a 58-55 Stephenson lead with 1:30 to play.

Brad Hilley answered for Lakeside with a three-pointer from the left corner to knot the game at 58-58. Ty Briscoe was fouled as the Jaguars turned the ball over on the inbounds after the Hilley shot. Briscoe hit both free throws to give Lakeside its first lead since early in the first quarter.

A missed shot led to a pair of free throws by Williams to extend the lead to 62-58 and after Stephenson closed it to 62-60 on a drive by Drevion Evans, Williams went back to the line and hit two more for a 64-60 advantage.

Evans rattled home a three-pointer for Stephenson with 1.6 seconds to play to make it 64-63. Hilley was fouled with 1.1 second to play and hit the first to make it 65-63 and intentionally missed the second to get the clock to run out the final time.

Evans led Stephenson with 18 points and Latimer finished with 12 despite missing almost half the game due to the injury. Williams had a game-high 25 to lead Lakeside and teammate Ty Briscoe knocked down 21.

Grovetown 64, Tucker 52
The Tucker Tigers’ season came to an end with a 64-52 road loss to Grovetown (13-12) on Saturday. Tucker finished 17-12 on the season.

Class 4A Boys – Baldwin 71, Druid Hills 45
The Druid Hills Red Devils’ season came to an end with a Class 4A first round 71-45 road loss to Baldwin (22-6). Druid Hills finished the season 12-15 overall.

DCSD STATE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Saturday, Feb. 17 (First Round)
Class 3A Boys
Cedar Grove (22-6) 60, Ringgold (19-8) 40
Redan (14-13) 45, Calhoun (13-14) 41

Class 4A Boys
Baldwin (22-6) 71, Druid Hills (12-15) 45

Class 5A Boys
SW DeKalb (18-11) 56, North Springs (13-15) 43
Lithonia (22-6) 57, Banneker (14-10) 49
Miller Grove (20-7) 69, Riverwood (19-9) 49

Class 6A Boys
Grovetown (13-12) 64, Tucker (17-12) 52
Lakeside-Evans (14-12) 65, Stephenson (21-6) 63

Wednesday, Feb. 21 (Second Round)
Class 3A Girls
Cedar Grove (13-6) at Franklin Co. (28-0), 6:00 pm

Class 5A Girls
Arabia Mountain (21-2) at Villa Rica (24-1), 6:00 pm
Carrollton (23-6) at Southwest DeKalb (17-12), 6:00 pm

Class 6A Girls
Tucker (20-9) at Bradwell Institute (18-9), 6:00 pm

Thursday, Feb. 22
Class 3A Boys
Dawson Co. (19-9) at Cedar Grove (22-6), 7:00 pm
Redan (14-13) at Hart Co. (16-12), 6:00 pm
Towers (18-9) at Morgan Co. (28-1), 7:00 pm

Class 5A Boys
Flowery Branch (18-11) at Lithonia (22-6), 6:30 pm
SW DeKalb (18-11) at Hiram (21-9), 7:30 pm
Miller Grove (20-7) at Buford (24-4), 7:00 pm

Class 6A Girls
Stephenson (18-11) at Coffee (17-9), 6:00 pm