Region 1 comes up with a big sweep of the boys’ quarterfinals to reach the semifinals on Wednesday.
The Region 1 boys’ squads made a clean sweep of the quarterfinal matchups against Region 2 to reach the DeKalb County Middle School Basketball Championships semifinals round during action on Saturday.
The biggest upset of the day was the Region 1 No. 4 seed Bethune Lions (13-2) knocking off previously undefeated and Region 2 No. 1 seed Champion Chargers (14-1) in a 42-40 thriller.
Bethune jumped out to an early lead in the game before Champion rallied in front of the home crowd. The game was tied 40-40 in the waning seconds of the game when Bethune’s Ke’shawn Briggs and L’Markus Scott executed a great trap to force a turnover by the Chargers. Mekyrius Miller got the steal on the turnover and raced in for the winning layup.
Miller finished with 18 points in the game while Rashaad Silver and Ke’shawn Briggs added 8 points apiece the contest. Bethune goes on the road to take on Region 1 No. 2 seed Chapel Hill, a 38-32 winner over Lithonia, in a 6:45 pm game on Wednesday.
BOYS RECAPS
Chapel Hill 38, Lithonia 32
The No. 2 seeded Chapel Hill Panthers (14-1) held off a game Lithonia Bulldogs (10-5) squad 38-32 on Saturday to advance to a host role in the Wednesday’s semifinal round. Just Taylor led he way with 16 points and Nazir Mergan knocked down 14 more for the winners. Chapel Hill plays host to Bethune at 6:45 Wednesday following the girls’ semifinal prior in a rematch of Chapel Hill’s 36-33 win back in December.
Druid Hills 65, Salem 55
The No. 3 seed Druid Hills Dragons (11-4) pulled outa 65-55 victory over No. 2 seed Salem Lions (12-3) at Salem on Saturday. Stone Richards hit for 23 points to lead the Dragons in the win while Tobias Bell added a career high 17. Druid Hills meets Redan for the second time as they go on the road in a single game at Redan at 5:30 on Wednesday. Redan won the first meeting 53-44.
Redan 66, Cedar Grove 48
The Region 1 No. 1 seed Redan Raiders (14-1) ousted the defending champion Cedar Grove Saints (9-6) 66-48 on Saturday to advance to the semifinals against Druid Hills. Tristan Mitchell, Amare Medhin, Jy’ishawn Duffie and De’Erick Cole all scored in double figures to lead the Raiders in the win.
GIRLS RECAPS
The Region 2 champion and No. 1 seed Salem Lady Lions (15-0) improved their unbeaten streak to 22 games 56-28 home victory over the Bethune Lady Lions (9-6) on Saturday. The duo of Shanya Heath and Mya Perry led the way again for the defending champions as the pair scored 19 and 17 points, respectively.
Salem moves into the semifinals to host a surging Stephenson Lady Jaguar (14-1) squad in a 5:30 pm game on Wednesday.
Stephenson 34, Beacon Hill 14
The No. 2 seed out of Region 1 Stephenson Lady Jaguars (14-1) knocked off Beacon Hill (9-6) for the second time in two weeks via a 34-14 win on Saturday at Stephenson. Loriel Murray hit for a game-high 23 points for the Jaguars and Jayla Walton added 6 more. Stephenson has won four consecutive games since a tough 41-40 loss to Chapel Hill in mid-January. Stephenson now faces the defending champion Salem Lady Lions on the road for a chance to reach the championship game.
Chapel Hill 54, Redan 31
Region 1 No. 1 seed Chapel Hill Lady Panthers (14-1) earned a host role for the semifinals with a 54-31 win over the upset minded Redan Lady Raiders (8-7) on Saturday at Chapel Hill. Sanai Bryant had 16 points and 5 steals to lead Chapel Hill in the win while Avantey Gilreath added a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double along with 3 blocked shots. Janise McCoy added 9 points for the winners. Redan got 12 points from Aubri Brooks and 9 from Koryonia Magee. Chapel Hill hosts last year’s runners-up Champion Lady Chargers (13-2) at 5:30 pm on Wednesday.
Champion 62, Druid Hills 32
The Region 2 No. 2 seed Champion Lady Chargers (13-2) earned a trip to the semifinals with a big 62-32 win over the Druid Hills Dragons (11-4) at Champion on Saturday. Charmaine Owens led a group of three Chargers in double figures with 19 points. She was joined by Jhia Primrose with 17 points (6 rebounds) and Kamaya Rivers-Childs with 13. Champion travels to Chapel Hill on Wednesday at 5:30 pm. Champion defeated Chapel Hill 51-27 in the season opener back in November.
See links below for current standings and updated brackets for championships:
DCSD MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS BRACKET
DCSD MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS BRACKET
DCSD MIDDLE SCHOOL BASKETBALL CHAMPIOSHIPS
QUARTERFINAL ROUND
Sat., 2/4/23
GIRLS
Chapel Hill (13-2) 54, Redan (8-7) 31
Champion (13-2) 62, Druid Hills (11-4) 32
Salem (15-0) 56, Bethune (9-6) 28
Stephenson (14-1) 34, Beacon Hill (9-6) 14
BOYS
Redan (14-1) 66, Cedar Grove (9-6) 48
Druid Hills (11-4) 65, Salem (12-3) 55
Bethune (13-2) 42, Champion (14-1) 40
Chapel Hill (14-1) 38, Lithonia (10-5) 32
DCSD MIDDLE SCHOOL BASKETBALL CHAMPIOSHIPS
SEMIFINAL ROUND
Wed., 2/8/23
GIRLS
Champion (13-2) at Chapel Hill (13-2), 5:30 pm
Stephenson (14-1) at Salem (15-0), 5:30 pm (single game)
BOYS
Druid Hills (11-4) at Redan (14-1), 5:30 pm (single game)
Bethune (13-2) at Chapel Hill (14-1), 6:45 pm