4A semifinal preview

From Score Atlanta reporter Fletcher Proctor:

As the field just eliminated four elite teams from the boys side as well as the girls side, the teams remaining still stand because of outstanding players. In the case of Miller Grove, 6-foot-2 junior Mfon Udofia hoisted the Wolverines onto his back as he tossed in 25 points and helped his squad advance past Lithia Springs and into the Final Four. Meanwhile it wasn’t Fayette County junior Noel Johnson, but rather senior Cuincy Carruthers that helped the Tigers achieve their first-ever semifinals appearance.

As for the other side of the bracket, high school basketball fans will get to see No. 1 Westlake and Raymond Willis take on No. 2 Columbia and Travis Leslie. Columbia advanced to Gwinnett Arena by pressuring Wake Forest-bound Tony Woods and Rome into a 69-51 defeat. Westlake is counting its blessings, surviving a wild one-point quarterfinal victory over Riverdale. Gideon Gamble will be the key for Westlake in the semifinal as most of the opposition’s attention will be focused on the future Boomer Sooner Willis.

For the ladies, youth was served as Fayette County secured its first Final Four appearance with a win over Tai Brown and Northside-Warner Robins. Sophomore Anma Onyeuku scored 14 in the victory and junior Tessa Holt did a little bit of everything with six points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. They will face junior Courtney Freeman and Madison County at Gwinnett Arena; the Red Raiders knocked off Mays in the quarterfinals. Sade Means and Mays fell behind and could not combat the impressive performance by Dan Lampe’s squad.

The other game will pit No. 1 Southwest DeKalb, still seeking its first state title, against No. 3 Westlake. Westlake was impressive in blowing out Baldwin 66-40 in the quarterfinals, but the Lady Panthers of SW DeKalb are very imposing, as they sport two regular 20-point scorers. Charenee Stephens notched 21 points and 15 rebounds in the 74-63 win over Clarke Central, and Kayla Lewis added 20.

Proctor can be reached at fproctor@scoreatl.com.

Boys second round quick hits...

5A boys

Wheeler comes back from 11 down in the fourth quarter to get past McEachern 70-67. Wildcats sophomore point guard Phil Taylor only had 11 in the contest, but hit two big 3-pointers down the stretch to spark the rally. Wheeler meets Berkmar on Saturday.

Norcross downs Centennial 69-54 in a rematch of last year's championship game. Al-Farouq Aminu had 17 points and guard Taariq Muhammad chipped in 15 for the Blue Devils, who move on to play...

...Northview, who just shocked Marietta 71-61. Marietta key players - Deandre Cannon and Chris Tanzy - were injured, the Blue Devils hit just 11-24 free throws, and Northview's Ralph Sampson III blocked seven shots ... that's a recipe for an upset. 

I guess Savannah was a little more comfortable on its second trip to Clayton County this year, as the team took down Mundy's Mill by the score of 82-52. Mundy's Mill won the first meeting by a point. Savannah will host Douglass on Saturday.

4A boys

Lithia Springs beat Dacula 69-63 yesterday to earn the privilege of playing red-hot Miller Grove at Marietta High School on Saturday. Jeremy Flagg had 18 points in the Lions' road victory.

Columbia has recovered nicely from their stumble in the region tournament, and despite earning Region 6's third seed, are now in the Elite 8. The Eagles defeated Pebblebrook 59-57, and Travis Leslie scored his jersey number (23). Phil McCrary's team will face Wake Forest signee Tony Woods and Rome, which just took out Stone Mountain by a point, the team that upset Columbia in the region tournament in the first place.

3A boys

There was a lot of talent on the floor in the Glenn Hills-Jordan matchup in Augusta, and Glenn Hills alone has three D-I signees. Reggie Middleton (Winthrop), Jerel Stephenson (UNC-Wilmington), and Chris Reynolds (Campbell) scored 49 of their team's 52 points in the 52-49 win. This is a senior-laden squad with the talent to win it all.

2A boys

Wesleyan rolls into the quarterfinals over Macon County, but regionmate Greater Atlanta Christian is out after being upset by Coosa, 85-82. 

Defending champs Dublin are still in the thick of things after a win over Swainsboro, but must meet Randolph-Clay in the quarters at Savannah State University.

A boys

If you live in the Rome area (or even if you don't) and are a fan of high school basketball, do yourself a favor and check out some of the best teams in the state at Georgia Highlands College on Saturday. The four best teams in Single-A will be in action on the same day: Whitefield Academy takes on Hancock Central at 5:30, and Southwest Atlanta Christian meets defending champ Wilkinson County at 8:30. Each of these teams won their second round games by double digits; these squads are the cream of the crop in this classification. 

Miller Grove 59, Cherokee 50

Miller Grove let Cherokee dictate the tempo of the game for the first half, then asserted its will on defense after halftime. 

"We did our homework and we knew that they would keep the game in the 40s and 50s," said Miller Grove head coach Sharman White. "Second half, we knew we had to get out and run more, get out and make plays in transition, and continue to keep the defensive intensity."

White's Wolverines overcame shaky shooting in the first two quarters of the game by pressuring Cherokee's ballhandlers in the second half. Cherokee hung around in the Wolverines' 59-50 win, but the game was never really in doubt.

Miller Grove junior guard Mfon Udofia struggled a bit with his shot throughout the contest, but was happy with his effort and his team's performance.

"I feel like I managed the game well, I got my teammates involved," Udofia said. "I missed a couple of free throws, but overall we played a good game."

"Our coach always tells us we're a second-half team," said Udofia's teammate, junior forward Stephen Hill. The Wolverines utilized a full-court press and in-your-face perimeter defense after halftime to frustrate the Warriors, who struggled with Miller Grove's all-out pressure.

On Cherokee's end, head coach Roger Kvam was naturally disappointed in the loss, but had high praise for his kids and Miller Grove as well.

"We lost six of our top seven from last year, and for these guys to win twenty games and make the state tournament and advance past the second round, which is something the last team couldn't do ... I'm very proud of them, my seniors in particular."

His thoughts on Miller Grove: "They're long and athletic, quick, they're in passing lanes, tipping balls and blocking shots. They do a variety of things that make it hard to score."

Cherokee had a tough time getting the ball into junior center Shawn Kemp, Jr. (son of the former NBA star), who also struggled with fouls throughout the game.

First Weekend reflections...

Welcome hoops fans!

Alex Ewalt here ... as the prep beat writer for Score Atlanta and the editor of our Cherokee and DeKalb prep papers, I've had the chance to see a lot of great basketball this season.

Just one weekend in the books for the 2008 high school basketball tournament, and there's already so much to talk about. I'll start with two first round games that drew a lot of attention:

Call it what you want, but Dacula's win over Tucker in the first round of the Class 4A boys bracket was no upset. We at Score had the Falcons ranked highly for much of the regular season, and in fact, put them above Tucker for many of those weeks. Dacula's Trent Kammerer (6-foot-8) and Brian Cole (6-foot-9) are talented enough to put them in the "sleeper" category, but first, the Falcons will have to beat a fine Lithia Springs team on Tuesday to get to the quarterfinals.

Ok, you can call it an upset, but East Hall's victory over South Atlanta was not the shocker everyone is making it out to be; remember, East Hall is the defending state champion. This year, the Vikings are at it again, beating the Hornets 63-60 at home in the first round and holding the most talented player in the southeastern United States, Derrick Favors, to just 11 points. Anyone who saw South Atlanta's loss to Blessed Trinity in the 5-AAA region tournament can see what everyone's strategy against the highly touted big man will be going forward into next year. I was at that game, and saw that double and triple teams - as well as constantly and aggressively denying him the basketball - can cause him to lose focus, But I can't be too hard on the junior, who will undoubtedly mature between now and next season.

Changing gears ... is it Stephenson's year to win the 5A girls title? Former Collins Hill phenom Maya Moore is now tearing it up in Storrs, Conn., for the Lady Huskies, and Dennis Watkins's team has the senior leadership, in the form of Jylisa Williams and Taylor Turnbow, to win it all. There's a similar situation in Class 4A girls hoops, as Southwest DeKalb finds itself in pole position after playing third fiddle to St. Pius X and Marist the last two years. Current Tenessee Lady Vol Kelley Cain, so instrumental in Pius' consecutive championships, is gone, and SWD has the upperclasman experience (Charenee Stephens and Eboni Mitchell) to take home the title.

In Single-A boys hoops, there are some interesting matchups that could materialize in the next week. Look for powerhouses Whitefield Academy and Hancock Central to meet on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Georgia Highlands College in Rome, and for Southwest Atlanta Christian and Wilkinson County to follow at 8:30 p.m. at the same site. That, my friends, is good basketball no matter what classification you follow.

I'm planning on catching the Miller Grove-Cherokee second-round boys matchup on Tuesday in Lithonia, so check back here for a full report. Two top juniors - Cherokee's Shawn Kemp, Jr. and Miller Grove's Mfon Udofia - will battle it out in this one.

Any comments, questions or suggestions? Shoot me an email at aewalt@scoreatl.com.