Central Georgia Sports ReportMarch 04, 2020Comment

Tuesday's Daily News 'n Notes: State basketball championships start in Macon; Mercer battles FSU; Braves Report, and more

Central Georgia Sports ReportMarch 04, 2020Comment

Tuesday's Central Georgia - and of interest to Central Georgia - news and notes, compiled from staff reports, email reports, the web, and social media.

GHSA state tournament gets underway Wednesday

Southwest’s girls are among those looking for their first title when the GHSA state basketball championships take over the Macon Coliseum for four days and nights.

St. Francis and Holy Innocents open things at 2 p.m. in the Class A Private girls final.

Hancock Central’s boys are the other Central Georgia representative, finishing the first day of action in the Class A Public boys finale against undefeated Treutlen.

Games are available only online, on the NFHS Network all for days and on GPB.org on Friday and Saturday. Cost for the NFHS feed is $10.95 for a month.

Tickets are $15 per day, and that includes parking.

Treutlen is looking for its first state title. The Vikings have wins over Central Georgia teams Wilkinson County (78-69, 84-73) East Laurens (97-61), Dooly County (72-64), and Dublin (50-42, 73-71).

Hancock Central is also a regular state championship contender, having won the title in 2008.

The 27-3 Bulldogs went 17-0 at home and 1-0 on neutral courts, and finished behind Wilkinson County in Region 7-A, earning a third seed and first-round bye.

The losses are to Wilkinson County (64-61 on Nov. 30), Baldwin (67-59 on Dec. 7), and Lincoln County (57-56 on Jan. 11).

Leroy Wilson leads Hancock Central with 16.2 points a game with Jamal Taylor right behind at 15.6. Four more players get at least six points a game.

Hancock Central knocked off defending champ Calhoun County –which ended Wilkinson County’s three-year run last season – in the quarterfinals. More on that game is in Coverage.

Wednesday
2 p.m. - A Private Girls, St. Francis vs. Holy Innocents
4 p.m. - A Private Boys, St. Francis vs. Greenforest
6 p.m. - A Public Girls, Central Talbotton vs, Wheeler County
8 p.m. - A Public Boys, Treutlen vs. Hancock Central
Thursday
2 p.m. - 2A Girls, Southwest vs. Douglass-Atlanta
4 p.m. - 2A Boys, Swainsboro vs. Therrell
6 p.m. - 3A Girls, Beach vs. Greater Atlanta Christian
8 p.m. - 3A Boys, Pace vs. Jefferson
Friday
11 a.m. - 4A Girls, Americus Sumter vs. Troup
1 p.m. - 4A Boys, Woodward vs. Cross Creek
3 p.m. - AAASP
5 p.m. - Girls 3-Point Final
6 p.m. - 5A Girls, Buford vs. Kell
8 p.m. - 5A Boys, Dutchtown vs. Cedar Shoals
Saturday
1 p.m. - 6A Girls, Glynn Academy vs. Forest Park
3 p.m. - 6A Boys, Chattahoochee vs. Lanier
4:45 p.m. - Boys Slam Dunk Final
5:30 p.m. - 7A Girls, Westlake vs. Collins Hill
7:30 p.m. - 7A Boys, Wheeler vs. Grayson

Mercer takes Florida State to extra innings

The home field wasn’t all that much an advantage for Florida State, which gave up a flurry of runs late to Mercer and needed 11 innings to pull out a 9-8 win.

Mercer’s first loss of the season came against a top 25 team, but was also the 26th straight loss to the Seminoles.

The game was scheduled for Mercer’s OrthoGeorgia Park, but the start of days of rain inspired officials to move the game to Tallahassee.

FSU improved to 9-3 and Mercer fell to 11-1, still the best start in program history.

Mercer goes for more big game this weekend when West Virginia of the Big 12 visits OrthoGeorgia Park. The Mountaineers have made two NCAA Regionals under head coach Randy Mazey, and haven’t had a losing season since 2010, going 38-22 last year.

It’ll be a quasi-homecoming for four Mountaineers: Pope’s Braden Zarbnisky, Lassiter’s Zach Ottinger, Whitewater’s Tyler Doanes, and McEachern’s Victor Scott.

WVU beat Kennesaw State 7-1 in mid-February, and took two of three from former Mercer conference rival Jacksonville a week earlier.

First pitch is Friday at 6 p.m.

Braves Report

Hernandez makes a move on the mound

Nice HR for Riley

Around/About Central Georgia

Bobcats in national top 10

FVSU women fall in SIAC tournament

Wildcats stopped in conference tournament

Auburn visit to Mercer softball rescheduled

Honor Roll

Mercer’s Titus the SoCon defensive player of the year

Peach State College Basketball Report

Yellow Jackets suffer punch “to the gut” with no ACC tourney

But it was the right decision

Veterans’ alum Clerkley has a good senior night for Georgia State

As did the non-senior Panthers

Georgia hosts Florida on senior night

And Edwards’ home finale?

How much is Cochran making at UGA?

Around/About Georgia

Georgia Southern gets big road win at Georgia

SCOREBOARD

All coaches/teams need to send game info – all relevant stats, score by quarter, etc. – to centralgasports@gmail.com after their game. Game information should be sent to centralgasports@gmail.com within 30 minutes after completion
High School

Baseball

Columbus 2, Mary Persons 0

The hosts got single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Eric Snow had three of Mary Persons’ four hits, and Trippe Moore fanned seven with a walk and five hits in the loss.

GMC 3, Lake Oconee 0

Ryan Barsby sat down 12 batters by strikeout and allowed three walks and three hits for the Bulldogs, who won despite only three hits.

Soccer

G-Howard 6, West Laurens 1

Kennesaw State-bound Elizabeth Rodenroth scored five for the Huskies, Perry Holiday adding the final goal.

B-Westside 8, Crawford County 1

B-West Laurens 7, Howard 0

College

Baseball

Florida State 9, Mercer 8, 11 inn.

Georgia Southern 6, Georgia 3

Georgia Tech 11, Tennessee Tech 2