GHSA semifinals: Southwest, Jones County, Putnam County, East Laurens repping Central Georgia in Saturday's semis (with semifinal schedule/results, championship schedule)
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Southwest has returned, after a decades-long absence, to the upper parts of the GHSA basketball mountain.
Vidalia has been there awhile.
So those on hand at Fort Valley State on Saturday are likely to see one serious basketball slugfest.
Top seed Vidalia is 26-2, cracking 20 wins for the fourth time in the last five years, and hasn’t had a losing season in nearly two decades. The Vikings have won 25 or more games six times since 2012-13, including a 30-1 mark in 2013-14, losing to Calhoun in the state playoffs.
They finished second in the state in 2018 and 2019, losing the second time by a bucket to Therrell.
Meanwhile, Southwest was a haze of mediocrity – on a good year – and coaching changes, finally returning to stability and, eventually, success under Monquencio Hardnett.
He is Southwest’s second-winningest coach, behind legendary Duck Richardson, and – according to information submitted by the program to MaxPreps – is a win away from the magic 100-win mark.
The two go in a GHSA Class A/Division I semifinal at Fort Valley State, the winner to get Fitzgerald or Rabun County in the finale on Friday.
Southwest senior guard Chase Dupree set an impressive program standard in the second-round win over East Laurens, becoming the first in the storied Patriots history to pass the 2,000-point mark.
Southwest is one of four Central Georgia teams left, the only one on the boys side. Two of them will also be in Fort Valley, which could be mighty electric all day.
Putnam County’s girls have only two losses, and face 21-8 Elbert County in the first game at FVSU. The War Eagles lone losses are to 4A semifinalist Jones County and region foe Lamar County, which finished 24-6 after losing 61-58 in three overtimes to Elbert County.
Region 2-A/Division I has a second representative with East Laurens’ girls, checking in at 26-4 and on a five-game winning streak.
All five wins have been by double figures, including the 64-42 quarterfinal win over Bacon County.
Thomasville storms in on an 18-game winning streak, last losing on Jan. 9 to Brantley County, a loss the Bulldogs avenged twice after.
And they’re tight-game tested, with four straight single-digit wins, including 46-44 over Rabun County to get here.
Second-year head coach and former Westside boys assistant Takeo Gray has Jones County on a roll, going 51-7 the past two seasons, among their best runs in program history.
The Greyhounds have won nine straight, led by Kamiyah Adams’ 19 points a game. They’ll need that and more against the two-time defending 5A champs, who have won 10 straight, few of them close.
Here are the semifinals schedules and results for classes involving Central Georgia schools, and the full championship schedule.
Semifinals
Class 5A
Georgia State, Friday
Girls: R7/1 Milton 59, R2/1 Coffee 48
Boys: R4/1 Woodward Academy 62, R7/1 Gainesville 61
Girls: R6/3 Creekview 57, R6/2 River Ridge 50
Boys: R5/1 Alexander 85, R4/3 Tri-Cities 76
Class 4A
Akins Ford Arena, Athens, Saturday
1 p.m., Girls: R2/1 Jones County, 25-5, vs. R6/1 Kell, 24-5
3 p.m., Boys: R4/1 Pace Academy vs. R6/1 Cambridge
5 p.m., Girls: R7/2 Cartersville vs. R5/1 Marist
7 p.m., Boys: R3/1 Jonesboro vs. R5/1 St. Pius
Class 3A
Legacy Arena, Douglasville, Saturday
1 p.m., Girls: No. 1 Monroe vs. No. 4 Sandy Creek
3 p.m., Boys: No. 17 Harlem vs. No. 12 Douglass
5 p.m., Girls: No. 6 Pickens vs. No. 2 Heritage-Catoosa
7 p.m., Boys: No. 6 East Hall vs. No. 2 Cross Creek
Class 2A
Legacy Arena, Douglasville, Friday
Girls: No. 5 Hardaway 61, No. 1 Josey 59
Boys: No. 5 Morgan County 69, No. 16 Therrell 62
Girls: No. 2 Murray County 61, No. 3 Columbia 47
Boys: 41 No. 2 Butler 50, No. 6 KIPP Atlanta Collegiate
Class A Division I
Fort Valley State, Saturday
1 p.m. Girls: No. 8 Putnam County, 21-2, vs. No. 12 Elbert County, 21-8
3 p.m. Boys: No. 1 Vidalia, 26-2, vs. No. 4 Southwest, 28-6
5 p.m. Girls: No. 3 East Laurens, 26-4, vs. No. 2 Thomasville, 25-3
7 p.m. Boys: No. 3 Fitzgerald vs. No. 2 Rabun County
Class A Division II
Fort Valley State, Friday
Girls: R4/1 Wilcox County 71, R7/1 Bowdon 45
Boys: R2/1 Clinch County 53, R6/1 Chattahoochee County 44
Girls: R8/1 Washington-Wilkes 57, R3/1 Metter 37
Boys: R3/1 Portal 60, R8/1 Washington-Wilkes 48
Championships
Macon Coliseum
Wednesday
1 p.m. - Private Girls, Hebron Christian, 29-1, vs. Holy Innocents, 24-6
3 p.m. - Private Boys, Darlington, 29-2 vvs. Holy Innocents, 26-3
4:45 p.m. - Boys 3-Point Contest
5:30 p.m. PM - 3A Girls
7:30 p.m. PM - 3A Boys
Thursday
1 p.m. - A Div 2 Girls, Wilcox County 28-1, vs. Washington-Wilkes, 21-7
3 p.m. - A Div 2 Boys, Clinch County, 28-3, vs. Portal, 26-5
4:45 p.m. - Girls 3-Point Contest
5:30 p.m. - 4A Girls
7:30 p.m. - 4A Boys
Friday
1 p.m. - A Div 1 Girls
3 p.m. - A Div 1 Boys
4:45 p.m . - Co-Ed 3-Point Contest
5:30 p.m. - 5A Girls, Milton, 27-4, vs. Creekview, 26-5
7:30 p.m. - 5A Boys Woodward 25-6 vs. Alexander, 29-2
Saturday
11 a.m. - 2A Girls, Hardaway, 23-8, vs. Murray County, 26-4
1 p.m. - 2A Boys, Morgan County, 25-6, vs. Butler, 25-4
3 p.m. - AAASP
4:45 p.m. - Slam Dunk Contest
5:30 p.m. - 6A Girls
7:30 p.m. - 6A Boys