DeKalb Schools Basketball: Three More Wins into Elite Eight

DeKalb picked up three more victories on Wednesday night to give the
school district eight entries into the Elite Eight field of the respective
high school state basketball tournaments.

The No. 9 Martin Luther King Jr. Lions (21-9) had four players in double
figures scoring to move past South Cobb (14-15) 77-61 into the Class AAAAA
Elite Eight.

The group of four Lions was led by De’Aires Tate with 17 points and 10
rebounds including a pair of offensive rebounds for easy points underneath
in the first half as the Lions built a 41-31 lead at the half.

Tate and Greg King, who had 15 points in the game, both had dunks in the
opening two minutes of the second half as the lead expanded to 47-33.

South Cobb’s Devocio Butler had a game-high 19 points and led a South Cobb
rally in the third quarter to cut the lead to nine at 52-43 on a basket
with 1:36 to play in the quarter, but the Lions shut the Eagles down while
scoring four points in the final minute for a 13-point advantage heading
into the fourth quarter.

Tate opened the fourth quarter with his second offensive rebound and dunk
and Paul Jackson (13 points in the game) drilled a three-pointer from the
right corner to keep the lead at 13 and South Cobb could get no closer
than 12 the rest of the way.

Tivius Guthrie was the fourth Lion in double figures with 11 points while
leading the offense and handling South Cobb’s full court pressure.

The Lions move on to face Harrison (22-7) which upset No. 6 ranked
Valdosta (23-6) 63-51 to advance to the quarterfinals at Fort Valley State
on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

In other Class AAAAA action involving DeKalb teams, Stephenson battled No.
2 ranked North Cobb (26-4) to the end before falling 60-57 to close out
their Cinderella postseason run. The Jaguars finish the year at 9-21.

The only Class AAAA team in action on Wednesday was No. 4 ranked Southwest
DeKalb which travelled to Cedar Shoals in an effort to make its second
consecutive Elite Eight appearance.  The Panthers did just that as they
slipped past the home team 72-69 to improve to 20-9 on the season.

The Panthers advance to take on No. 6 ranked Chattahoochee (25-5) which
knocked off No. 9 Douglass County (26-4) 91-65. The two meet at 5:30 p.m.
at the University of West Georgia Coliseum in Carrollton on Friday.

A pair of DeKalb teams was in action in Class AAA boys’ play with No. 1
ranked Columbia was hosting Dalton and Towers travelled to No. 6 Allatoona.

Columbia (28-1) pulled away in the second quarter and led Dalton 65-45
with one quarter to play on the way to a 71-54 win at home. The Eagles
travel to Dalton on Saturday to take on No. 2 ranked Carrollton (26-3)
which defeated North Hall 54-45. The teams play at 8:30 p.m. at the North
Georgia Trade Center.

Towers was not as fortunate as Allatoona held the Titans to just 39 points
in a 50-39 win. The Titans finish the season 20-9.

STATE PLAYOFF RESULTS

Wednesday, Feb. 29 (Second Round)
Class AAAAA Boys
M.L. King (21-9) 77, South Cobb (14-15) 61
North Cobb (26-4) 60, Stephenson (9-21) 57 (season over)

Class AAAA Boys
SW DeKalb (20-9) 72, Cedar Shoals (20-10) 69

Class AAA Boys
Allatoona (26-4) 50, Towers (20-9) 39 (season over)
Columbia (28-1) 71, Dalton (21-8) 54

STATE PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

Friday, March 2 (Third Round)
Class AAAA at West Georgia (Carrollton)
(G) Chamblee (28-2) vs. SW DeKalb (19-11), 4 p.m.
(B) SW DeKalb (20-9) vs. Chattahoochee (25-5), 5:30 p.m.
(G) Miller Grove (22-4) vs. Rome (22-8), 7 p.m.
(B) Miller Grove (21-9) vs. Marist (20-7), 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 3
Class AAA at Dalton (North GA Trade Center)
(G) Columbia (21-5) vs. Troup (23-5), 7 p.m.
(B) Columbia (28-1) vs. Carrollton (26-3), 8:30 p.m.

Class AAAAA at Fort Valley State University
(B) M. L. King Jr. (21-9) vs. Harrison (22-7), 8:30 p.m.