The high school basketball season came to a close over the weekend as champions in all classifications were crowned in the Gwinnett Arena in
Lawrenceville.
Recapping the championship games;
AAAAA Boys: Wheeler 73, Milton 53
Wheeler (25-7) claimed its fifth state title in the last 15 years with a 73-53 thrashing of Milton (24-8).
The Wildcats' super senior duo of Ari Stewart (21 points, 14 rebounds) and Richard Howell (20 points, 8 rebounds) dominated the action against Milton. Stewart is headed to Wake Forest next year while Howell will suit up for North Carolina State.
Richard Howell, Wheeler
File Photo By Jim Redman
"They showed why they are going to ACC schools,"
said a proud Lipscomb in a post-game interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "That's why they're on that
level."
Wheeler has won four state titles since 2000.
AAAA Boys: Miller Grove 59, Tucker 31
With all due respect to Tucker, it never really had a
chance against Miller Grove. After opening the game with a 20-2 run and holding the Tigers without a field goal in the first and third quarters, the
Hawks eased into a 59-31 win for the school's first ever state title in any
sport.
“My goal was to win a state championship since the eighth
grade,” Miller Grove point guard Mfon Udofia, a Georgia Tech signee, told the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s the reason I came to Miller Grove. I wanted to build our own
legacy.”
The lopsided win is more impressive considering that just a
year ago it was the Tigers who brought home the hardware.
Udofia led a balanced Miller Grove attack with 12 points.
AAA Boys: South Atlanta 81, Westover 62
Derrick Favors has received plenty of ink across the
state of Georgia for his abilities on the basketball court. The
future Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket finally got to add state basketball champion
to his resume after his South Atlanta Hornets (29-3) beat Westover (27-8) 81-62
for the AAA title.
Favors finished with 38 points, 14 rebounds, eight blocks and four assists.
South Atlanta head coach Michael Reddick, was pleased to see
Favors end his Hornet career on a high.
“We’ve been knocked
out in the first round the last three years, and this was a great way for
Derrick to go out,” Reddick told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Derrick Favors, South Atlanta
File Photo By Jim Redman
Nick Watkins also added 16 points and
seven assists for the Hornets.
AA Boys: Dublin 79, Blessed Trinity 64
Led by four players scoring in double figures, Dublin
beat Blessed Trinity 79-64 to claim its second AA championship in four years.
The win is especially sweet for the Irish after losing in the semifinals
last season.
"We thought we had it last year but we didn't,"
senior Chris Smith told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We
just said we weren't going to lose again."
Smith paced Dublin scorers with 28 points.
The Irish (31-1) finished the season on a 23-game win streak. Tawaski King added 16 points, Sherrard Brantley had 15 and Rashard Smith 12. Blessed Trinity (26-7) was lead by
Ryan LeGates had a team-high 23 points for Blessed Trinity.
A Boys: Whitefield Academy 69, Turner County 53
The Whitefield Academy WolfPack (26-5) upset Turner County,
69-53, for the Class A title in what head coach Tyrone Johnson referred to as
one of his worst years as a head coach, leaving some to fathom what a good year
might look like.
“[The players] were just so hardheaded early in the year,”
Johnson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “That sounds bad because we have eight seniors, but it
took a while to solidify our roles, and I got frustrated a lot with this team
this year.”
Girls Championship Capsules
AAAAA: Redan 64, Marietta 40 (Quortni Fambro, Redan: 18 points)
AAAA: Southwest DeKalb 59, Fayette County
AAA: Carrollton 51, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 31 (Karisma Boykin, Carrollton: 13 points)
AA: Buford 66, Model 35 (Jocelyn Danley, Buford: 21 points)
A: Wesleyan 71, Savannah Country Day 31 (Wesleyan: Fifth state title)
