MACON - Four different players scored in double figures and Mitchell-Baker roared out to a big first-half lead in a 96-62 win over Apalachee in a Class AA boys state semifinal Thursday. <br>
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Mitchell-Baker (27-4) advances to Saturday's state championship game, where it will face Decatur, a 66-53 winner over Pierce County in the other semifinal. <br>
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Eddie Dawson scored 16 points, B.J. Jones 15 and Eddie Jenkins 14 for the Mitchell-Baker Eagles, who have won five state titles since 1990. They led 58-30 at the half and played their bench most of the second half. <br>
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Scott Hopkins scored 13 points and Tyler Whatley 12 for Apalachee (22-10), which in its third year of existence made its first appearance in the state semifinals. <br>
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Evan Jones scored 21 points and Decatur held Pierce County to four points in the third quarter. <br>
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Decatur (26-3) earned a return trip to the AA championship game. The Bulldogs lost to Wilkinson County in 2002, and last won a state title in 1982, when they won the AAA crown. <br>
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Chaz Wright added 16 points for Decatur. <br>
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Lonnie Pearson and Tyrone Moore scored 12 points each for Pierce County (19-6), which trailed by as many as 22 points in the second half. The Bears went scoreless for the first five minutes of the third quarter while Decatur expanded an 11-point halftime lead to 47-26. <br>
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Pierce pulled within 11 on a 3-pointer by Tyrone Moore with 1:08 to play, but got no closer.
