More than half-a-dozen northeast Georgia area teams moved through to the second round of the Georgia High School Association playoffs Friday.
The Buford boys and girls both advanced in Class 5A at home with the Lady Wolves whipping Chamblee 72-26 and the boys holding off Miller Grove 64-48 in a rematch of last year's second round matchup.
In Class 4A, the Flowery Branch girls rolled through to the Sweet 16 for a fourth straight season in a 70-43 rout of Pickens at home. However, the Chestatee girls fell in a heartbreaker 53-51 to Region 6-4A champion Heritage-Catoosa on the road and White County dropped a tough 63-54 decision to Northwest Whitfield on the road after trailing by one with three minutes left.
In Class 3A, Dawson County rebounded from a disappointing Region 7-3A tournament taking a 71-60 road win over Coahulla Creek and North Hall won its first playoff game since 2017 with a nerve-wracking 45-41 victory over North Murray at home. But East Jackson and Cherokee Bluff, both making their first-ever forays into the state tournament, saw their seasons come to an end. The Lady Bears fell to Region 6-3A champion Sonoraville 63-40 while the Lady Eagles lost 42-37 to Pace Academy in Atlanta.
In Class 2A, the Region 8-2A champion Rabun County girls opened their playoffs with an impressive 83-43 win over Heard County while Banks County went on the road and came back with a 52-29 victory over Bremen. The Union County boys fell 69-53 to Spencer.
In Class A Public, Towns County scored its first playoff win since 2014 with a 76-46 victory over Lanier County while Commerce fell 43-40 to Emanuel County Institute.
In Class 6A, the Gainesville girls missed out on their first playoff win since 2016 with a 69-43 loss to Langston Hughes on the road.
The girls will be back in action on Wednesday while the boys will play on Thursday in the second round.
FRIDAY"S FIRST ROUND SCORES
(Area teams in bold)
Class 6A
Langston Hughes girls 69, Gainesville 43
Class 5A
Buford girls 72, Chamblee 26
Buford boys 64, Miller Grove 48
Class 4A
Heritage-Catoosa girls 53, Chestatee 51
Flowery Branch girls 70, Pickens 43
Northwest Whitfield girls 63, White County 54
Class 3A
Pace Academy girls 42, East Jackson 37
Dawson County girls 71, Coahulla Creek 60
North Hall girls 45, North Murray 41
Sonoraville girls 63, Cherokee Bluff 40
Class 2A
Banks County girls 52, Bremen 29
Spencer boys 69, Union County 53
Rabun County girls 83, Heard County 43
Class A Public
Emanuel County Institute 43, Commerce 40
Towns County girls 73, Lanier County 43
