FLOWERY BRANCH — Cherokee Bluff pushed its season-long win streak to five in grand fashion rallying from an early deficit to knock off No. 6 Greater Atlanta Christian, 70-58, Friday night at home.
The win also moved the Bears (15-8, 7-3 Region 7-3A) into a tie for second place with the Spartans (16-7, 7-3 Region 7-3A) who had their four-game win streak snapped.
GAC led 18-16 after the first quarter but Cherokee Bluff used a 17-10 second quarter to grab a 33-28 halftime lead. The Bears increased their lead to 51-41 heading into the fourth quarter and pulled away down the stretch.
Griffin Neville paced the Bears with 24 points. Bosko Norman added 16 for Cherokee Bluff.
BUFORD 73,
CEDAR SHOALS 49
If there's any wonder about what happened to the Class 5A defending state champion Wolves, just ask Cedar Shoals.
Buford (17-5, 6-2 Region 8-5A) continued its redemption tour on Friday with a stunning rout of the No. 6 Jaguars (20-2, 6-1 Region 8-5A) and snapping their 15-game winning streak at the Buford High School Athletic building.
Sebastion Augustave went off on the Jags with a game-high 30 points, 15 from 3-point range, and his 13 points in the third quarter basically put the bow on the region win. Caleb Williams scored 17 points, and Jaylon Taylor had 14.
The Wolves led 40-17 lead after the first 16 minutes and 60-34 at the end of the third quarter.
The win moves Buford into sole possession of second in the region, one game ahead of Walnut Grove and one game behind Cedar Shoals. The Wolves play Loganville at home on Tuesday and travel to Clarke Central on Friday.
DAWSON COUNTY 55,
LUMPKIN COUNTY 47
Dawson County’s Campbell Reed surpassed the 1,000-point milestone with a 27-point effort as the Tigers sealed the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Region 7-3A tournament.
The Tigers (21-2, 10-0 Region 7-3A) were held to their lowest offensive output of the season as the Indians (8-15, 4-7 Region 7-3A) slowed the game down for most of the game.
Neither score for the first four minutes of the game but the Tigers eventually took an 11-10 lead. It was a 22-21 Dawson County lead at halftime.
But Lumpkin assembled several rallies and claimed a 28-27 lead with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter. The Tigers closed out the period with a 6-0 run and carried the momentum into the fourth quarter, building an 11-point lead.
Mason Barnes scored 16 for the Tigers.
Lumpkin County was paced by Brian Cunane’s 14 points.
BANKS COUNTY 54,
ELBERT COUNTY 51
The Leopards held on late to take a key Region 8-2A victory on the road.
Banks County (17-4, 8-2 Region 8-2A) used its defense in the second quarter to open up a 30-18 halftime lead. The Blue Devils, however, answered with a 23-11 third quarter to tie the game at 41 heading into the fourth quarter.
Carl Cleveland recorded another double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Pierce Martin had 10 points and 9 rebounds and Dakota Orr snagged 10 boards for the Leopards.
CHESTATEE 52,
WHITE COUNTY 49
The War Eagles matched a season-high with their third consecutive win and swept the season series with the Warriors Friday night.
White County (11-12, 3-7 Region 7-4A) led most of the first half eventually taking a 24-21 lead into the intermission. Chestatee (12-12, 6-5 Region 7-4A) exploded for 18 points in the third quarter to take a 39-38 lead into the fourth quarter. They held on down the stretch.
Brenton Nicholson led a 3-point barrage for Chestatee draining six 3-pointers for his 18 points. Jonah Bull added 10 points and Kyle Bowmar had 9 points on three 3-pointers for the War Eagles.
Silas Mulligan paced White County with 17 points. Will Sampson had 14 points, including four 3-pointers.
DENMARK 86,
WEST HALL 53
The Spartans hung with the sixth-ranked Danes for one quarter trailing just 18-17 but a 24-6 second quarter run by Denmark blew the game open.
Colton Smith connected on five 3-pointers to score 15 points for West Hall. Sawyer Passmore also had 15 points and Quincy Holcomb 11 points for the Spartans.
WALNUT GROVE 65,
JOHNSON 34
The Warriors used a 23-8 third quarter to blow open a close game against the Knights in a Region 8-5A contest at the Johnson gym.
Johnson trailed just 15-7 after the first quarter and 29-19 at halftime. But after the third quarter barrage the Knights fell behind 52-27.
Buddha Johnson paced the Knights with 11 points. Jesse Harbin had 9 points for Johnson.
The Knights next will travel to Cedar Shoals on Tuesday.
LANIER CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 77,
PEACHTREE ACADEMY 69
The Lightning avenged an earlier loss to Peachtree on Friday night.
Trevin Last has 22 points and 18 rebounds to lead LCA. Stephen Clark poured in 16 points and Thomas Avery recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
