CARROLLTON, Ga. — Buford took every shot Carrollton landed to power to a 62-54 come-from-behind win to roll into the Class 6A semifinals in front of a packed house at Criswoll Court on Wednesday.
Alahn Sumler and London Williams led the Wolves (24-6) with 16 points each.
"I was really proud of all our guys for showing toughness," Buford coach Benjie Wood said. "It's a great environment here. Credit to Carrollton tonight. They brought a lot of energy and toughness, tonight. But we just want to survive and advance. We want to be 1-0. So, we were 1-0 today, and we want to be 1-0 Saturday."
Jaylon Taylor added 11 points in the win. Buford had six players in the scoring column.
"We're a team," Wood said. "The great part about our team, you know how basketball is, some guys go on good runs and some struggle. Our team throughout this year, when one guy struggled, then somebody else picked him up. That's a tribute to our kids. We have to learn and get better, but I'm really proud of their effort and toughness in the second half."
The Trojans, behind Day'Vionne Bigsby, played off the packed house to control the entire first half, including a 10-0 run with 3:35 left in the opening half to take a 28-17 lead.
But the Wolves round a way to battle back and end the half on a 9-1 spurt to close the game 29-26. Williams, Sumler and Taylor were key in the rally before halftime.
In the second half, Buford held the Trojans scoreless for the first 3:30 minutes of the third quarter. They also took advantage with Taylor and Sumler pushing the Wolves back to the lead for the first time since early in the first quarter, 31-29. Carrollton would never lead again.
Buford will travel to the University of West Georgia on Saturday in the semifinals and will face the winner of the Sequoyah at 4 p.m.
