Day 2 of the Georgia High School Association state basketball tournament was not as heralded as Day 1.
Seven of the nine Northeast Georgia boys and two girls teams exited the playoffs in the first round on Wednesday. Only Lakeview Academy and Union County boys advanced to the Sweet 16 with big wins.
Union County, a No. 2 seed in Class 2A, routed Murray County 95-63, getting double figures from five players. Hayden Hughes led the Panthers with 23 points, while Eli Underwood poured in 20 points, Maddox Young had 14, Jude Ellis hit 13, and Houston Henry chipped in 12.
The Panther will play the winner of the Drew Charter/Columbia game on Saturday.
The Lakeview Academy boys blew past Brookwood 57-26 to advance to the Class 3A quarterfinals of the Georgia Independent Athletic Association tournament on the road Wednesday. The Lions opened the game on a 10-0 run to lead from the tip to the end. Justyce Sadler and Tayden Ware scored 18 points each to lead the Lions, and JR Thompson added 10. Lakeview will play St. Andrews on Saturday at First Presbyterian Day in Macon Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.
In Class 7A, the Buford boys, a No. 1 seed, to No. 4 seed Berkmar, 58-53 at Buford Arena. The Wolves fell behind in the first quarter and trailed at halftime, 35-24. Buford closed the gap in the second half but could never take control in the loss. London Williams led Buford with 17 points, while Will Robinson had 11.
In Class 6A, North Forsyth and Habersham Central fell in close battles on the road.
Habersham Central led Pope at halftime in a Marietta barnburner by three points, eventually losing 63-67. The Raiders trailed by just three points with 35 seconds remaining in the game. Bryce Pittman led Hab with 17 pints, Cole Gary added 14, Josiah McCurry scored a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Brannon Gaines had 10 points.
Meanwhile, North Forsyth, playing without star guard Ka-El Delgadillo, led Blessed Trinity at halftime 33-29 but was outscored 23-10 in the third quarter and couldn't rally back to the lead in the 68-56 loss. Will Sokol led the Raiders with 15 points, Brayden Turner had 14, and Cole Kirouac chipped in 10.
In Class 5A, No. 2 seed Jefferson lost a tough one to Cass, 68-49, at home.
White County, a No. 1 seed in Class 3A, lost to a red-hot No. 4 seed Hebron Christian, 74-55, at the White County gym. Jadon Yeh finished with 28 points for White County, and Noah Futch had 10 points.
In Class 2A, No. 2 seeded Banks County didn't have enough to knock off No. 3 seed North Murray in a 72-61 loss in Homer.
In Class A Division 2, Towns County faced the 7-footers of Greenforest Christian Academy in an 80-38 loss. Layne Rouse led the Indians, a No. 4 seed, with 18 points.
In the two area girls games, No. 2 seed Hiram jumped all over No. 3 seed Flowery Branch taking a 40-8 lead into the locker room at the half. It didn't get any better for the Lady Falcons in the second half as they could only muster 16 points in the 68-24 loss in the first round of the Class 5A tournament. Jess Tamplin led the Lady Falcons with 7 points.
In Class 2A girls, East Jackson fell on the road to Model 50-38.
GIRLS STATE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE, Wednesday, February 22
Class 5A
Hiram 68, Flowery Branch 24
Class 2A
Model 50, East Jackson 38
BOYS STATE TOURNAMENT SCOREBOARD, February 22
Class 7A
Berkmar 58, Buford 53
Class 6A
Blessed Trinity 68, North Forsyth 56
Pope 63, Habersham Central 56
Class 5A
Cass 68, Jefferson 49
Class 3A
Hebron Christian 74, White County 55
Class 2A
Union County 95, Murray County 63
North Murray 72, Banks County 61
Class A Division 2
Greenforest Christian 80, Towns County 38
GIAA Class 3A
Lakeview Academy 57, Brookwood 26
