BLAIRSVILLE, Ga. — Union County used a 28-1 third quarter en route to a 75-33 rout of Westside-Macon on Saturday in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs.
The win pushed the Panthers (24-5) into the Elite 8 round for the first since 2001. They will take on the KIPP-Morgan County winner on Wednesday.
Against the Seminoles (18-10) Union County started slow, trailing 9-8 after the opening period. The Panthers began their comeback in the second quarter, using a 20-12 spurt to take a 28-21 halftime lead.
They blew it open with the big run in the third behind Kaden Combs, who scored all 10 of his points in the quarter. The only Westside point came on a Joshua Harden free throw as the Seminoles trailed 56-22 heading into the fourth.
Houston Henry led four Union County players in double figures with 18 points. Maddox Young added 16 points, and Vince Mareuka scored 10 points for the Panthers.
Harden led Westside with 10 points.
ETOWAH 64,
BUFORD 61
Etowah pulled off its second road win in the Class 6A playoffs on Saturday.
This time, the Eagles took down Buford, 64-61, at The Buford Arena in a heartbreaker for the Wolves. Etowah blocked a potential game-tying 3-point attempt by Buford at the buzzer to preserve the win.
Buford started strong, taking a 21-19 lead at the end of the first quarter. But Etowah used a 17-10 second run for a 36-31 lead by halftime. The Eagles built a 50-40 lead late in the third quarter as the Wolves went cold on offense.
But Buford stormed back in the fourth. The Wolves chipped away until pulling within 61-59 with 2 minutes left and trailed 63-61 with under a minute. The Eagles made it 64-61 with a free throw, but Buford’s attempt to send it to overtime was swatted away in the waning seconds.
Dillon Nixon paced Buford with 19 points. Edward Hunter III added 15 points, and Kyle Carpenter scored 13 points for the Wolves.
Aiden Weaver led Etowah with 20 points. Alex Young had 19 points for the Eagles.
Etowah will be on the road again in the Elite 8, taking on the Newton-Peachtree Ridge winner next week.
JEFFERSON 65,
PEACH CO. 45
The Dragons (19-7) roared into the quarterfinals of the Class 3A playoffs for the first time since 2022 with a dominating win over No. 31 seed Peach County (11-16) at home on Saturday.
Karter Shields was key in the Dragons' win, scoring 15 points and was one rebound shy of the double-double with nine boards.
Colton Grant also hit the double-digit mark with 12 points and six rebounds.
Dashaun Keith and Clay Owen each scored nine points. Keith also had eight assists and six rebounds. Christian Hester chipped in five points and seven assists.
Jefferson will be on the road in the next round of the playoffs. The Dragons will face the winner of Monroe-Pickens.
LAKEVIEW 75,
WESTMINSTER-AUGUSTA 39
Eli Mayfield scored 16 points, and Jude Elliss added 15 to lead the Lions past Westminster School of Augusta in the quarterfinals of the GIAA playoffs.
The Lions held Westminster to two single-digit quarters en route to a 35-14 halftime lead. They continued pouring it on in the second half, leading 50-31 after the third quarter.
Tayden Ware scored 12 points, and Justyce Sadler finished with 11 in the win.
Lakeview (23-6) will play St. Andrews on Wednesday at Columbus State. Tip is set for 4:30 p.m.
(See below the scores of Saturday's 2nd round games:)
GHSA PREP BASKETBALL 2ND ROUND BOYS PLAYOFF SCORES SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22
CLASS 6A
Etowah 64, Buford 61
CLASS 5A
Brunswick boys (R1, S2) at Habersham Central (R8, S1)
CLASS 4A
Tucker 62, East Forsyth 59
CLASS 3A (PSR RANKINGS)
Cross Creek 82, East Hall 71
Jefferson 65, Peach County 45
CLASS 2A (PSR RANKINGS)
Union County 75, Westside-Macon 33
CLASS A DIVISION 1 (PSR RANKINGS)
Southwest-Macon 79, Banks County 41
BEST Academy 72, Rabun County 59
Putnam County 72, Commerce 63
