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March to Macon: High school basketball playoffs set to start

daniel mayes, the daily citizen, dalton, ga.
·6 min read

Feb. 21—The march to Macon is here.

The Georgia High School Association basketball playoffs get underway tonight with the first round of a tournament that leads to the state championship games in Macon in early March.

Eleven local teams — six girls teams and five boys squads — enter the state tournament with hopes at making a postseason run.

Christian Heritage aims for title run, another shot at Greenforest

Christian Heritage heads into the Class A Division 2 playoffs with just two losses on the season and a No. 2 ranking in the classification, yet the Lions are just the second seed in their own Region 7.

Unfortunately for Christian Heritage, that region also includes the No. 1 ranked team.

Greenforest Christian Academy handed the Lions both of the losses on their 22-2 record, one in the regular season and one in the region title game.

Christian Heritage heads into the postseason with the possibility of getting another shot at Greenforest, but that wouldn't happen until the state championship game.

First, the Lions must deal with Lincoln County. Christian Heritage hosts the third seed from Region 8 Wednesday night at 6:30.

A trip to play Macon County or a home date with Twiggs County awaits Christian Heritage in the second round if the Lions win. The Lions have reached the Final Four twice in the last four seasons but were bounced in the first round a year ago.

Region champs get home starts

Two local teams earned region titles this season, and they're both on the girls side.

Murray County made its playoff return after 21 years last season as a two-seed, but this year, after winning a region championship for the first time since 1967, Murray County enters as a top seed with home-court advantage through at least two rounds, should the Lady Indians advance.

Murray gets Region 8-2A's Union County in the first round tonight at 6:30 at home. In the second round, Murray would host either Callaway or KIPP Atlanta. Murray made the Sweet 16 last year, but the last time the Lady Indians advanced further was a quarterfinal trip in 1978.

A team that knows about using home court to its advantage is Northwest Whitfield.

The Lady Bruins won the Region 7-4A title last season and rode home court to an Elite 8 appearance. Northwest repeated this season despite entering the tournament as the third seed. The Lady Bruins host East Hall tonight at 6 in the first round. East Hall sat outside the playoff picture before the Region 8-4A tournament, but earned its way to a playoff appearance with an upset win.

The Lady Bruins would face Westminster or Woodland (Stockbridge) in Tunnel Hill with a win. The Lady Bruins have reached at least the Sweet 16 for seven years in a row.

Region runners-up aim for playoff bounce-back

The North Murray boys and Coahulla Creek girls join Christian Heritage in falling short in their respective region title games, but a home playoff start is a good consolation.

North Murray and Model were the class of Region 7-2A all season, and Model got the better of North Murray in the region title game on Friday, sending the 22-3 Mountaineers to the two-line. North Murray hopes the shift to a fast-paced, sub-heavy attack can pay dividends and lead a deep team on a deep playoff run.

North Murray gets a battle-tested Banks County team, which finished third in a strong Region 8-2A, in the first round Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Mountaineers would host Landmark Christian or travel to South Atlanta in the second round. North Murray has advanced to the Sweet 16 twice, last in 2019.

Coahulla Creek's girls nearly pulled the upset over once-beaten Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe in the Region 6-3A championship game on Friday, but the Lady Colts still have a home playoff game to show for a great season.

That reward gives Coahulla Creek a first-round game against Douglass, which comes in at 3-13, tonight at 6. The Lady Colts would host Franklin County or travel to play Wesleyan in the second round. Coahulla Creek has two trips to the second round in school history, most recently two seasons ago.

Road warriors

The remaining six playoff teams from Whitfield and Murray counties all need road wins to advance in the state tournament.

The Murray County boys were inches from a berth in the Region 7-2A title game and a home playoff game, but fell short 56-54 in overtime to eventual champ Model in the semifinals. The Indians throttled Rockmart 64-44 in the third-place game, and they're playing their best ball of the season with senior scorer Tad Stone back in the lineup. Murray plays ub Blairsville in the first round Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. against Region 8-2A's second-seeded team, Union County. The Indians are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2020, and a win would move them into the second round for the first time since 2011.

The Dalton girls are another team that barely missed on a home playoff berth. The Lady Catamounts lost in overtime to Hiram in the tough Region 7-5A tournament. 20-win Dalton travels to 18-9 Loganville, the second seed from Region 8-5A, tonight at 6. Loganville was the top-seeded team in its region entering the postseason, but the Red Devils slipped to the two spot after falling in the region tournament finals. The last time a Dalton team advanced past the first round was during a run to the state finals in 2011.

The boys teams from Northwest Whitfield and Southeast Whitfield battled in the Region 7-4A third-place game, with the Bruins earning the three seed and Southeast settling for a four spot. Northwest travels to Madison County Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip, while Southeast travels to Loganville to face Walnut Grove at the same time. The returns for knocking off its rivals for a higher seed may be dubious for Northwest, at least in the first round. Madison County finished 25-3 on the year, but third-seeded Walnut Grove, which is 16-12, upset Madison County in the Region 8-4A championship game to earn the top seed. A trip to the Sweet 16 in 2017 was the deepest playoff run for Northwest, while a playoff win for Southeast would be their first since a 1988 Elite 8 appearance.

North Murray is making its return to the playoffs after not taking part in the postseason since its 2019 squad put together 19 wins. The Lady Mountaineers are the fourth-seeded team from Region 7-2A and travel to face Region 8-2A champion Banks County tonight at 6. North Murray hasn't advanced past the round of 32.

A year after going winless, Christian Heritage's girls are back in the state playoffs as the third seed from Region 7-A Division 2. Christian Heritage plays Towns County on the road tonight at 6:30. The Lady Lions are back in the postseason after a run of making at least the Sweet 16 for four straight seasons from 2018 to 2021. A quarterfinal appearance in 2018 is their deepest playoff run.