Region tournament roundup: How Johnson boys and Calvary girls dominated to win titles

The state basketball playoffs begin this week -- and two area teams rolled to dominating region tournament wins on Saturday to seize momentum -- and the all important home court advantage headed into the postseason.

The Johnson boys team got off to a 10-0 run and never looked back in a 66-51 victory over Long County to win the Region 3-3A title in a game at Calvary Day.

And on the girls side, tournament host Calvary Day had a strong performance in a 61-42 win over Liberty County -- notching the 10th and final regional crown of retiring coach Jackie Hamilton's career -- and the first for star senior guard Hannah Cail.

The Johnson boys improved to 22-4 on the season win the convincing win. Johnson is set to host Hephzibah (10-14) on Tuesday or Wednesday at a time to be announced in a first round Class 3A playoff matchup.

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Junior guard Josh Quarterman was a force offensively as he poured in 25 points, while reaching the 1,000 point milestone for his career. Antonio Baker, the senior star who is recovering from an illness, scored 17 and Kadin Davis added 10 for the Atom Smashers.

"We played as a team tonight and got everyone involved," said Quarterman, who transferred in this year from Bethesda Academy. "Winning this means a lot to us because we've been dealing with some players being sick and injured, but the next man has always been stepping up to help us win."

Chuck Campbell, in his third season leading the program, said his squad is peaking at the perfect time."We played together, we weren't selfish with the ball at all tonight," Campbell said. "I never felt like we were in trouble. When our big three of Quarterman, Baker and (Malachi) Robinson are locked in like they have been lately -- we're a hard team to stop."

It was the 10th win in a row for Johnson, which is currently ranked No. 1 among Class 3A teams in the state by Sandysspiel.com.

Calvary led by five at the half, but the shots started dropping and the Cavs ran away with it after intermission to win by 19 over Liberty County, which edged No. 2 seed Savannah Country Day in a semifinal Friday.

It was the first region title for Cail, the star guard who recently broke the school scoring record and has a chance to reach 1,900 for her career. She took control of the game in the second quarter and scored 20 points, while showing off her excellent ball handling skills on several occasions.

On one of those, she was being covered closely by Liberty County's Kashauna Woods, a solid defender, when Cail crossed over before dishing off to Destini Gooddine, who buried a trey from the right wing. That turned out to be a sweet spot for the sophomore -- who had four 3-pointers from the same angle among her 20 points.

"We've never won a region title since I've been here -- so this is the first, and last, for me," said Cail, who has signed to play at Georgia College & State University. "So this means a lot to win it with this team. We're a young team, and I've tried to be a good leader. We've got a lot of energy, and we started forcing some turnovers and made a lot of shots in the second half to pull away."

Gooddine said Cail has been a great leader and teammate, and the team's chemistry is getting better with every game.

Hamilton, who recently announced he would retire as the Calvary coach after 18 seasons, said he wasn't sure how many region titles he had won. A quick look at the records on the gym's wall revealed it was his 10th. He also led Calvary to a Class A state crown in 2008.

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"I guess that's good when you lose count," Hamilton said with a laugh. "This one is big because the girls have worked so hard to get here. It was a goal we set when the season started and they accomplished it. The shots weren't dropping in the first half, but we stayed poised and didn't panic."

Calvary improved to 21-6 on the season and is set to host Salem (5-16) in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Beach boys beat Groves to take third

The Beach boys beat Groves 73-68 in overtime to finish third in the Region 3-3A tournament. The Bulldogs are still without star senior Shamarrie Hugie, who hurt his wrist in a loss to Johnson on Feb. 3, but Beach's supporting cast came through when it was needed most.

Tyrese Bellamy scored 18 points, Chandler Reid had 17 and Jayden Newton contributed 15 for Beach, which improved to 21-5. Sidney Flaggs had a huge game for Groves with 28 points and Tyrone Chisholm added 15.

Beach will be on the road to face Harlem (11-8) on Tuesday or Wednesday at a time to be announced, while Groves (15-1 ) will have to face defending state champion Cross Creek (16-10) on Tuesday or Wednesday at a time to be announced.

Long County 40, Savannah Country Day 30

The Long County girls got a big bucket in the final minute from Jada Young to take the lead over SCD and win the game.

Young scored 11 and Adryana Harley had 15 for Long County, which took third in the Region 3-3A tournament with the win.

Kat Johnson led SCD with 15 points. The Hornets (21-5) will be on the road to face Cross Creek (22-4) on Tuesday or Wednesday at a time to be announced.

Host Woodville-Tompkins boys and girls sweep region tournament Friday

It was a day that Alfonzo Ross won't soon forget as everything seemed to come together at once for the Woodville-Tompkins basketball star.

The senior scored a team-high 18 points to lead the Wolverines to a 58-50 win over visiting Savannah High to win the Region 3A Division I region tournament title. After the victory, he was given his plaque as Region Player of the Year -- and to top things off, Ross was presented with a framed No. 2 jersey recognizing the fact that he passed the 1,500 point milestone for his career in a win over Screven County on Thursday.

Woodville improved to 18-9 on the season with an 11-0 mark in region play with an excellent team effort. Sophomore Jonathon Pickering scored 16 points, while Joey Bell ran the point well and scored 11, while 6-foot-7 senior Wes Walker provided a strong presence in the paint while adding nine points. Senior captain Terrence Bush also played a pivotal role with his defense and leadership.

"We started this journey last March when we lost to Butler in the (Class 2A) state semifinals," said Woodville coach Lenny Williams, selected as the region coach of the year in his sixth year leading the program. "They physically beat us down -- so we immediately got to work in the weight room getting after it four days a week. That hard work and resilience has paid off at the end of the season.

"These guys earned it -- to go undefeated through the regular season and then beat a strong Savannah High team, coached by one of the GOATs in Tim Jordan, shows how special this group is."

Ross was always there when the Wolverines needed a bucket, and he was leading a raucous celebration in the locker room afterward.

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"This has got to be the No. 1 day in my life," said Ross, who committed to play at the University of South Carolina at Beaufort earlier this month. "To win the region title and the award and reaching 1,500 points were all great -- but being able to celebrate it with my teammates is even better.

"We've got a great team with the leadership of three seniors and a bunch of younger players who are stepping up. Coach Williams never lets up on us, we're always working to get better and we're going to keep on working."

Savannah High (20-7) battled hard after losing the first two meeting against the Wolverines by 27 and 23 points. DeShawn Davis lead the Blue Jackets with 19 points and Maki Joyner added nine. The Blue Jackets are set to host Crawford County (8-19) in a first round playoff game on Tuesday or Wednesday at a time to be announced.

The Wolverines will host Lamar County (8-17) in a first-round playoff game either Tuesday or Wednesday at a time to be announced.

Woodville-Tompkins girls roll to title

The Woodville-Tompkins girls won a region title of their own in dominating fashion as they cruised to a 73-29 win over visiting Bryan County.

The Wolverines improved to 22-5 on the season with an 11-0 mark in region play. Senior Janiyah Heyward was recognized as the Region 3A Division I Offensive Player of the Year after the game -- and she showed why by pouring in a game-high 27 points.

Sanai Chisholm had a huge game of her own with 26 points. Brianna Pelote, the 6-foot-2 junior center, blocked several shots and dominated down low -- adding six points and showing why she was chosen as the Region 3A Division I Defensive Player of the Year. Bryan County's Kayley Wedlow, who was selected as the region's Player of the Year, led her team with 21 points.

"We were really good in transition and played team ball tonight," said Woodville coach Jeffery Roberson, the region's Coach of the Year. "We've got a great combination with Sanai (Chisholm) handling the ball at the point with Janiyah (Heyward) in that all-around role, and then with Brianna back there blocking shots and playing defense. When they are working together, we're hard to stop."

Roberson said the team is looking to make a run to the Final Four for the second time in school history. The road begins against Crawford County (8-20) on Tuesday or Wednesday at a time to be announced.

In the boys third place game, Bryan County beat Screven County 56-43. Jamal Campbell scored 17 and Javin Collins had 15 for Bryan County. Deon Dixon led Screven with 13 points.

In the girls third place game, Screven County beat Savannah High 44-37. Rayven Tyler led Screven with 18 points and Ernajah Mallard led the Blue Jackets with 14.

Region 3-3A Tournament roundup

In the first boys semifinal Friday, Johnson came on strong after a slow start to beat Groves 66-53 in an afternoon game at Calvary Day.

Junior guard Josh Quarterman had another big game for the Atom Smashers with 18 points, and Cormari Jones added 13. Antonio Baker and Favion Kirkwood added 10 each for Johnson, as the Atom Smashers improved to 21-4.

Sidney Flaggs had a strong game for Groves with 19 points. Johnson will play Long County, a 55-45 winner over Beach, in the Region 3-3A title game set for 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Calvary Day.

Groves (15-10) will matchup up against Beach (21-5) in the third place game at the same venue tipping off at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs are still without senior star Shamarrie Hugie, who is out with a wrist injury.

In the girls semifinal games, Liberty County came on with a strong finish to edge Savannah Country Day 54-51.

Destiny Grider had 14 points for the Panthers (18-7) and Kashauna Woods added 13. Kat Johnson led SCD (21-4) with 21 points and Stella Oelschig had 11.

The Calvary Day girls got another big-time performance by Georgia College & State signee Hannah Cail, who scored a game-high 30 points in a 62-56 semifinal win over Long County. Destini Gooddine added 11 for Calvary, which will host Liberty County at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the tournament championship game.

Benedictine wins second straight Region 3-4A crown

Benedictine, the No. 1 seed in the Region 3-4A tournament, won its second consecutive region crown with an impressive 68-45 win over Burke County in a game played at Wayne County High.

Sophomore Caleb Jones continued to impress with another superb performance as he put up a game high 26 points. LaDon Bryant and Stephan Frazier added 11 points each for the Cadets, who improved to 15-5 on the year.

BC is set to host a team to be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday at a time to be announced.

In the Region 3-4A girls consolation game, Islands beat SE Bulloch 58-51. Veronica Sierzant scored 16 points, Devin Long had 15 and Brooklyn Howells added 12. The Sharks (14-13) will be on the road Tuesday or Wednesday to face a team to be announced in a first round state playoff matchup.

Windsor Forest takes home title

Windsor Forest takes home crown

Windsor Forest went on the road and took down host Tattnall County 58-52 to win the Region 3-2A championship.

The Knights, who finished second in the Class 3A state tournament last season, improved to 21-6 on the year and will host Thomson (16-8) in a Class 2A first-round state playoff game on Tuesday or Wednesday at a time to be announced.

St. Andrew's runs to Region crown

The St. Andrew's boys basketball team, the GIAA Class 3 defending state champions, dominated on its way to its second consecutive region title with a 66-43 win over Frederica Academy.

Senior Zyere Edwards, the Region Player of the Year headed to play at Augusta University, had 25 points, four assists and five steals. His brother Zayden Edwards scored 12 points to also go along with four assists and five steals. Will Thompson also added 10 points for the Lions.

With the top seed, St. Andrew’s will receive a bye in the first round of the GIAA State tournament and will face the winner of the 8 and 9 seeds next Saturday at 3 p.m. in Macon.

Habersham School drops out of playoffs

The Patriots boys and girls basketball teams saw their seasons come to an end in the second round of the GAPPS State playoffs on Friday night.

Unity Christian beat the boys team 73-62 as senior Tyler Tift scored 25 points in his final game.

Central Christian beat the girls team 70-38. Myla Shippy led with Patriots with 12 points.

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Calvary girls and Johnson boys rolls to region tournament championships