The third day of the GHSA basketball state championships at the Centreplex in Macon will see the ending of the seasons for Classes A Division II and 5A. This file will be updated throughout the day after each game goes final.
Class 5A Girls – River Ridge 52, Langston Hughes 47
River Ridge – which trailed 15-5 after the first quarter and 31-24 at the half — entered the fourth quarter of its Class 5A championship game trailing Langston Hughes 45-33 and things looked grim for the 2023 Class 6A champions.
But in one of the greatest fourth-quarter comebacks in state history, River Ridge used a stunning display on both sides of the ball, leading to a game-winning 19-2 fourth-quarter effort to overcome the deficit to secure the program’s second-ever title.
“We are very blessed,” said River Ridge head coach Jason Taylor. “Langston Hughes, hats off, that was a great game. These girls have a lot of heart, they don’t quit and I am very proud of them.”
And for the Knights, it was a team effort with six players providing offensive production led by a 13-point, six rebound effort from senior center Joy Tchamabe and a 12-point performance from junior guard Kyla Cantey. Senior guard Sophia Pearl (9 points), senior power forward McKenna Cleaveland (8 points, 11 rebounds), junior Makayla Roberson (5 points) and sophomore Finley Parker (5 points, 9 rebounds) added River Ridges’ other offense.
Langston Hughes was trying for the program’s first-ever state championship and was led in scoring by Cornelia Ellington (12 points) and Karrell Greene (11 points).
Class 5A Boys – Tri-Cities 66, Woodward Academy 55
Tri-Cities won the Class 6A championship in 2019 – its first — and advanced to the semifinals in 2020 before suffering a finals loss in 2021. The team’s last state championship was three seasons ago when it won the 5A title in 2022.
Last year’s quarterfinals exit stung, but it provided experience for the Bulldogs have in their arsenal. And that experience was used in Tri-Cities’ 66-55 victory against 2020 Class 4A champion Woodward Academy.
Playing the team three previous times this season – and losing two of them – helped Tri-Cities.
“It means everything for our community for East Point, Hapeville and College Park,” said Tri-Cities head coach Omari Forts, who has led the program to its three state titles. “Our coaching staffs were outstanding. All the parents, fans and everybody out there who supports Tri-Cities basketball, we love you, we appreciate you. Thank you.”
After entering the second quarter tied at 11-11, Woodward Academy took a 27-25 lead into halftime where Forts noticed some things, made some adjustments and went into the third quarter with the desired accoutrements.
“As I talked about at halftime, winning championships is about toughness,” Forts said. “They dominated us on the glass in the first half and we responded at halftime and we brought the grit, the grime and all the stuff that was tough.”
Tri-Cities used a 19-13 run in the third quarter and a 22-15 run through the fourth quarter to win the title. Junior forward Jalan Wingfield scored 20 points with 19 rebounds while senior wing Sean Van Dorn added 18 points with six rebounds and sophomore guard Tre Keith tallied 14 points for Tri-Cities.
“All I have to say is that we are coming,” Wingfield said. “We are coming. This is not the last one. This is not the last one.”
Woodward was trying for the team’s second title and was paced by Deke Cooper (17 points), Jarvis Hayes (15 points) and Zac Foster (14 points).
Class A Division II Boys – Savannah 58, McIntosh Co. Academy 52
The Blue Jackets needed every ounce of energy in its 58-52 victory against McIntosh County Academy in the second game of the day at the GHSA basketball state championships at the Centreplex in Macon. Savannah’s 12 state championship will be dubbed ‘The Comeback’ for decades to come.
The program did not allow a basket in the final 5:04 to cap off the come-from-behind effort. The Blue Jackets, which won titles in 1930-1932, 1937, 1941, 1946-47, 1972, 1974, 1976 and 1998, entered the fourth quarter trailing 36-32 and were down by as many as 10 points late in the game but a 26-16 run through the fourth quarter secured the team’s title.
“It is an unbelievable feeling, man,” said George Brown. “Shout out to the 912, man. Shout out to Savannah. Shout out to McIntosh (County Academy). But more importantly to all of that, shout out to the Savannah High boys basketball team for everything they overcame to be champions now.”
Senior Chance Hendricks led with 17 points and eight rebounds while senior Maki Joyner added 14 points for the Blue Jackets. Jayden Ellis (11 points) and MJ Quarterman (11 points) led McIntosh County Academy while Craig Battle Jr tallied 10 points.
“People threw their name in the mud and we overcame it,” Brown said. “We conquered. Even here, adversity hit and we did whatever we needed to do to weather the storm and overcome it.”
Class A Division II Girls – Wilcox County 72, Washington-Wilkes 48
There wasn’t a game-winning basket that lifted Wilcox County past Washington-Wilkes and to its first-ever state championship. There wasn’t a come-from-behind run. There was just steady, season-long quality basketball which led to a 72-48 victory against Washington-Wilkes in the Class A Division II state championship game.
Sophomore shooting guard Shamauri Martin led with 20 points, six rebounds and three steals while senior shooting guard Carly Miller added 14 points and sophomore center Tyliyah Benjamin scored 13 points with six blocks.
Washington Wilkes was led by Myasia Lewis (15 points), and Samaria Young (10 points) and Kaidyn Porter (10 points).
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