The first round of the state high school basketball tournament is in the books, and Class AAA went mostly according to plan. All of the boys' and girls' No. 1 seeds advanced to the second round.
Some highlights from the boys side of the classification:
-- The Macon teams had little trouble in the first round, showing that good basketball is being played outside of the perimeter. Westside and Central are trying to make the case that they can play with the best teams in the state.
No. 1 Westside, the top seed from Region 4, handled a possible upset bid from Long County by jumping to a double-digit lead in the first five minutes. The Seminoles, who had five players in double figures, led 22-7 after the first quarter and 46-23 at halftime.
"That was the key," head coach Josh Grube told the Macon Telegraph. "We wanted to get off to a really quick start. We talked about it before the game. That's two games in a row that we got off to a really quick start."
Westside will face Monroe-Area, the third seed from Region 8, in the second round.
Previously ranked Central-Macon, the No. 2 seed from Region 4, was not challenged during a 107-69 rout of Appling County. Antarius McCoy led the Chargers with 24 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. The Chargers will face Calhoun, the No. 1 seed from Region 6, in the second round.
-- No. 2 Pace Academy, the top seed from Region 5, advanced to the second round after defeating Dawson County 63-30. The Knights will face Johnson-Savannah, the No. 2 seed from Region 3, in the second round.
-- Lovett, the No. 3 seed from Region 5, upset the Greater Atlanta Christian, the No. 2 seed from Region 7, 62-58 in the first round. The Lions will face Crisp County, the No. 1 seed from Region 1, in the second round.
-- Liberty County, the top seed from Region 2, will move to the second round after taking care of Kendrick 92-71. The Panthers, defending champions, are set to face Coahulla Creek, the No. 3 seed from Region 6, in the second round.
-- Crisp County, the top seed from Region 1, avoided upset, barely moving past Savannah, the No. 4 seed from Region 1, 108-106 in overtime. Quentavious Dean scored 57 points, making 19 of 33 shots. Crisp will face Lovett in the second round.
-- Islands, the third seed from Region 2, won the first playoff game in school history, defeating Worth County 78-60. The Sharks will face East Hall, top-seeded from Region 7, in the second round.
Here are some highlights on the girls side of the classification:
-- Central-Macon, the top seed from Region 4, won the first playoff game in school history after moving past Liberty County 55-41. The Lady Chargers will face Hart County, the third seed from Region 8, in the second round.
-- Beach, No. 2 seed from Region 2 and ranked No. 2 in the state, and No. 1 Johnson-Savannah, the top seed from Region 2 and ranked second, advanced to the second round. Beach handled Dougherty 61-33, and Johnson eased past Crisp County 79-27. The first step toward "Johnson vs. Beach: Round 5" has been taken. The teams have split games during the season.
-- Greater Atlanta Christian, the No. 1 seed from Region 7, advanced after beating Cedar Grove, the No. 4 seed from Region 5, 72-43. The Lady Spartans will face Cook County, the No. 2 seed from Region 1, in the second round.
