Harrison Wins; Allatoona, N. Cobb Lose

Acworth high schools went 1-2 Saturday in the Georgia High School Association state basketball quarterfinals.

and lost in their bids to make the Final Four for the first time, while , which tied for first in Region 4-AAAAA during the regular season but finished third in the region tournament, grabbed a spot in the state semifinals.

AAAAA

Harrison 69, M.L. King 59

In a battle of teams unranked in the PrepCountry/Georgia Athletic Coaches Association AAAAA top 10, Harrison jumped out to a 21-5 lead after the first quarter in Fort Valley and rolled into the Final Four.

Ryan Blumenthal led the Hoyas with 27 points, The Marietta Daily Journal and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Also in double figures were Jay Bowyer with 13, Marshall Guilmette with 12 and Subby Adetujoye with 10.

Harrison (23-7) never trailed M.L. King (21-10) after opening the game on a 9-0 run, the AJC said. The Hoyas’ biggest lead was 19 points at 34-15 in the second quarter, but the Lions pulled within five twice in the fourth quarter, the MDJ said. 

The Hoyas’ 10-point win avenged a 68-57 loss to the Lions on Dec. 28. More important, it moved Harrison into the state AAAAA Final Four for the first time.

The Hoyas will play top-ranked at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.

Milton won’t have starting point guard Charles Mann, who is suspended for the rest of the year after being ejected in an 80-58 win over on Saturday, the AJC said.

Savannah 59, North Cobb 43

Second-ranked North Cobb and sixth-ranked Savannah played a back-and-forth game in Fort Valley until Lee Moore fouled out with just under four minutes to play and the Warriors trailing, 42-41, The Marietta Daily Journal said. Then the Blue Jackets took over.

Saxon Steele made a free throw with 3:07 left to tie the game, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, but the Blue Jackets scored 17 of the final 18 points.

Savannah outscored North Cobb 21-7 in the fourth quarter, the Savannah Morning News said.

The Warriors led 23-21 at halftime and last led 41-40 before the final Blue Jacket onslaught.

Steele led North Cobb with 17 points, and Moore had 10, the AJC said.

North Cobb finished the season 26-5, including a 13-game winning streak that ended Saturday. Savannah improved to 29-2 and advanced to the AAAAA Final Four to play on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.

AAA

Washington 59, Allatoona 56

Allatoona’s bid for its first AAA Final Four appearance and its 17-game winning streak came to an end with its loss Saturday in Dalton.

Dimychael Ross missed a three-pointer at the buzzer after the Buccaneers inbounded the ball with only 0.7 second left in the game, ending Allatoona’s season at 26-5, The Marietta Daily Journal reported.

The Buccaneers, ranked fifth in Georgia AAA, hadn’t lost since a against Mays on Dec. 30 in the Lake City Classic.

They led 19-16 after the first quarter against the unranked Bulldogs (21-9) from Atlanta but trailed 30-29 at halftime and 46-40 after three quarters.

Ross led the Bucs with 23 points. Daniel Fowler added 16, and Austin Faulkner had 11, the MDJ said.

Don't miss any of the high school news you care about. Subscribe to Acworth Patch's free daily newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.