Higher seeds move on in first round of region 5-AAAA boys tournament

Sandy Creek got in the way of Alexander in the final game of the first round on Monday night. Photo/Michael Boylan

The region 5-AAAA basketball tournament started at McIntosh High School on Monday with the first round of boys games and the higher seeded teams all won.

Villa Rica topped Tri-Cities in the opening game, 65-39, moving on to play top seeded Lithia Springs at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
The McIntosh Chiefs had an 11 point lead over Douglas County at the half, stretched it to 18 points at one point in the second half and won 72-61.

“We did something in the second half we hadn’t done all season long,” said McIntosh coach Jason Eisele. “We slowed it down.”

The Chiefs will take on Banneker Wednesday at 4 p.m. and the winner will meet the winner of Lithia Springs and Villa Rica.
Starr’s Mill took on Northgate in the third game and won 52-42. Wade Stock had nine points for the Panthers while Haydn Barnes and Jeff Greene each had eight. Northgate was led by 18 points from Brandon Hopkins and nine points from Graylin Ward.

“We’ve been off for eight or nine days, so we were a little rusty,” said Starr’s Mill head coach Brandon Hutchins. Asked about his team’s balance, he lauded his team. “We’re not just one guy who can score. We have a bunch of guys who can score 8-10 points.”

Starr’s Mill will now meet Fayette County at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The winner will take on the winner of Sandy Creek and Mays.

Sandy Creek started fast in their game with Alexander, opening up a 14-4 lead after one quarter. The Patriots never looked back, winning the game and moving on to a second round match against Mays at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Today, Sandy Creek’s girls open the region tournament against Banneker and Whitewater’s girls take on Northgate. The winners of those games will meet McIntosh and Fayette County, respectively, on Thursday.