Georgia’s Class 7A Sweet 16 Matchups
Yes, there will be a new state champion crowned in Georgia’s highest classification in class 7A. The defending champions in Tift County were defeated this past weekend at home. The first round of the state playoffs are now in the books and now we move on to only 16 teams left in Georgia’s class 7A. Norcross, Pebblebrook, Duluth, Woodstock, Campbell, Etowah, Mountain View, Westlake, Wheeler, Roswell, Grayson, Meadowcreek, Newton, Lambert, McEachern and Peachtree Ridge all have advanced to the sweet 16. Below we will preivew this season’s sweet 16.
Top Left Quadrant – #1 seeds – McEachern (Region 3) and Norcross (Region 7)
Norcross (25-3) handle their business this past Friday night as they defeated Archer (15-13) in the first round 77-62. 2019 guard Kyle Sturdivant finished with a team high 23 points for Norcross. Sophomore wing Brandon Boston Jr. had a great game himself finishing with 22 points. The Blue Devils will be facing Duluth (20-9), who routed their first round opponent West Forsyth 80-55. Duluth was led by seniors wing Will Huzzie with 22 points and 15 rebounds and guard Adam Flager with 20 points (5 three pointers). The Wildcats should be able to have a competitive matchup with the Blue Devils of Norcross later this week. Norcross will host Duluth in this sweet 16 matchup. 2019 shooting guard Charles Smith IV led with 21 points and hitting 7 threes to help McEachern (25-2) get by Walton (13-14) 71-47 this past Friday night. Coach Thompson and his squad will be facing a scrappy and physical Westlake (15-13) team, who comes in after winning on the road against Colquitt County (14-10) Saturday night. This matchup will be very fascinating as Westlake has faced McEachern before on the road, dating back to 2015 when McEachern defeated Westlake in overtime. The winner of the Duluth and Norcross matchup and McEachern and Westlake matchup will face each other in the elite 8. Let us hope it is Norcross against McEachern.
Bottom Left Quadrant – #1 seeds – Newton (Region 8) and Etowah (Region 4)
Newton (25-3) and Mountain View (22-5) both demolished their opponents in their first round games this past weekend. The Newton Rams defeated Central Gwinnett 92-83 as Mountain View crushed Milton 78-43. These two programs will meet later this week in their sweet 16 matchup. Both teams have already met before earlier in the regular season and where Mountain View came out on top with a 67-66 overtime victory. As for the bottom half of the quadrant, Wheeler (18-10) got passed region 1 7A opponent Lowndes (17-11) last weekend defeating the Vikings 67-56. Cobb player of the year 2018 center EJ Montgomery finished with a team high 17 points and 10 rebounds. Wheeler will now go on the road and face region 4 7A champions Etowah (24-2). The Eagles defeated North Cobb (14-13) 48-30 last Friday night. Etowah was led by 2019 forward Jaxon Etter, who finished with 16 points.
Top Right Quadrant – #1 seeds – Lambert (Region 5) and Tift County (Region 1)
There will be a new class 7A state champion after this season is over. Campbell (19-9) completed the upset on the defending champions in Tift County (20-7) this past Saturday night defeating the Blue Devils 72-64. As you should know, I have said Campbell has one of the best balanced teams in the state and Coach Gwynn and his squads are always ready to compete. The Spartans were led by senior wing Kiya Randolph, who finished with 26 points. Campbell will now move on the sweet 16 and face Woodstock (15-13) . Woodstock defeated Kennesaw Mountain (18-10) this past Saturday night on the road 73-67. Kennesaw Mountain was without their star guard and senior leader in 2018 guard Josh Strong due to a disciplinary issue. On the top half, Lambert (22-5) defeated Mill Creek (13-15) 85-61 in their first round matchup. Coach Scott Bracco is coming off winning his 400th career victory and now you can say 401st with the win over Mill Creek. The Longhorns sweet 16 opponent will be Meadowcreek (21-6) later this week. The Mustangs slipped by South Gwinnett 43-34 in their first round matchup. Lambert and Meadowcreek will be a very intriguing game to keep our eye on as they winner of this one will face Campbell and Woodstock’s winner in the elite 8.
Bottom Right Quadrant – #1 seeds – Pebblebrook (Region 2) and Peachtree Ridge (Region 6)
Senior point guard Travis Anderson (Charleston Southern) led his Grayson (20-6) squad past Berkmar (16-11) 62-48 finishing with 23 points Saturday night. The Rams were my pick to get to the elite 8 and get that rematch against Pebblebrook but to get there they will have to get past the region 6 champions Peachtree Ridge (24-4). The Lions won their first round game after defeating South Forsyth (10-19) 53-38. The Pebblebrook Falcons (25-2) came into the state tournament riding a 22 game winning streak. The Falcons put their streak up against Collins Hill (20-6) this past Saturday night and improved to 23 straight wins after defeating Collins Hill 79-56. Pebblebrook was led by senior wing Mervin James (Canisius) with 22 points. They will host Roswell (17-11) later this week as Roswell defeated Hillgrove (11-15) in their first round matchup 62-49.