Class A-Private
NO. 3 KING’S RIDGE (26-4) at CALVARY DAY (17-6)
Tuesday; 6 p.m.
The Cavs are in the Elite 8 and hosting No. 3 King’s Ridge Christian for a shot at playing in the Class A-Private Final Four. Calvary and head coach Chad Carver have not lost since January 18, winning seven straight since that date.
In the Sweet 16, Calvary knocked off No. 9 Providence Christian Academy by a score of 68-61. Senior Dayyan O’Neal has back-to-back double-doubles in the playoffs for the Cavs. He scored 16 and hauled in 22 boards in the round one victory.
King’s Ridge is the champion from Region 6 and the Tigers will be coming to Savannah from Alpharetta. King’s Ridge knocked off Calvary earlier this season to the tune of 68-43 (December 28th).
Class 2A
WOODVILLE-TOMPKINS (17-10) at MODEL (22-6)
Wednesday; 6 p.m.
A pair of two-seeds will battle Wednesday in the Class 2A Elite Eight and one of them will advance to the Final 4 in Milledgeville on March 4. Neither team entered the playoffs ranked in the classification, but both knocked off a one-seed in the Sweet 16 last weekend. Woodville won last round in overtime, 72-63 at Rabun County.
The Wolverines travel to Rome to take on the Model Blue Devils, who are 11-2 at home this season. Model has allowed opponents to score just 46.2 points per game on average this year.
Lukas Platuna poured in 38 points last round for Woodville in a career effort for the senior wing.
Class 3A
BEACH (15-8) at BURKE COUNTY (18-9)
Tuesday; 6:30 p.m.
Beach is the only 4-seed in the Class 3A Elite 8 and the Bulldogs will face a 3-seed in Burke County this week on the road in Waynesboro. The Bears are 11-2 at home this season and MaxPreps has Burke ranked No. 14 in Class 3A. Beach and head coach Simon Heyward enter at No. 11 in the MaxPreps computer rankings.
Heyward’s club got 27 points from junior Shamarrie Hugie and yet another double-digit effort from sophomore Larry Johnson (10 points) in its Sweet 16 victory at White County.
The winner of Beach/Burke will advance to face the winner of No. 8 Groves and No. 7 Cross Creek on March 5 at Georgia College & State in Milledgeville.
NO. 7 CROSS CREEK (23-6) at NO. 8 GROVES (18-5)
Wednesday; 6 p.m.; at Savannah High School
The Rebels are set to host the Razorbacks from Augusta at Savannah High’s gym for the right to play in the state semifinals. Cross Creek won the Class 3A state championship last season over Sandy Creek.
Groves has won eight straight games and the play of Tremaine Johnson and Jerald Colonel has been a big reason why. Colonel scored 12 points, had 12 rebounds, and swatted five blocked shots in the Rebels’ 54-44 win over Greater Atlanta Christian in the Sweet 16 last weekend.
Cross Creek is led by Jaquez Ellison, who averages 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The Razorbacks have four players averaging at least nine points per game and three of those are seniors.
NO. 10 JOHNSON (17-10) at NO. 5 THOMSON (22-3)
Wednesday; 7:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs will host the Atomsmashers in a battle of up-tempo teams bidding for a spot in the state semifinals. Thomson averages nearly 75 points per game and the Bulldogs are 11-0 at home this season.
Johnson will continue to lean on its tandem of Ted Hurst and Antonio Baker, both of whom are averaging nearly 20 points per game this season. Hurst averages 16.9 points and 8.2 rebounds while Baker, a junior shooting guard, averages 18.9 points. SCJ is 8-3 on the road this year.
NO. 3 WINDSOR FOREST (21-5) at NO. 2 SUMTER COUNTY (27-2)
Wednesday; 7:30 p.m.
The Knights proved why they are legitimate state title contenders last weekend by knocking off No. 1 Sandy Creek up in Tyrone, Georgia. Windsor Forest now takes its shot at No. 2 this week in the form of Sumter County.
Sumter County, in Americus, has won eight straight games entering the Elite 8. Windsor Forest has won nine of its last 10, only losing to Groves in the Region 3-3A title game. The Panthers allow opponents to score an average of just 45.6 points per game while Windsor scores an average of 65 points per contest.
Windsor Forest and head coach Aaron Clark have had a great run in the last four seasons on Savannah’s southside. The Knights have posted an overall record of 83-20 in their last 103 games.
Follow Travis on Twitter/Instagram @JaudonSports. Email him at travisLjaudon@gmail.com.
Optim Orthopedics supports Calvary Day School athletics. The team doctor for Calvary Day School is Dr. David Palmer. Remember, Optim Orthopedics gets you back into the game!.
