Class 4A Final Four: What We’ve Learned Thus Far
The 2018-19 Class 4A State playoffs, like many other classes in the Peach State, have been filled with excitement in all three rounds thus far. We have had four seeds knock off one seeds, unexpected blowouts, and players emerge for…
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Continue ReadingThe 2018-19 Class 4A State playoffs, like many other classes in the Peach State, have been filled with excitement in all three rounds thus far. We have had four seeds knock off one seeds, unexpected blowouts, and players emerge for their teams when it has mattered most. Below, we take a look on what we’ve learned in the last two weeks as we move one step closer to the 4A State championship game in Macon, Georgia and the Macon Centerplex next weekend.
Final Four Match-Ups
- #2 Americus-Sumter vs. #1 Sandy Creek
- #1 Woodward Academy vs. #1 Carver-Columbus
When
- Saturday March 2 (4pm and 8pm tip-off)
Where
- Fort Valley State University
What we know:
- There will be a new championship match-up for the first time in 3 years:
- The biggest surprise of the tournament has to be the three game stretch that Americus-Sumter as withstood since their region championship loss to Carver-Columbus earlier this month. After knocking off Salem in the first round, the Panthers made trips to the defending State champions and State runners-up in back to back rounds, coming away victorious in both contests. Down double digits on multiple occasions to Upson-Lee, Americus walked away with a 59-53 victory ending the Knights’ 13 game win streak this season and 12 game winning streak in the postseason over the last two years. In the Elite 8 the Panthers led from start to finish and disrupted the two time runners-up St. Pius X who were winners of 54 games in the past two seasons under head coach Aaron Parr. Americus now faces a hungry Sandy Creek team looking to get past the final four round after coming up short the last two years.
- Americus-Sumter is big, real big:
- Seniors Joshua Lusane and Joshua Moore, both 6’6” and 6’7” respectively, held down the interior for the Panthers in their elite 8 match-up against St. Pius X. Shot blocking and altering abilities of the two big men combined with an active 3-2 zone
Americus-Sumter G Trae Brown
forced St. Pius X into contested three-point jump shots all night and the Golden Lions simply couldn’t connect on those attempts, even on their home floor. Lusane, who holds offers from Lincoln-Memorial University, Alcorn State, and Northwest Florida finished with 21 points in the victory. The Panthers were paced with good guard play from 6’1” junior guard Trae Brown. The junior lefty was smooth in his offensive attack all game, pulling up from the mid-range area consistently in the first half and getting into the paint area more often in the second half. Americus’ length also allowed them to handle Pius’ full-court pressure and convert easy lay-ups on the other end. They’ll need that length in every way possible this weekend in the semi-finals and potentially the State championship game, finishing what has been an impressive run this postseason so far.
- Seniors Joshua Lusane and Joshua Moore, both 6’6” and 6’7” respectively, held down the interior for the Panthers in their elite 8 match-up against St. Pius X. Shot blocking and altering abilities of the two big men combined with an active 3-2 zone
- Woodward Academy keeps finding a way:
- After being down by as many as 17 points in their first round match-up, the War Eagles from College Park, Georgia fought for a 72-65 overtime win against Westover. The second round was no different against Cross Creek, as Woodward escaped with a 71-68 win to move onto the Elite 8. At Denmark, who’s was riding a season high 8-game winning streak, Woodward flourished behind a triple-double performance (14 points, 16 rebounds, 10 blocks) from 5-Star Walker Kessler and left with a 58-50 road putting them in the final four. They will face Carver-Columbus who has won in convincing fashion throughout the postseason, winning by an average of 27 points per game in their first three games.
- Region 1 is looking like the best region in the State for this class
- With two teams from the same region in the final four, the belief is that they have be the most respected region in the State for Class 4A. Region 1 has been battle tested from within throughout the month of January and the earlier part of February, and has been evident in the last few weeks. Westover, the fourth seed, from this region took Woodward to overtime (mentioned above) and the third seed Dougherty managed to win on the road at Henry Country 85-64. Now the question is will we see a 5th match-up between Carver-Columbus and Americus-Sumter this season? It will happen if both region 1 teams take care of business in their semifinal game this weekend. On the season Carver, led by senior guard and Akron football commit AJ Watts, is 3-1 against the Panthers of Americus with the last three games going their way but only by a combined 9 points. This South Georgia dominance makes for great conversation as two Atlanta based teams in Sandy Creek and Woodward Academy will try to end those runs and represent for the northern part of the State as well.
The next two weekends should be fun…