GHSA State Championships Recap

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2023-2024 high school season has officially come to an end in Macon and the champions were crowned this weekend. The championships provided no shortage of excitement as we saw some thrilling finishes and storybook endings for some of the state's best seniors. We break down each championship game and the best performances.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Grayson (51) vs. McEachern (41)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Georgia hoop fans have been looking forward to this one for a while, not only because they're the top two teams in the state but because it was [player_tooltip player_id='1122508' first='Ace' last='Bailey']'s last game in a McEachern uniform. The game turned out to be a defensive battle through all four quarters and Grayson was able to hold Bailey to just 18 points. [player_tooltip player_id='1444779' first='Jacob' last='Wilkins'] was a force on both ends and finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The win on Saturday gave Grayson their first state championship in school history.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Riverwood (67) vs. Alexander (63)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Riverwood vs. Alexander turned out to be the best game in Macon, a star-studded matchup that need overtime to be decided. For the past two years, we've seen glimpses of just how special this [player_tooltip player_id='1145563' first='Karris' last='Bilal']-[player_tooltip player_id='1450676' first='JR' last='Leonard'] duo can be and they reached the ultimate pinnacle on Wednesday. [player_tooltip player_id='1450676' first='JR' last='Leonard'] led all scorers with 31 points, 19 of those coming from the free throw line. While Riverwood was the smaller team, they won the battle on the boards and that proved to be the difference. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Kell (62) vs. Eagles Landing (51)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eagles Landing gave Kell everything they had and kept it competitive for four quarters but Kell was just too good down the stretch. [player_tooltip player_id='1201630' first='CJ' last='Brown'] has been the catalyst for this team all year and he finished with 21 points and 9 rebounds in the win. [player_tooltip player_id='1742164' first='Connor' last='Staphylaris'] also hit a couple of huge threes late in the game to stretch Kell's lead. It was truly a season to remember for Kell as they won 27 straight games and repated as state champions. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">North Oconee (65) vs. Holy Innocents (60)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The fact that North Oconee was able to win 30 games this year and take home the state championship speaks to the accumen of their coaching staff and this group of seniors. The young freshman, [player_tooltip player_id='2046364' first='Justin' last='Wise'], was the story of the game. Wise finished with 19 points and showed no signs of nervousness on the big stage. Senior guards, [player_tooltip player_id='1300680' first='Byrd' last='Carter'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1861277' first='Justin' last='Payne'], were also fantastic. Carter led North Oconee with 20 points while Payne posted 8 assists and 0 turnovers. While North Oconee didn't have the national prospects that Holy Innocents did, they proved proved to be the better team on Wednesday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sandy Creek (74) vs. Johnson-Savannah (49)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sandy Creek took care of business in Macon and brought home their second state championship in a row. [player_tooltip player_id='1050448' first='Micah' last='Smith'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1204748' first='Amari' last='Brown'] have taken this program to new heights but [player_tooltip player_id='2372832' first='Jacobi' last='Robinson'] has been the unsung hero this year and he came up big for the Patriots on Friday. Robinson led Sandy Creek with 18 points while going 4/4 from beyond the arc. Josh Quarterman put up 20 points for Savannah but they were simply outmatched against a talented and experienced Sandy Creek squad.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Westside-Augusta (64) vs. Toombs County (29)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Westside-Augusta took down Toombs County on Thursday to complete the three-peat. Despite graduating key guys each year, the Westside-Augusta program has mainatined their position at the top of 2A and that's a credit to their winning culture. The put on a defensive clinic in Macon, holding Toombs County to only 29 points. [player_tooltip player_id='1146472' first='Lavonta' last='Ivery'] and DeMarco Middleton were both great this year and they should see an uptick in recruitment as a result of the big win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mt. Vernon (48) vs. Paideia (40)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Region 6 foes, Mt. Vernon and Paideia, squared off in Macon and Mt. Vernon came away with their first GHSA state championship in school history. Paideia didn't have the size or physicality to stop [player_tooltip player_id='1125607' first='Xavier' last='Shegog'] inside and he was the player of the game with 18 points and 7 boards. Mt. Vernon was considered the best team in 1A-D1 for most of the year and they proved that notion to be correct on Saturday. It's worth mentioning that Paideia's freshman guard, Tristian Mitchell, opened some eyes with a team-high 16 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Greenforest (68) vs. Manchester (39)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After falling just short last year, Greenforest is bringing the trophy back to Decatur. Greenforest got better and better throughout the season and they rolled through every round of the playoffs. [player_tooltip player_id='1742138' first='Elijah' last='Lewis'] has been the engine all year and he led with a game-high 18 points. [player_tooltip player_id='1966154' first='Caleb' last='Kawela'] posted a double-double as well with 11 and 11. Losing these seniors will be tough going into next year but we said the same thing last spring and now they're champions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->