COVINGTON, GA — Newton had to dig deep into the fourth quarter to put away a Douglas County team that just wouldn’t go down without a fight. 

A couple of fourth quarter plays from senior Jaquan Simms proved to be the insurance needed for the home team Rams as Newton claimed a hard-fought 71-65 win over Douglas County in the first round of the AAAAAA Georgia state playoffs. 

Simms converted his final three-point play with less than a minute to play, sealing the playoff win in the home stretch. Simms was clutch in the fourth quarter. The senior scored 11 points in the final eight minutes of play, including two three-point plays. He finished with 18 points on the night. 

“We finally made some free throws down the stretch. Quan and Ashton (Hagans) were big,” Newton head coach Rick Rasmussen said. “I think we were one for seven in the first half from the free throw line and let them get back into the game. I think that’s uncharacteristic for us. I thought we got speed up a little bit and they called about every touch foul that you can call in the first half. They were living at the line. That was just the way it was. But you have to play through that. I thought we bounced back and had a good fourth quarter.” 

They did indeed. But it wasn't easy. Douglas County took the lead in the third quarter thanks in large part to the aggressiveness of North Carolina-bound Brandon Robinson. 

Khalyl Waters was terrific in the second half for Douglas County, too. The 6-foot-5 senior muscled his way around for offensive rebounds, scores at the rim and scored when the clock was stopped with free throws. 

Newton’s JD Notae led all scorers with 24 points on the night. He also added 10 rebounds. Notae set the tone in the first half, scoring 16 first half points. He scored from the wing and crashed the boards hard. 

“They were playing a zone so every time we got out, I looked to attack,” Notae said. “If I didn’t get a shot, I took it to the rack. Plus, I got out in transition and got a dunk and that really got me going.” 

Hagans finished with 15 points and seven assists. The freshman didn’t play the majority of the second quarter because of foul trouble. 

Newton will play Peachtree Ridge in Covington on Saturday. Simms, one of two seniors on Newton’s team, said he knows what is at stake in the next round. And he’s ready for it. 

“Last year we went to the Elite Eight. We haven’t done that in a long time. We want to do that again,” Sims said. “We have a lot of good young guys and I love to play with them. I keep telling them that we have enough talent to get to where we want to go. We have to keep pushing.”