ATLANTA, GA – Since before the start of the season, Region 6 had an idea of which teams had the tools to punch their tickets into the state tournament.

Those teams secured those top-seeds going into the tournament before locking up their spots with wins on Saturday night at St. Pius X High School.

Here is how Cedar Grove, Blessed Trinity, Woodward Academy and St. Pius.

St. Pius 61, Decatur 50

When it comes to high school basketball having an interior post presence is essential. Combined that with perimeter shooting and discipline you have the Golden Lions basketball team.

St. Pius used its size advantage of Nick Harris to set the tone against the Bulldogs. The College of Charleston signee dominated the interior with his mid-range jumper and hook shots. On the defensive end, he patrolled causing havoc and altering shots in the process. Harris scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the first half. He also pulled down 10 rebounds.

Will Maguire helped seal the game in the end. The senior guard scored 17 points, most of which came in the fourth quarter on 6-of-6 shooting from the free throw line.

Decatur, however, was not going away without a fight. The Bulldogs chewed their way back into the game behind the trio of Mural Dillard, Noah Fisher and Devonte Carter. They turned it up on both ends of the floor and were within 53-47 late. This was the closest Decatur would be since St. Pius sealed the game from the charity stripe.

Dillard and Carter both finished with a team-high 12 points. Fisher chipped in with 10 points.

St. Pius plays Cedar Grove on Monday.

Woodward Academy 60, Towers 57

A double-digit lead early was enough to help the War Eagles hold onto for the win late.

Woodward Academy jumped to a 36-17 halftime lead thanks in large part to the contributions of from Christian Harrison, Trey Williams and Marcus Hall. They helped Woodward set the tempo. Denzel Banks helped orchestrate a lot of the smooth flow. Hall finished with 14 points. Williams chipped in with 12 points. Banks and Bobby Kannady had 11 points. Harrison added nine points.

However, before the final buzzer, Towers made sure it would make a game of it. The Titans picked it up defensively and really pushed the War Eagles to the limit.

Donnie Little helped jumped start Towers surge in the second half. He took it upon himself to get to the basket by any means necessary scoring 19 of his 21 points in the third and fourth quarter. However, the Titans comeback kept falling short as Woodward managed to hold them off with successful trips to the free throw line. Torrey Adams added 11 points.

Blessed Trinity 84, McNair 58

Basketball teams look to take advantage of the second and third quarter to pull away from its opponents. The Titans used those quarters to run away and into the state playoffs.

Blessed Trinity scored 52 points between those two quarters putting the Mustangs away.

Patrick Lamar led the Titans with 21 points, mostly through the teams control on the two quarters. Connor O’Neill chipped in with 16 points. Chris Bertrand added 10 points.

The Mustangs had balance scoring throughout the game but it was not enough to handle the Titans offensive surge.

Blessed Trinity plays Woodward Academy on Monday at St. Pius.

Cedar Grove 92, Cross Keys 12

As the No. 1-seeded team in the region tournament, Cedar Grove was being rewarded for the season it had. Usually that means it would play the lowest-seeded team in the tournament.

The Saints did not waste much time showing it was not going to be the victim of any possible upset. Cedar Grove scored a season-high in points and set up a semifinal matchup against St. Pius on Monday.

Cross Keys could not get into any rhythm from the opening-tip as the Saints defense was jut relentless. The Indians were nearly shutout in the third quarter and were held to one point.

Cedar Grove’s defense turned into easy transition layups for a 62-point first-half production. This surpassed the Saints season average in scoring as they averaged 54 points a contest. Every player on Cedar Grove’s roster scored.

Aaron Fredrick had a game-high 20 points. Jacara Cross added 19 points. Christopher Fredrick had 17 points. Benjy Parrish chipped in with 13 points. Kenneth Lewis recorded 11 points.