Newton 71 Grayson 52

The first AAAAAA quarterfinal game at the Univ. of West Georgia featured fantastic backcourts for Newton and Grayson going at it.

The Newton backcourt was the story of the game.

Newton junior shooting guard JD Notae hit a contested three on the Rams’ first possession and never looked back.

Joining him in the onslaught was freshman sensation Ashton Hagans, who got his offense going by distributing rather than looking to score, and Jaquan Simms, who shot the ball very well.

The three-headed Newton backcourt combined for 54 points. Notae and Hagans also pulled down eight rebounds apiece, and Hagans added nine assists.

Grayson standout guard Alphonso Willis did not go quietly, however. Newton’s defenders had a tough time keeping the quick athlete out of the lane. He scored 24 points in the game and tried to keep Grayson within reach in the second half.

However, Newton had too much firepower, pulling ahead in the second half and winning 71-52.

They will advance to play Westlake in the semifinals at the Univ. of West Georgia at 4:45pm on Saturday.

Westlake 44 Shiloh 43

Westlake might be the most talented team that we have in the state of Georgia. However, Shiloh has proven over the years that they don’t care about names; they will play any opponent hard every time they step onto the floor.

And that’s exactly what they did in the quarterfinals at West Georgia.

Westlake got out to a fast start behind the scoring of Jamie Lewis and Chuma Okeke, jumping ahead of Shiloh early.

It was the combination of DJ Waters, who scored it very well early on, and TJ Massenburg, who was a force on the interior, that kept Shiloh battling the entire game.

The game never felt out of reach for either side, with no team getting out to a large lead. One team would make a play and the other would match it.

The biggest sequence in this game happened when DJ Waters found Perry Battle, who knocked down a big three from the wing to take a 41-40 lead for the Generals. Westlake responded with Jamie Lewis pushing the ball right back and finding Raquan Wilkins, who hit a three of his own.

At that point, Westlake led by two, and after a split pair of free throws, led by 3 at 44-41.

And then Westlake’s defense came up big. They defended the three point line, getting one final stop, only allowing a Shiloh tip in at the buzzer, sealing a 44-43 win.

Jamie Lewis led Westlake with 13 points and 3 assists. DJ Waters matched his 13 to lead Shiloh.

Westlake advances to play Newton in the semifinals on Saturday at West Georgia at 4:45pm.