REGION TOURNEY ROUNDUP: West Laurens girls advance; Dublin girls, boys keep redemption tour rolling Tuesday

Trips the Augusta area Monday and Tuesday saw two strong showings by West Laurens basketball teams in the early rounds of the region 4-AAA tournaments, while both of Dublin’s added wins to their increasingly storybook-quality runs in the region 2-High A tournament Tuesday in Macon.

The Raider boys, in need of a do-or-die win to extend their season, fell just short of Hephzibah the first of the week. The West Laurens girls, though their chances of qualifying at-large looked good, were able to dispel any doubts about playoff hopes as they wore down Harlem to lock up a spot in both the GHSA tournament, and the final two rounds of the region’s later this week at Baldwin. 

Both sets of Irish, off big wins Monday night, kept the magic going Tuesday night with wins over higher seeds ACE and Central in Macon to advance to the quarterfinals, in need of one more victory (against the No. 3 Central girls and East Laurens boys) on a return trip Wednesday night to clinch an automatic playoff berth and reach the last two rounds, to be played in Sandersville Thursday and Friday. 

That golden ticket, coming into the tournament, amounted to the Dublin boys’ only shot of qualifying for the state tournament from a distant spot of 62nd in the last set of GHSA postseason rankings. The Lady Irish, presently 40th, appear to stand a decent chance of doing so with or without. 

Read on for how each of the above played out, and also check out our Region Tournament Central for tonight’s full schedule of region 2-High A quarterfinal games, plus a look ahead to the Thursday semifinal matchups in 4-AAA

Hephzibah 58, West Laurens boys 56

The Raiders put together one of their best and most complete games of the season when they needed it most, with Brandon Stephens (19 points) and Ezekiel Floyd (10) both lighting it up from outside and Shannon Adkins (13) handling business down low. 

But they’d come up a little short in the final 90 seconds, committing a couple of fateful turnovers just after Hephzibah completed a double-digit comeback to tie, with free throws at 1:23 to go, and went ahead for good on a 3-pointer by Cordell Edwards. 

“We were really proud of the way our guys competed,” West Laurens head coach Izell Stephens said. “I thought we played with a lot of heart, toughness and effort, and that’s all we’ve asked of them all year. They fought until the very last second, and we finally played to the standard that we have set for our program and we  represented West Laurens the right way.” 

A 7-0 first-half finish, with the help of Brandon Stephens’ 4-point play right at the end, turned a six-point deficit into a lead of one at intermission. And that springboarded West Laurens (4-22, 2-14 region 4-AAA) into a big third quarter that helped their lead swell to 12 at one point in the second half.  

He would headline the Raiders’ huge 7-for-11 night from deep with four of its makes from downtown, including a heave from the opposite free-throw line to cut a five-point deficit down to the final two as time expired in the game. 

The loss marked an encouraging finish to a fairly long season that was marked by growing pains Coach Stephens expects to be beneficial going forward. 

“Coming into this season after graduating eight seniors and being in arguably one of the toughest regions in class AAA, we knew it would be a growth year with a young, inexperienced group,” he said. “The 4–22 record doesn’t tell the full story. These guys showed up every day, worked hard, stayed connected and steadily improved. We grew up a lot over the course of the season, and the way we competed in the region tournament is a reflection of that progress. We’re excited about the foundation that’s being built and the direction we’re headed, and these losses are going to turn into wins real soon.” 

West Laurens girls 60, Harlem 37 

The Lady Raiders enjoyed a 10-point lead after one, but had to rely on some “energy off the bench” to get them through several complications that arose later in the first half, as foul trouble sidetracked 12-point scorer Brooklyn Jackson for about a quarter and guard Maddie Ridgway went down with an ankle injury a little before halftime. 

Double-digit contributions from Ja’Halee Snead and London Williams (who had 10 each), plus eight from Demmie Moss, helped them maintain it, and add two by the break, before Jackson returned to power a 32-21 second half that they used to pull away. 

“We were able to get key contributions from Jadah (Philyaw) and (Tangela Moore),” Rogers said. “We had eight girls score. Leah Wells hit some big shots. It was a total team effort.” 

Next, the Lady Raiders (13-12, 10-7 region) will go to Milledgeville to challenge top seed Cross Creek in Thursday’s 7 p.m. semifinal. 

“We’ve got to try our best to slow the game down and play ugly, as in hold the ball,” Rogers said. “Limit their possessions and just play hard-nosed, old school ball.”

Dublin girls 52, ACE Charter 45 

It wasn’t quite as prolific a performance, but the Lady Irish were still feeling it as they stayed in the same offensive, free throw shooting and rebounding groove from the night before. 

Rainna Wyatt hit four triples in a 14-point effort as the team knocked down 39 percent of its shots from the field, and 14 out of 18 at the foul line. 

Jackson’s double-double of 17 points and 20 rebounds contributed a third of the points and over half the team’s 39 boards. 

After a 23-apiece halftime tie, the Lady Irish (13-14, 7-8 region 2-High A) outscored ACE 14-5 over a dominant third quarter that helped expand their lead to as much as 16 early in the fourth. 

The Gryphons heated up, and climbed the scoreboard in the final few minutes, getting within four after tacking a free throw onto a five-point run by Zhoie and Khloie Stanley. But a Zhoie 3 that they had to have with about 15 seconds left drew iron, and Dublin was able to seal it with a Maddox free throw, followed by a Jackson putback. 

Dublin boys 67, Central Macon 56 

The Irish upped their offensive efficiency significantly, putting four scorers in double-figures, as confidence from Monday night’s finish carried over to a second-straight win in Macon. 

Dublin (6-20, 2-13 region) hit eight of the 15 combined 3-pointers that were flying back and forth, but relied on a bounty of additional baskets from closer in – six of them included in the 20-point total of Jones as the top scorer – for the difference in a game that was never really close. 

Its lead of a dozen after one remained intact at the halftime and third-quarter checkpoints, with Central’s best effort at a comeback only reaching within seven points in the final two minutes. 

Taylor added 16, Dixon 13 and McRae 10 to the total. Lovett had 10 rebounds. He and Jones blocked two shots apiece.