When Tuesday dawned, the Augusta area had seven local basketball teams still alive in the Georgia High School Association state tournament.
When Tuesday ended, that number dwindled down to five.
Both the Butler (21-10) and Cross Creek (24-5) girls teams saw their seasons come to an end in the Elite Eight, with Butler losing a slim lead it held throughout much of the game to fall, at home, 52-49 to Murray County. While Cross Creek was done in by Wesleyan, 66-44 behind a 29-point performance from Georgia Tech commit Chazadi “Chit-Chat” Wright.
Meanwhile, Josey qualified for the Class AA girls Final Four round by soundly defeating Banks County 65-48 on the road Tuesday night. It was largely a defensive effort for the Lady Eagles, especially in the game’s second and third quarters, as the Leopards could only muster 16 total points in those two quarters combined.
Josey will travel to Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville Saturday March 2 to take on Central Macon (26-4) at 1 p.m. Central qualified for the semifinal round by defeating Columbia 44-37 Tuesday night in its Elite Eight matchup.
The winner of the Josey-Central game will take on the winner between Murray County and Mount Paran on the other side of the Class AA bracket in next week’s state championship game. Mount Paran and Murray County will play the 5 p.m. game Saturday at Georgia College & State.
Four area boys teams will be vying for Final Four spots Wednesday as Elite Eight action continues with the following games:
Class AAAAAA
Grovetown (20-9) at Alexander (27-2) Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Class AA
Model (22-7) at Westside (26-4), Wednesday, 6 p.m.
Butler (23-6) at South Atlanta (23-8), Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
Class A
Portal (28-1) at Warren County (23-5), Wednesday, 6 p.m.
