Friday night provided some top boys action in region tournaments across the area. The Mill Creek boys fell short against rival North Gwinnett, while the Jefferson boys punched their spot in the Region 8-AA finals Saturday with a win over Rabun County.
BASKETBALL
Jefferson Boys 81, Rabun County 75:Â Austin Thompson scored a team-high 22 points for the Dragons (19-8) Friday night in the Region 8-AA semifinals at Hart County High. Andre Daniel added 17 points, Will Puckett scored 15 and Satchel Turpin finished with 10 for the Dragons. After trailing 43-41 at the end of the first half, the Dragons outscored the Wildcats 18-12 in the third quarter to take the lead.
Jefferson will play Dawson County at 8:30 p.m.Saturday in Hartwell for the Region 8-AA championship, and Rabun County plays East Hall for third place at 5:30 p.m.
North Gwinnett boys, Mill Creek 33: In a defensive battle, No. 1 seed North Gwinnett outlasted No. 4 seed Mill Creek Friday night in the Region 7-AAAAA semi-finals at Meadowcreek. The loss sends the Hawks to the third-fourth place game Saturday, where they will face Norcross, which fell to Peachtree Ridge 68-56 in the tournaments first semi-final.
The stifling Mill Creek defense shut down the powerful North attack well all night, including holding standout and Georgia Tech signee Chris Bolden to just eight points. Bolden had scored 29 and 30 points in his last two games. Jalen Bracey’s 3-point attempt rimmed out at the buzzer for the Hawks, as the Bulldogs squeaked by to head to the region championship game Saturday at 6 p.m. against Peachtree Ridge. North (19-8) led 21-13 at the half, but Mill Creek (20-7) got bounced back in the third quarter by holding the Bulldogs to just four points.
