Wheeler Gets Their Wish...Walton and Centennial Singing the Blues Down in Georgia

Wheeler (23-7) got what they wished for. Not only did they advance to the Elite 8 of the Class 5A State Playoffs, they locked down a grudge match against defending State Champ Norcross (28-3) this Saturday night. Last night Wheeler beat Peachtree Ridge 64-53. They were led by Wake Forest commit Ari Stewart's 25 points. Richard Howell also had 10 points. Howell sat out a majority of the 1st half because of foul trouble and as a result Wheeler really didn't kick it into gear until the second half. Richard Howell is the centerpiece of the Wheeler offense, and a huge portion of Stewart's second half points came off of Howell's assists. Wheeler now seeks revenge against Norcross. The past two seasons Norcross has knocked Wheeler out of the State playoffs, including last year's State Championship game. The two will tango on Saturday night at West Georgia University at 8:30pm.

Walton almost pulled off two remarkable upsets in a row. After defeating #1 McEachern last week they got a shot at the defending champs last night. It was a heck of a game and it came down to the final seconds. G'Mitri Rice (Glen Rice's brother) tied the game up at 61 all with around 18 seconds left in regulation. The final 18 seconds were a time to rejoice for Norcross as they sunk a three to win the game and Glen Rice's desperation three from halfcourt at the buzzer didn't fall and Walton fell 61-64. Ryan Harrow came to play as usual leading the Raiders with 29 points. It's hard to believe this kid is a Junior.

Centennial might have a chip on their shoulder this morning. They can totally sympathize with the Word of God Holy Rams after the buzzer controversy they suffered this past weekend in the State Finals. Ryan Fleming hit a shot at the end of regulation that arguably should have given the Knights the win at the buzzer but the refs disagreed. Centennial went on to lose to South Gwinnett 77-79 in double overtime. We will get you Zo's stats ASAP.

Congrats to Richard Howell and Wheeler, but also a huge shout out goes to Lorenzo Brown and Ryan Harrow for having two unbelievable seasons.

(P.S. In the picture of Howell above, is it just me or is their another familiar face in the pic? My friends I think this is a picture of Sir Rich trying to bash on Junior Luke Cothron. Wouldn't it be awesome if they got to dunk on each other all the time in practice in red and white practice jerseys.)