Plenty of Macon to go around in second round

Sean Sweeney was looking for that one, single break that his team couldn’t get all season.

A team beset by graduation and transfer losses, Stratford was one of those squads that was always in games but couldn’t seem to break through. The Eagles lost their final four regular-season games, all by eight points or fewer, and a 3-pointer at the horn in the Feb. 3 regular-season finale at Twiggs County kept the Eagles out of the GHSA Region 7-1A Tournament.

Season over? Not quite yet.

Since the GHSA uses a power rating system to fill the separate Class 1A public and private school brackets, Stratford extended its season by snagging No. 20 seed in the 24-team private school bracket.

“That shows how tough our region is,” Sweeney said.

Once things shook out, Stratford wound up with a road trip to Darlington, a team that entered the Class 1A private school bracket 18-5 overall while playing in a region that included the likes of Class 1A heavyweights North Cobb Christian and St. Francis.

The trip to Rome, coming 15 days after the heartbreaking loss at Twiggs County, could have turned into an afterthought. Stratford had just nine wins heading into Darlington, and the numbers seemed stacked against the Eagles. Worse, Devin Butts, who had emerged as one of Stratford’s top playmakers following the graduation of Quintez Cephus and O’Showen Williams, couldn’t play for medical reasons.

But Stratford just did not go away.

The Eagles kept pace with Darlington for four quarters and into overtime. Nathan Hunt stepped up with a 26-point, 10-rebound performance, and Christian Palmer hit two clutch free throws late in overtime to put Stratford up by a point.

Sweeney and his team then caught the break they had been waiting for all season. Darlington’s shot at victory rimmed out. Stratford had itself a 68-67 tournament victory.

“We’ve seen that shot fall through enough this year,” Sweeney said. “For once, it didn’t.”

Who’s left in Bibb County?

Macon’s private schools enjoyed a solid first round on the whole, with the FPD boys and Tattnall Square girls also winning. FPD recorded its first GHSA Tournament victory in boys basketball when it topped Riverside Military 62-55, while Tattnall had its own dramatic win, with Abby Rouse’s three-point play in the final second lifting the Trojans to a 37-34 win over Eagle’s Landing Christian.

Three other private school teams — the FPD girls, Stratford girls and Tattnall boys — gained first-round byes, giving Macon six teams participating in Class 1A private second-round action Wednesday and Thursday.

Macon’s public schools are represented in Class 3A competition, with both Central teams and the Westside boys taking part in their respective brackets.

Stratford’s reward for pulling out that first-round win is another long road trip, this time to Region 7-1A champion Aquinas at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

While Aquinas (25-1) has yet to lose to an in-state opponent, there are some signs that point toward a competitive matchup.

Aquinas, the No. 4 seed in the private school bracket, opened region tournament play with a 22-point win over Twiggs County. But the Irish didn’t run away with victories in their final two region tournament games, beating FPD 51-46 and Tattnall Square 47-40.

Stratford went 0-4 against FPD and Tattnall, but the Eagles have close losses to each.

“I like our chances against anybody,” Sweeney said. “We’ve played tough and hard. But it’s not easy going over there, and there’s a reason for that. Aquinas is well-coached and plays excellent basketball.”

Busy week ahead

The FPD boys, seeded 10th, head to No. 7 seed Athens Christian for a 7 p.m. contest Thursday, while Tattnall, the No. 8 seed, hosts No. 9 Holy Innocents, an 86-68 winner over Mount Pisgah Christian in the first round, at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

The Stratford and Tattnall girls face the same schools as their boys counterparts do, but at opposite sites.

Stratford, the No. 4 seed amongst Class 1A private school girls and the Region 7-1A champion, hosts No. 13 seed Aquinas at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. At the same time, the No. 12 Tattnall girls head to No. 5 Holy Innocents, last year’s Class 2A champion.

The FPD girls, seeded seventh, are looking for the first GHSA tournament win in program history with a 6 p.m. contest Wednesday against No. 10 seed Prince Avenue Christian.

Central’s girls, who claimed their first GHSA tournament victory in program history Friday when the Chargers beat Liberty County, host Hart County at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in a Class 3A contest. A win over unranked Hart County would put Central in a quarterfinal against third-ranked Beach or sixth-ranked Redan.

In Class 3A boys, top-ranked Westside hosts unranked Monroe Area at 7 p.m. on Thursday, while unranked Central travels to No. 9 Calhoun for a 6 p.m. tip Thursday. Westside faces a potential showdown with third-ranked Pace Academy with a win, while Central could meet No. 4 Jenkins or No. 6 Cedar Grove in the quarterfinals should it beat Calhoun.

This story was originally published February 21, 2017 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Plenty of Macon to go around in second round."