PCHS faces seventh-ranked Union County
REIDSVILLE — Pierce County’s Bears are headed to the “Big Dance.”
PCHS (9-15) was one of 24 at-large selections picked Sunday by the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) using its power rankings. The Bears are the 27th-seed in the Class AA field of 32 teams.
Pierce County, who went 6-3 down the stretch, finished third in the Region 3AA tournament. All four teams reaching the semifinals made the field of 32.
Region champion Tattnall County (224) is a surprise No. 2 seed behind topseed and No. 1 ranked Carver-Columbus (24-2). The Warriors will host 31st-seed Glynn Hills (3-18). Region runner-up Crisp County (21-6), seeded ninth, is hosting 24th-seed Shaw (11-16).
PCHS will travel to seventh-ranked Union County (22-5), the sixth seed. Appling County (9-17), who finished fourth in the region, travels to fifth-ranked Morgan County (21-6), who is seeded third.
The Bears entered the region tournament having won five of their last seven games. They fell 61-51 Tuesday, February 12 to second-seed Crisp County, winners of seven straight, in the semifinals.
The Cougars, who lost to top-seed Tattnall County 40-31 in the championship game, swept the regular season series winning 51-38 at home January 10 and 73-51 February 1 in Bearville.
PCHS rolled to an 85-57 victory over fifth-seed Appling County in the consolation game Friday, February 14. Pierce County swept the Pirates during the regular season winning 72-56 January 17 in Baxley and 63-51 January 28 at home.
The Bears, scored their most points since December 7, 2018 when they posted 90 on Charlton County. PCHS ended a stretch of 173 games since it last scored 80 or more points.
The 90 points against the Indians in the 2018-19 season opener was the eighth time in 27 games the Bears scored 80 or more points. They did it seven times during the 2017-18 campaign.
Semifinals Crisp County.............................61 Bears ........................................51
Crisp County overcame a six-point halftime deficit outscoring the Bears 3721 in the second half to advance.
PCHS built a 14-10 lead through the first eight minutes. Joe Drew (game-high 18 points; four treys) scored 13 of his 15 first half points in the second period helping the Bears to a 16-14 scoring advantage and a 30-24 halftime lead.
The Cougars wiped out the deficit in the third stanza outscoring Pierce County 16-7 to grab a 40-37 lead. Crisp County finished the game outpointing the Bears 21-14 in the fourth quarter.
Marshon Stanford just missed double figures following Drew’s lead with nine points. Nigel Brown and Brandon Williams bagged six points apiece.
Gabe Varnadore and Ahmad Arnold finished with five points and four points respectively. Trent Griffin netted three points.
The Cougars were paced by the 17 points and three treys of Jaylon Cooper (12 points in first half) and Zakariyya Dwight (14 in second half). Caden Lofton added 13 points with nine coming in the final period.
Consolation Bears ........................................85 Appling County .........................57
Pierce County outscored the Pirates 52-20 in the first and fourth quarters in the rout with four players reaching double figures.
Drew (two treys) led the way with a game-high 18 points. Brown and Stanford (career-high) each added 16 points and connected on two three-pointers. Williams finished with 14 points as the quartet combined for 64 points. PCHS had a season-best 11 players reach the scoring column.
The Bears jetted out to a 26-7 lead by the end of the first quarter. Their scoring pace slowed in the second period outpointing Appling County 15-14 to take a comfortable 41-21 halftime lead.
The Pirates chipped five points off the margin by the end of the third stanza outscoring Pierce County 23-18 to get to within 59-44. PCHS regained its furious scoring pace over the final eight minutes doubling up Appling County 26-13.
Varnadore (two treys) was next in the Bears’ scoring column with six points. Arnold and Kendrick Benton netted four points apiece. Jamil Strickland contributed two points while Chezz Armstrong and Gihad Taylor added a free throw apiece.
Nate Davis topped the scoring chart for the Pirates with 15 points. Noah Henderson bagged 10 points.
