Piedmont Boys Set For State Tourney

The Piedmont Academy varsity boys basketball team enters the GISA Class AA state tournament this week looking to earn some upsets.

The Cougars (14-10 overall) are a number four seed and were scheduled to face Robert Toombs Academy on the road on (Feb. 19) at 7:30 p.m. in the opening round.

“It is familiar territory for us,” said coach Will Johnson. “Robert Toombs has two very good guards. They are well coached. I coached with Adam Callaway for a season. They are a top five team in the state and some have them as a sleeper to win it all.”

The Crusaders are the number one seed from Region 2-AA and won their region tournament championship game by 20 points. Robert Toombs is undefeated at home this season.

“This will be a great challenge for our kids,” Johnson said after a Monday morning practice session. “We did beat a number one seed as a number four team last year. We play in the toughest region and have been in battles all year. This should be an intense game. They have a great student section at their games.”

A win in this game would have Piedmont facing the survivor of Brentwood-Westwood on Saturday in Macon.

“I think if we win this game we have a great chance to get to the final four,” Johnson said. “We went back to work with practice on Sunday. It is going to be a close game and a tough game. Hopefully the tough games we’ve been in this season will help us. We led at halftime against Furtah and Solid Rock in the region tournament.”

In the Region 1-AA tournament, the Cougars faced two-time defending state champ Furtah Prep in the Region 1-AA semifinals. Piedmont fell 68-50 in an intense contest.

Ryan Holder (15 points) and Bradley Greenwood (12 points) led the Cougars offensively. Tate Marks added seven points while Jackson Welch scored six. Luke Welch contributed five points.

Piedmont trailed 14-12 after the first quarter but held a two-point 23-21 lead at halftime against the two-time defending state champion. Furtah Prep used a 23-8 run in the third quarter to seize control of the contest.

The Cougars returned to LaGrange the following day to compete against Solid Rock for third place. Piedmont fell 58-47 in that contest despite 16 points by Holder and 13 by Marks. Jackson Welch finished with seven points while Greenwood scored four.