Sports: Three Savannah teams in basketball Final 4; New Hampstead loss under investigation

If anyone was still left wondering about the state of Savannah high school basketball, Wednesday night was proof enough that the game around here is alive and well.

Four teams played Wednesday, Feb. 28 in the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Elite 8. Three of them won. The trio of Benedictine (Class 4A), Johnson (3A) and Savannah High (1A-DI) earned spots in this weekend's Final 4 round to be played at predetermined neutral sites around the state.
The headliner is a 7pm tip at Savannah State, when Johnson and head coach Chuck Campbell get a chance at revenge versus former Jenkins head coach Bakari Bryant and No. 4 ranked Dougherty. Campbell was an assistant under Bryant on the Warrior coaching staff before taking over at SCJ. Dougherty beat Johnson 68-48 in the second game of the season back in November.

Take a look at the semifinal slate for Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2. Updated brackets and links to purchase tickets ($15) are also included.

CLASS 1A-DI
WHO: No. 2 Paideia (16-12) vs. No. 3 Savannah High (22-8)
WHEN: Friday, 3pm
WHERE: Georgia College & State
TICKETS

CLASS 3A
WHO: Johnson (19-11) vs. No. 4 Dougherty (23-7)
WHEN: Saturday, 7pm
WHERE: Savannah State University
TICKETS

CLASS 4A
WHO: Benedictine (17-7) vs. No. 4 Holy Innocents (25-6)
WHEN: Saturday, 7pm
WHERE: Fort Valley State
TICKETS

Videos of NHHS game at North Oconee spark GHSA investigation
New Hampstead (23-6) saw its season come to an end as the lone Savannah team playing on the road in the quarterfinals. Ranked No. 6 in the final regular season rankings, NHHS lost to No. 3 North Oconee, 78-58. The Phoenix were the Region 3-4A champions and had an opportunity to win, despite a lopsided score suggesting otherwise.

NHHS trailed by just one point, 47-46, entering the fourth quarter. But the Titans (28-3) outscored the Phoenix 31-12 over the final eight minutes to widen the margin and advance to the Class 4A Final Four.

At some point during the contest, several physical altercations took place between players and apparent non-players. Videos from the game seem to show at least one player from New Hampstead interacting with a non-player just in front of the North Oconee bench.

When reached by email on Thursday, the GHSA responded to questions about the videos and potential discipline to follow.

"The incident is still under investigation," said Steve Figueroa, Director of Media Relations for the GHSA while noting the association was still waiting on responses from both schools.

"Therefore, we will have no comment on it at this time."