It was a game of runs. Calhoun had most of them thus the win went to it, 78-61, over Veterans Friday night in the second round of the GHSA Class AAAAA state tournament.
Things were pretty even at the first. In fact, the lead changed hands four times with the first four minutes. Then came the Yellow Jackets’ first run, 10-0. That made it 18-11 in their favor. The Warhawks answered in kind with a 6-2 run to the buzzer to trail only by a point, 20-19.
A 7-0 run by the visitor to start the second made it 27-19. Veterans again answered with a 7-0 run of its own to make it 27-26. That finished up with about three minutes left in the quarter. Then it was Calhoun again. It went on an 11-0 run to make it 38-26.
Tajh Williams, who at that point had accounted for the last nine of Veterans’ points, added two more at 5:20 in the third to make it 42-33. He finished with 17 on the night but Calhoun again answered with a run. After a free throw by the Yellow Jackets’ Dylan Faulkner – 6-foot-8 and a problem all night (“height” was a problem all night for the Warhawks); 23 points – D.J. Wright (10 points) hit a short shot, Jeremy Sams (17 points) hit a trey and Wright did likewise to make it 46-38. That was erased with another 6-0 run. Calhoun led 57-47 after three.
Veterans managed to close within six, 57-51, with less than two minutes gone in the fourth. History repeated thereafter with another run, eight points, two treys – one by Emaree Winston (17 points) and one by Peyton Law (22 points) – and just like that it was back up to 14, 65-51.
That appeared to do the trick as the Warhawks couldn’t find any more momentum from there.
They finished at 18-11. Calhoun moved on at 21-6.
Elsewhere, Warner Robins’ girls rolled into the quarterfinals of Class AAAAA with a 63-48 win over St. Pius X Catholic.
The Demonettes, with their 16th-straight win, improved to 24-5. They will take on Greenbrier, the No. 1 seed out of Region 8, next (the international coin toss to determine home field advantage). It, at 26-3, edged out Stockbridge by a point, 39-38. The next round is March 1-2.
