AAAAA State Semifinal

Girls

Thursday night in the state semifinals, Milton was the decided underdog against the undefeated defending state champion Redan Lady Raiders. And in pure March Madness fashion, the underdog almost won. Trailing only 50-46 in the fourth, Milton put themselves in a position to pull off the stunning win, but the Lady Eagles went scoreless over the game's final 2:12 and Redan advanced to the state championship with a 55-46 win. The win was the 58th in a row for the Lady Raiders. 

Kris Puthoff-King, Milton's only senior starter, led the team with 17 points in her final game as a Lady Eagle. Milton was undone by Redan's one-two punch of Alisha Andrews and Aneesah Daniels. Andrews, only 4'11", led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 17 points. Daniels was a force underneath. The Redan senior hauled in 16 rebounds and scored eight points before fouling out late in the fourth. 

Redan will play Norcross for the AAAAA girls state championship tonight at 7 p.m. at the Gwinnett Center. 

Boys

It's not often that a state semifinal game is over before the first timeout, but that's what happened Thursday night. Milton hit seven of their first eight shots and by the time Newton coach Rick Rasmussen called his first T.O., his team was already trailing 12-2. Unfortunately, the worst part wasn't even over for the Rams. Over the final three quarters, the Eagles continuously tacked on to their lead in a 86-54 win.  

Julian Royal led all scorers in the game with 22 points, the junior also pulled down five rebounds. Surprisingly, he still may not have even had the best game for Milton. Shannon Scott came up four rebounds shy of a triple-double. The junior dished out 12 assists and grabbed six boards to go along with 16 points. And then there is Evan Nolte. Milton's sophomore superstar hit five 3-pointers in the first half, he finished with 19 points in the game. 

Tonight, Milton will go for their first ever basketball state championship against Westlake. The game is scheduled to tip off at 8:45 p.m. at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth. Beacon Sports Editor John Breech will provide live updates from Gwinnett beginning at 8:30 p.m.

Editor's Note: Boys and girls full game stories, with pictures, will run in Sunday's Beacon.