By John Breech / Staff

Milton Takes Down Defending AAAA Champs

Most schools like to start their seasons with a cupcake or two. Not Milton. Last Saturday at Georgia State University, Milton kicked off their 2009-2010 campaign with an 81-70 win over Georgia’s defending AAAA champ, Miller Grove. The game, featuring the state’s second ranked AAAAA squad and top ranked AAAA team, was the headliner of the season opening Elite 8 Tournament.

Milton’s fabulous four led the way for the Eagles as juniors Julian Royal, Shannon Scoot and Dai Jon Parker combined with sophomore Evan Nolte to go for 70 of Milton’s 81 points. Nolte, the reigning AAAAA freshman of the year, led the bunch with 25 points. Only two weeks removed from recording almost 600 receiving yards on the football field, Parker finished the game with 18. Scott added 17 and Royal chipped in 10.

Milton led by six points at the half and the Eagles were able to control the tempo for most of the game. The only deficit Milton faced in the second half came in the third quarter when a bucket by Miller Grove’s Tony Parker gave his team a 43-42 lead at the 4:27 mark. Parker finished the game with 10 points for the Wolverines, who are currently the top ranked AAAA team in Georgia.

Centennial Falls To Third Ranked Westlake

Milton versus Miller Grove may have been the biggest game of the night, but sixth ranked Centennial against Westlake was the most exciting. Playing in their first regular season game since the loss of all-time leading scorer Lorenzo Brown, the Knights fell 66-65.

Devonta White, playing on the same Georgia State court he’ll be playing on in college, had 12 points, seven assists and four rebounds for the Knights. Centennial led by three at halftime, but a 22-8 third quarter run by the Lions shot Westlake to a 10-point lead at the end of the quarter.

Centennial spent most of the fourth quarter playing catch up. Most Knights fans thought they finally caught Westlake late in the fourth when Adrian Rodgers hit what appeared to be a 3-pointer, however the refs ruled a 2-pointer and instead of leading 63-61, Centennial only led 62-61. White had a chance to win the game with a last second shot, but his floater from the lane missed. Knights senior Jeremy Burgess, who went 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter, led the team in scoring with 16 points. Rodgers added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Centennial will be off until December 8 when they play host to Kell. Three days later, Georgia’s number one ranked team, Wheeler, will travel to Centennial for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.