The Thomson Bulldogs defeated the Butler Bulldogs in Wednesday's second quarterfinal match up of the region 3-AAA tournament at the Raleigh Roundtree Athletic Complex. Thomson advances to face the Washington County Golden Hawks, who beat Richmond Academy (highlights coming tomorrow) in Wednesday's third game.
Thomson was firing on all cylinders early as guard Ronkeem Sallywhite was hot from behind the arc, center John John Atkins controlled the paint, and Thomson's full court pressure created scoring opportunities in transition.
Butler's Jeffery Archie ignited a comeback with hot shooting of his own. And his Butler teammates joined him in cutting Thomson lead, once as large as 15 points, to 53-49 in the fourth quarter. But Thomson's pressure took its toll, and Butler's comeback attempt fell short.
Enjoy the highlights from Wednesday's quarterfinal match up.
A video preview of today's 5: P.M. game between the Butler Bulldogs and the Thomson Bulldogs. This is the second of four quarterfinal match ups in the region 3-AAA tournament. We will be covering this tournament as well as the region 7-A (hosted at Aquinas) and the region 2-AAAA tournament (hosted at Richmond Hill). Stay tuned!
Eight teams have been fiercely competing for four first round byes in the region 3-AAA tournament to be held next week at Josey High School.
Washington County was the earliest team to secure the advantage by achieving a 7-0 sub region record in a 52-40 win over Butler two weeks ago, before clinching sole possession of first place in its next contest versus Glenn Hills.
Friday night, the Butler Bulldogs defeated the Glenn Hills Spartans blank-blank, assuring themselves of a first round bye in the region tournament by locking in the second place position in sub region 3A-AAA. Click below to see highlights of Butler's important victory over the Spartans.
But the standings sub region 3B-AAA are less clear. After important wins against Josey and Thomson in recent weeks, the Westside Patriots lead with a 7-2 record and sit in the driver's seat approaching the final sub region game at home against the Richmond Academy Musketeers. But Richmond, Josey, and Thomson are poised to join Westside in a four way tie should the Patriots lose at home and the Eagles and Bulldogs win their final sub region contests, versus Harlem and Grovetown, respectively.
A Westside win would quickly make things clear, as Westside would secure the number one spot and Josey, should they defeat Harlem at home, will win the tie breaker versus Thomson* and grab the number two spot. But a Richmond victory over the Patriots will force the region 3-AAA committee to consult the rule book to decide which two teams will earn the two top sub region 3B-AAA positions and region tournament byes.
*As mentioned, Josey is in position to win a direct, two way tie breaker with Thomson. Click the video below to see highlights of the Eagles' important win at Thomson Friday night.
The Washington County Golden Hawks moved to 17-0 Friday night, defeating the Butler Bulldogs 52-40 at Butler High School. Juwan Burden scored 27 point to lead the Golden Hawks. Burden displayed a wide range of skills, scoring off the dribble, in the mid range, and at the rim. The two teams traded baskets much of the game, as the sub region rivals' defensive performances made scoring points difficult for each other. But Burden poured in the points late.
In addition to sporting a 17-0 record, the Golden Hawks' 7-0 region record puts Washington County in the driver's seat to attain the region tournaments highest seed. Enjoy the video highlights from Friday's featured match up.
The Thomson Bulldogs defeated the Butler Bulldogs in Wednesday's second quarterfinal match up of the region 3-AAA tournament at the Raleigh Roundtree Athletic Complex. Thomson advances to face the Washington County Golden Hawks, who beat Richmond Academy (highlights coming tomorrow) in Wednesday's third game.
