Sports
Milton Blows By Tift County In State Semifinals, Will Face Norcross For State Title
The Milton boys basketball team shows how it earned a No. 1 ranking in GA Class AAAAA by drilling Tift County, 75-53, to advance to the state championship.
DULUTH–Milton senior point guard Jordan Loyd poured in 27 points to lead Georgia's No. 1 ranked team to a 75-53 victory over Tift County Thursday night in the Class AAAAA State Semifinals. The win earns the Eagles a date with Norcross for the state championship Friday at 8:45 p.m.
Tift County actually got off to a promising start as freshman point guard Tadric Jackson passed to sophomore Donell Tuff, who promptly drove baseline and dunked home the first two points of the game.
Milton got off to a slow start shooting from the field and trailed 6-0 thanks to a free throw from Jackson and a three-point play from senior center Breon Dixon.
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After a timeout by Milton head coach David Boyd, the Eagles got it together as senior forward Dai--jon Parker hit a three-pointer right out of the timeout. That seemed to get them going. On the Eagles' next possession, senior point guard Shannon Scott, the son of former North Carolina star Charles Scott, drove to the basket and scored. The Eagles had reasserted themselves, and by the end of an evenly played first quarter, Milton led 17-14.
In the second quarter, Milton grabbed control of the game and increased its lead to as much as 20 thanks to pressure defense. The Eagles forced Tift County into turnovers and converted them into points. Senior guard Jordan Loyd scored 15 of his 27 points in the first half, including a desperation three pointer at the buzzer to give the Eagles a 43-22 lead at halftime.
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The second half was all Milton. The Eagles dominated the Blue Devils. Jordan Loyd continued his scoring, and the Eagles also got a huge contribution from Shaquelle Johnson, who was in on a few dunks. The Blue Devils were unable to stop the onslaught of the Eagles, and Milton won going away by the score of 75-53.
For Tift County, they were led in scoring by Tadric Jackson and Sr. center Breon Dixon, who each had 15 points. The Blue Devils finish the season at 24-7.
After dispatching one group of Blue Devils, Milton, now 29-2, will take on the 23-9 Norcross Blue Devils Friday night for the Class AAAAA State Championship.
One other interesting fact is that not only are the Eagles ranked No. 1 in Georgia Class AAAAA, but according to ESPN Rise, Milton is ranked No. 3 in the country behind two New Jersey schools: St. Anthony (Jersey City, NJ) and St. Patrick (Elizabeth, NJ).
