The final day of the GSHA basketball playoffs was a good one for first timers. The Newton girls and BEST Academy boys each won their first state championship, while Fannin County’s girls won for the third time.

 It was also a good day for two old reliables, as the Wheeler boys claimed the tenth state title in their storied history and the Houston County Sharks won their 12th wheelchair basketball title in 13 years.

Wheeeler

Class 6A boys: Wheeler 61, Newton 56

Colben Landrew and Kevin Savage III each scored 19 points and Wheeler held off Newton to win its 10th state championship.

Landrew scored on a drive with 2:12 to put the Wildcats ahead and made two free throws during a 7-0 run that turned the momentum their way. Landrew was 6-for-6 at the line in the final two minutes to secure the victory.

Wheeler (29-3) also got nine points from Tylis Jordan and eight points from Mansur McClain.

Newton (21-10) was led by Zach Harden with 26 points and seven rebounds and Jordan Green with 16 points.

Newton

Class 6A girls: Newton 59, Grayson 56

Sophomore London Smith scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Rams to an upset win over defending state champion Grayson and win its first girls title.

 Newton (25-5) had lost all three previous meetings to Grayson this season. Camille Files scored 10 points and Mya Perry had eight points and six rebounds for Newton.

Grayson (30-2) got 16 points and six rebounds from  Jacksonville signee Tatum Brown, 15 points and six rebounds from Coco Randolph and 11 points from Zoie Loftin.

Grayson had won 30 straight going into the final.

Fannin

Class A Division I girls: Fannin County 51, Banks County 42

Maggie Ledford scored 22 points on 10-for-15 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Fannin County its third state championship.

Fannin County (29-2) finished the season on a 20-game winning streak. The Rebels also got 14 points and 10 rebounds from Reese Lewis and nine points and four assists from Izzie Jabaley. Fannin County also won titles in 1993 and 1999.

Banks County (25-6) suffered through a horrible shooting night, making only 14 of 44 (31.8 percent) from the floor and just 2-for-12 on 3-pointers. Reese Murphy and Ryleigh Murphy each scored nine points and Marleigh Dale had 11 rebounds and one blocked shot.

best

Class A Division I boys: BEST Academy 62, Southwest Macon 56

BEST Academy dominated the fourth quarter 25-11 to erase an 11-point deficit and win the school’s first state championship in any sport.

The Eagles (25-7) took the lead for good when Jacob Mickell made a running layup with 1:04 remaining. Mickell finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists. His twin brother Joshua Nickell had 16 points and six rebounds. Nicholas Dozier scored 14 with nine rebounds and Alexander Barrett had eight points and nine rebounds.

Southwest (27-3) was led by C.J. Barrett with 31 points, including five 3-pointers, and Chase Dupree with 10 points. Rinaldo Callaway had a team-high eight rebounds.

sharks

Wheelchair: Houston County Sharks 37, Clayton Eagles 34

The Sharks overcame a 12-point third-period deficit to win their fourth straight championship and their 12th title in the last 13 seasons.

The young Clayton team, which featured seven first-year players, raced to an 18-8 lead and were up 24-16 at halftime. The Sharks came back from the break and scored 12 unanswered points, with the tying basket coming from Dalton Crosby and the go-ahead bucket from Laila Kindness.

Anthony Cuti, one of seven players who returned from the 2024 championship team, scored 15 points to lead Houston County.

Clayton was led by Andrew Dotson with 10 points and Anquan Smith eight eighth.