LaFayette used a dominating third quarter to defeat Northwest Whitfield, 67-57, in the Region 6-AAAA boys' basketball championship game Monday night at Southeast Whitfield.
Trailing 31-26 at halftime, the Ramblers (23-2) went on a big run and eventually took a 10-point lead two minutes into the final quarter.
"It was a back-and-forth game and we came off a tough second quarter to take control after halftime," LaFayette coach Hank Peppers said. "In the second half we got off to a good start and once we got the lead they started pressing, which we knew they would at some point. We handled it well and got some good shots off it."
LaFayette, which got a double-double from DeCameron Porter with 15 points and 21 rebounds, will host Oconee County Saturday in a first round Class AAAA playoff game. Aidan Hadaway led the Ramblers with 22 points and added 15 rebounds, with Jaylon Ramsey finishing with 14 points and seven assists.
The playoff game will be the fourth consecutive season the Ramblers will host a postseason contest.
Northwest Whitfield (16-11) will host Madison County in a first-round playoff game.
In the third-place boys' game, Heritage rolled past Pickens, 63-45. The fourth-seeded Generals (13-15) upset the No. 3 seed as Cooper Terry led the way with 16 points (12 coming on 3-pointers), with Cade Collins adding nine points and Kobe McAllister seven.
Heritage, which had lost twice to Pickens (18-10) during the regular season, held the Dragons' leading scorer, Noah Sutton, to three points. Coach Kevin Terry's Generals play at North Oconee at 7 p.m. Friday.
Region 6-AAAA girls
Northwest Whitfield earned the region championship with a 49-39 win over Gilmer, which had beat the Lady Bruins during the regular season. Northwest (21-7) will host Madison County in the first round of the playoffs.
Tionna Baker led the Lady Bruins with 25 points and added five assists. Mikayla Ehlers had 17 points and Emma Allen nine rebounds.
"The key tonight was turnovers," Northwest coach Bob Williams said. "We cut our turnovers in half from the last time we played them, and we turned them over 14 times."
Pickens downed LaFayette 68-61 in the third-place game. The Lady Ramblers (15-10) will travel to St. Pius X for a first-round playoff game.
Region 7-AA boys at Chattooga
Rockmart rallied in the final quarter for a 54-52 win over Chattooga in the championship game. Tyler Rowland's two free throws with under a minute to play provided the winning points after Rockmart's Juke Boozer, who had a game-high 21, led a 20-11 fourth-quarter advantage with seven points in the final three minutes.
Malachi Jackson led Chattooga (21-6), which was going for a fourth consecutive region title, with 12 points, with Cash Allen and Jatorius Williams adding 10 each. The Indians will host Temple in a first-round playoff game.
Region 7-AA girls
Rockmart needed all of Keyarah Berry's 43 points to edge the Lady Indians for the region title. Berry's basket with 17 seconds to play gave the Lady Yellowjackets (20-6) a one-point lead, which held up when Chattooga missed two shots in the final five seconds. The Lady Indians (20-6) led 47-40 at the end of three quarters before Berry capped a 10-2 run with a three-point play.
Chattooga, which hosts Heard County in a first-round playoff game, took a 56-55 lead on Naveah Morgan's free throws before Berry's eventual game-winner. Faith Ann Foster and Morgan had 16 points each to lead Chattooga.
Dade County defeated Gordon Central, 47-38, in the third-place game. The Lady Wolverines (19-9) will travel to Lamar County, while Gordon Central (17-10) will visit Bremen in first-round playoff games.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or call 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22.