Wheeler Bounced Out at Home

North Gwinnett ended the Wildcats' season in the second round of the state tournament Wednesday.

Wheeler's up-and-down season ended prematurely on Wednesday in a manner that typified some of the the Wildcats' misfortune.  Wheeler extended its second round Class AAAAA state tournament game to overtime, but North Gwinnett freshman Kam Calhoun scored his only basket of the game on a layup with 4.7 seconds to play.  That was just enough for the visitors to claim a 70-68 win at the Doug Lipscomb Gym and advance to the quarterfinals this weekend. Wheeler forced the additional session on free throws by Jacob Obande, who had been fouled by Calhoun. But the Wildcats couldn't piece enough together to benefit from home court advantage. After the game, Wheeler coach Doug Lipscomb told The Marietta Daily Journal he was proud of how his team …

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Wheeler Holds On; Walton Bows Out

The Wildcats will play host to North Gwinnett on Wednesday in the second round of the Class AAAAA state tournament.

The Wheeler boys basketball team had to hold on to advance out of the first round of the Georgia Class AAAAA state tournament Saturday night.  The Walton boys hung close to Milton, the No. 1 team in Class AAAAA, in their first round game on Saturday, but could not close a 13-point deficit.  The Wildcats let Northview close to within two points before pulling away to a 71-63 win. The Raiders fell 68-62 on the floor of one of the favorites for the state title (game summaries here).  On Wednesday, Wheeler (17-10) will play host to North Gwinnett, which defeated Central Gwinnett, 59-52, on Friday night (Class AAAAA brackets here).  Walton's season ends with a 15-14 record. 

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Wheeler, Walton Boys Start State Play

The Wildcats are at home Saturday against Northview while the Raiders must travel to No. 1 Milton.

Wheeler is back in the state tournament, as expected. Two suspended starters, Elijah Staley and Kejuan Johnson, also will be back in the lineup when the Wildcats play host to Northview at 6 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the Georgia Class AAAAA boys basketball state tournament.  But how far the Wildcats might progress is up for debate. Wheeler (16-10) won the Region 5-AAAAA tournament, beating East Cobb rivals Walton and Lassiter without Staley and Johnson, who sat after getting in an altercation near the end of their quarterfinal win over Cherokee.  By virtue of finishing fourth in the region, Walton (15-12) faces the daunting task of playing at No. 1 Milton at 7:30 p.m. The Raiders had Wheeler on the ropes until the fourth quarter, …

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Wheeler Girls Open State Tourney

The Lady Wildcats play at North Forsyth Friday evening in the first round of the Class AAAAA bracket.

They haven't been quite able to break their streak of losing seasons, but the Wheeler Lady Wildcats have come up as big winners in a more important way.  For the first time since 2004-05, the Lady Wildcats (13-14) have qualified for the Georgia High School Association girls basketball tournament by finishing third last weekend in the Region 5-AAAAA tournament.  At 7 p.m. Friday they will play at North Forsyth in a tough part of the bracket. Should Wheeler win that game, undefeated Parkview figures to loom in the second round.  Former assistant coach Joel Howell, who played for the Wheeler boys from 1989-93, took the helm as head coach of the girls team at the start of the 2010-11 season. Before that, the Lady Wildcats were coming off two …

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Title Time for Pope, Wheeler Teams

The Greyhounds claimed a second straight state wrestling crown, while the Wildcats are region basketball champions.

Two Pope wrestlers won individual titles as the Greyhounds stormed to their second consecutive Georgia Class AAAA traditional wrestling title Saturday at Gwinnett Arena.  Cameron Munsey (126) and Jake Henson (152) were the individual title winners, while Billy Meek's bid to win a title in the 160 was undone in a dramatic overtime loss to Hunter Gamble of Union Grove.  The Greyhounds tallied 115 points, well ahead of Alexander, which had 96.5 points (full team standings). The state meet capped another dominating season for Pope, which won its first state duals title in January.  Reclaiming Region 5-AAAAA boys basketball supremacy didn't look promising for the Wheeler Wildcats in the third quarter of Saturday's final against Lassiter.  But …

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Wheeler Edges Walton; Lassiter's Next

Without key players, the Wildcats reached the Region 5-AAAAA title game; Wheeler's girls fell to Marietta.

Although both teams qualified for the state tournament by winning on Wednesday, the Wheeler and Walton boys basketball teams found a way to make their third meeting of the season meaningful.  The Wildcats were missing starters Elijah Staley and Kejuan Johnson, both given two-game suspensions for their role in altercation in the final seconds of Wheeler's 51-37 win over Cherokee in the Region 5-AAAAA quarterfinals.  And with Wheeler big man Charles Mitchell struggling with just one point after three quarters, Walton was primed for an upset Friday in their semifinal contest at Marietta High School.  Even after Mitchell got untracked with three quick baskets in the fourth quarter, the Raiders hung close in the final minutes. Rico Overall …

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Trying Seasons for Ex-Wheeler Stars

While K.K. Simmons is suspended at UNC-Wilimington, DeQuan Jones is reinstated at Miami.

Wheeler High School basketball star K.K. Simmons got off to a solid start this season at UNC-Wilmington.  The freshman guard started 12 games and was the third-leading scorer for the Seahawks, averaging 7.6 points a game. But on Friday he was suspended indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the program." UNCW coach Buzz Peterson didn't explain the reasons why. Simmons was one of eight freshmen on Peterson's team, which has an 8-14 record and has lost seven of its last eight games. UNCW's skid began on Jan. 12 in a 75-61 loss at Georgia State that was a homecoming game for Simmons, who scored 12 points. He had 18 points in a loss to George Mason, but in what turned out to be his last game, on Wednesday against Georgia State, Simmons …

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Wheeler Gives No. 1 Milton a Scare

Chuck Mitchell's 30 points aren't enough as the Wildcats lose at home, 65-60.

Top-ranked Milton’s visit to Wheeler turned into a battle of senior big men Tevin Glass and Chuck Mitchell. Wheeler's Mitchell won the battle Saturday night, but Milton won the AAAAA war in East Cobb, 65-60. It was the 14th consecutive win for Milton (18-4), whose only on-court loss came at home Dec. 10 against Tift County, 57-52. But it was the first time all season that the Eagles won by fewer than 11 points. Against Wheeler (10-8), Milton never led by more than 11. “Won tonight over a talented and young Wheeler team,” Milton Coach David Boyd tweeted. Mitchell was the biggest reason a Wheeler lineup packed with freshmen and sophomores made it so close. He scored a game-high 30 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, and grabbed 12 …

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Wheeler Edges Out Walton

The Wildcats nipped their East Cobb rivals by a point for the second time this season.

Wheeler Boys Hold Off Marietta

The Wildcats claimed a close win over their archrivals to remain unbeaten in region play; the Pope boys extended their winning streak on Tuesday.

Wheeler's freshmen made the difference against Marietta in Tuesday's 69-62 victory at the Doug Lipscomb Gym.  As The Marietta Daily Journal reported, rookies Daniel Giddens and Kejuan Johnson made big plays down the stretch as the Wildcats moved to a Region 5-AAAAA-leading 6-0 mark, a game ahead of the Blue Devils.  Wheeler's rugged nonconference schedule appears to be paying off. The Wildcats are 7-5 overall, but 6-0 in region games with Woodstock (7-10, 2-4) looming next on the schedule on Friday.  The Wheeler girls fell to 6-8 and 2-3 with a 63-46 loss to Marietta.  The Walton boys are 8-9 and 2-4 after a 75-64 loss to Etowah Tuesday. The game was the fourth in five nights for the Raiders, who meet Centennial on Friday.  The Walton …

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