The Islands boys basketball team has travelled more than 1,000 miles in the first two rounds of the state playoffs as the Sharks beat Worth County and East Hall for the first postseason victories in school history.

So the 40-mile trip today to Liberty County for a GHSA Class 3A Elite Eight matchup almost seems like a home game for coach Karl DeMasi and his Sharks.

But its going to be tough to beat the Panthers (21-5) on their home court, where they havent lost all season. Islands (19-9) and the Panthers tip off at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 5 p.m., and a big crowd is expected, so fans should arrive early.

Liberty County moved down an enrollment classification after winning the 4A state crown last season.

Liberty County is very good, they are very athletic, DeMasi said. They have one guard (Davion) Mitchell, who is going to Auburn. And that junior (Will) Richardson is considered one of the best in the country. Were going to have to try to slow those two down, but that has been a tough task for a lot of teams this year. We need to take care of things on our end of the court and hope things work out.

Islands has been getting things down behind their talented trio of guards. Sophomore Trae Broadnax had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the 78-60 win over Worth County and had 27 points and eight assists against East Hall last Thursday. Senior Justin Cave had a triple double against Worth County with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and followed with 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists against East Hall. Sharp-shooting senior guard Hugh Durham has added 17 points and nine assists in the two games.

Islands is battle-tested, having faced 19 playoff teams in its 29 games. If the Sharks get hot from the outside, they present problems for any team they face.

Liberty County is stacked with talent. When Mitchell, the Savannah Morning News player of the year last season, was hurt early on, Richardson took over. He has scored over 40 points in four games this year, including a 55-point outburst in a win over Bradwell Institute. Richardson is averaging 31.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Mitchell missed six games but has been strong since his return, averaging 23.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 5.2 apg.

Other key contributors include Tyreon Freeman (11.9 ppg) and Jaalon Frazier, who has signed to play football at Georgia Southern as a quarterback. He averages 6.4 ppg and 8.3 rpg.

Ive seen film of Islands and they can shoot the basketball very well, Mitchell said. But we have very good man-to-man defense, and were going to try to slow them down with that. Were pretty confidence having won in 4A last year. We know what we have to do.

Mitchell said he expects the atmosphere to be electric.

Its going to be crazy in our gym, Mitchell said. Im sure there will be people lined up out the door like always.

Jenkins (22-7) at Calhoun (22-4), 6 p.m.

This is a rematch of last years Class 3A quarterfinal, won by Jenkins 84-78 at Augusta State. The Warriors lost a coin flip, and were boarding a bus Tuesday afternoon for an overnight trip to western Georgia to take on the Yellow Jackets.

We wanted to play at home, but once we lost the coin flip, we put that behind us quickly, said Jenkins coach Bakari Bryant, who is looking to lead the Warriors to their fourth straight Final Four appearance. Thats why we always play in those tough holiday tournaments on the road early in the season. Thats helps us get used to this type of atmosphere and prepares us for playoff situations like this.

Bryant said Calhoun lost a lot of talent to graduation, but it has a quality player in senior Chapin Rierson. The 6-foot-5 guard/forward has a versatile game and does everything for the Yellow Jackets.

The Warriors counter with one of the most versatile players in the state in 6-foot-5 senior Trevion Lamar, who averages 20.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Senior Zion Williams is one of the top point guards in the state, averaging 15.6 points and 4.9 assists. Tyrone Scott is an athletic junior averaging 12.3 points and 7.2 rebounds. Junior Tre Mays is an excellent perimeter shooter averaging 10.4 points a game, and senior Myles Walker is another solid contributor, averaging 8.6 points a game.

I feel like we have more athletes than they do, and you cant key on one or two guys with us, because the others will step up and hurt you. Weve been playing consistent basketball since we lost to Langston Hughes (Jenkins has won 10 in a row since the setback), and we feel like the only team that can beat Jenkins is Jenkins. All of our losses have been on us.

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Islands visits Liberty County, Jenkins at Calhoun in 3A quarterfinals tonight - Savannah Morning News