AUGUSTA – Monday night’s Western Class C nightcap never resembled a typical eighth-seed versus first-seed quarterfinal matchup until the end.
Matt Wheelock scored six of his eight points in the final 1:12 as top-seeded Hall-Dale pulled out a 55-53 win over No. 8 Madison.
Hall-Dale (17-2) will face No. 4 Georges Valley in the semifinals Thursday night.
Both teams stayed within one possession of each other for most of this back-and-forth affair. Hall-Dale led for most of the fourth quarter until Tyler Marandola drained a 3-pointer to tie the game at 52 with 33 seconds left. Wheelock, the 6-8 center who had been benched by foul troubles for much of the second half, gave Hall-Dale the lead for good with a layup with 20 seconds left.
After the teams traded one-for-two stints from the charity stripe, Madison (11-9) had a chance to tie it or take the lead with time running out, but Randy McMullen’s 3-pointer fell short and into the arms of Hall-Dale’s Joe Willett.
Ben Laflin led Hall-Dale with 18 points, while Willett added 10 off the bench. McMullen paced Madison with 15 points, flowed by Matt Stewart’s 14 and Berry’s 12.
rwhitehouse@sunjournal.com
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