Pebblebrook guards Collin Sexton and Dwight Murray combined for 50 points and the Falcons held on for a 78-71 victory over McEachern in a matchup of Cobb County teams in the Class AAAAAA boys basketball quarterfinals Friday at the University of West Georgia.
Sexton scored 12 of his game-high 27 points in the third quarter to help seventh-ranked Pebblebrook (22-9) maintain its lead as McEachern began to climb back into contention. Murray finished with 23 points and made seven 3-pointers, including three in the first quarter as the Falcons jumped out to a 25-13 lead and three more in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory.
Pebblebrook will make its third consecutive appearance in the semifinals when it faces Milton at 8:15 p.m. Saturday in Carrollton. The Falcons lost to Cobb rival Wheeler the past two seasons, in the semifinals in 2014 and in the championship game last season. Wheeler entered the state tournament ranked No. 1 this year but was upset in the first round.
A 3-pointer by Murray gave Pebblebrook its first double-digit lead at 21-11 with 1:17 to play in the first quarter. The Falcons increased the lead to 15 early in the second quarter, but for the most part McEachern stayed within about 10 for the rest of the half.
In the third quarter, the No. 6-ranked Indians (26-4) got hot from three-point range, making five, and closed the gap to 53-50. Darius Jones scored 10 of his team-high 21 points in the quarter. But Sexton hit a wild, off-balance shot to end the quarter and restore the lead to five points, and the Indians never got closer than four points the rest of the way.
Jared Harper had 11 points and Jatrious Smith added 10 for the Falcons. McEachern got 16 points from Isaac Okoro, 13 from Tre Peoples and 10 from Bryce Smith.
