HINESVILLE A determined Islands team started the third quarter with an impressive run to put some pressure on host Liberty County on Wednesday night, but the defending state champion Panthers were not going to be denied on their home court.

Guards Will Richardson and Davion Mitchell put on a spectacular show, combining for 71 points as the Panthers rolled to an 89-72 win over Islands in the GHSA Class 3A quarterfinals.

It was the 14th straight win for Liberty County as the Panthers finished off a perfect season at home and improved to 22-5 overall. Liberty County, which won the Class 4A title last season before moving down to 3A, will face Pace Academy in a Final Four matchup set for 4 p.m. Saturday at Armstrong State University.

The Sharks third-quarter run lit a fire under Mitchell, the senior point guard headed to Auburn, and Richardson, a junior guard with an array of offers from some of the top programs in the country. Richardson had four 3-pointers among his 42 points, and Mitchell also connected four times from distance as he put up 29 points. Mitchell had 14 in the first half and became the first Panther to reach the 2,000-point milestone for his career.

They have some players that can shoot the ball, Mitchell said. So defense was the key for us tonight, and thats what we had been working on in practice all week. When Will (Richardson) and I are on, we know we are hard to stop. We won tonight, and we have a lot of confidence heading into the Final Four.

Richardson said he and Mitchell have been playing ball together since they were in the fourth grade, and the chemistry they have was evident from the opening tipoff.

Davion and I have played together for so long, we know exactly where the other guy is going to be, said Richardson, who entered the night averaging 31.1 points per game and reached the 40-point mark for the sixth time this season. We knew Islands had some great guards in (Justin) Cave and (Trae) Broadnax, so we were focused on slowing those two down. Were taking the approach like we are the underdog in every game. Were going to do whatever it takes to get that W.

Trailing 40-24 at the half, Islands came out strong in the third quarter. A steal led to a Broadnax layup, and the defense kept the pressure on leading to a basket in transition followed by a 3-pointer by Hugh Durham. Justin Cave added a dunk and a layup as Islands went on an 11-1 run to close the deficit to 41-35.

But Liberty County responded. Mitchell hit a step-back trey, and Richardson pulled up to connect on a mid-range jumper to stem the tide. Richardson closed out the third quarter by draining his final three 3-point attempts as Liberty County extended its lead to 62-45 after three quarters and never looked back. Jaalon Frazier added nine points for the Panthers.

The final two minutes resembled the NBA All-Star game with uncontested 3-pointers swishing through the nets, and spectacular dunks bringing the crowd to its feet. Richardson had a memorable windmill jam, and Mitchell skied to flush a nice two-hander. Cave returned the favor with a dunk of his own for the final basket of his high school career.

Cave finished with 24 points, and the standout sophomore Broadnax had 22. Senior Durham scored all eight of his points in the second half and Justin Walker added seven for Islands.

Liberty County has some talented guards and they made all their shots tonight, said Durham, who will play at Vassar College in New York. Its tough knowing this is the last game for our senior class, but we had the first winning record in school history last year and made it to the Elite Eight this season. We helped build a strong program at Islands.

Cave was impressed with his teams start in the third quarter, but said Mitchell and Richardson played well.

We played some good defense to get back in it, but Richardson is so smooth, and Mitchell is slick and fast. They are a good combination. But we had a great road to the Elite Eight this year, it was an awesome journey, said Cave, who has an offer from Savannah State and is receiving interest from Wofford, Presbyterian and VMI.

Islands coach Karl DeMasi said his senior class of six players has put Islands on the map.

It was the final game for Heath Tofflemire, Alex Cabrera, Justin Walker, Justin Cutter, Walker, Durham and Cave.

I give them credit for hanging in there tonight against a great team in Liberty County, DeMasi said. This senior class has been a joy to coach. I knew they were special when they were freshmen, and its been great to see them mature as players, students and young men. I never had to worry about anything with them, on or off the court. They made my job easy.

ISLANDS (72)

Trae Broadnax 22, Edwards 1, Cabrera 6, Durham 8, J. Walker 7, Justin Cave 24, DeLoach 4.

LIBERTY COUNTY (89)

Haggray 3, Will Richardson 42, Davion Mitchell 29, Frazier 9, Washington 4, Golden 4.

I|12|12|21|27|--|72

LC|18|22|22|27|--|89

RecordsIslands 19-10; LC 22-5.

ON THE WEB

View more photos from the Islands game against Liberty County at savannahnow.com/sports.

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Big Two lead Liberty Co. to Final Four with win over Islands - Savannah Morning News