Habersham sails past Pirates in playoffs
Habersham Central senior guard Donnie Warren (0) drives the ball during a playoff game between Brunswick and Habersham Central at the Raider Gymnasium on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026.
The Raiders moved past Brunswick 65-60 in the first round of the GHSA 5A State Tournament at Habersham Central High School on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The Lady Raiders’ season came to a close in a 63-43 loss to the Pirates in the first round of the GHSA 5A State Tournament at Brunswick on Tuesday, Feb. 24.
The Raiders and Brunswick battled each other to the very end.
“A lot of toughness being able to stay in the game,” HCHS Boys Basketball Head Coach Tommy Yancey said. “I didn’t think we shot it very well early. A lot of times that can get you out of your game on defense too. And it seemed like the guys really just kind of locked in defensively to fight their struggles on offense. The next thing you know, defense turned to offense, and then it just turned into a classic state tournament game down the stretch. I mean, it was just two teams kind of going at it.”
In the first half, Habersham Central was struggling to get shots to fall, but its defense kept them in the ball game. Toward the end of the second quarter, the Raiders found themselves down 23-14. They chipped away Brunswick’s lead, and thanks to junior guard Eli Maye getting hot with a last second three, the Raiders had a one-point lead at halftime.
“He (Maye) has had five or six, really big games for us, like that where he’s just had a lot of points, just came out with an explosion,” Yancey said. “He can really shoot the ball. So if he gets comfortable, he can be a problem real quick.”
Maye scored 21 points, four rebounds and four assists.
The second half was two power fighters going back and forth until there was only two minutes left in the game. Senior forward Jake Mihalick scored two free throws, a two-pointer, then another two free throws to make it 63-57 and no more time for Pirates to comeback.
”I think the biggest difference maker was getting some big stops down the stretch along with some of our guys hitting some big shots,” Mihalick said.
Mihalick had a double-double with 11 points, 14 rebounds and had four blocks. Senior forward Judge Wilbanks led the team with 22 points and had nine rebounds.
Habersham Central plays Woodward Academy in the second round of the GHSA 5A State Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 28.
