(Columbus, GA) — The Braves will enter the GHSA Class AA state Tournament as a No. 4 seed following region tournament losses to Spencer and Temple in Columbus this week.

The consolation game loss to Temple came by a close margin of 50-47 Friday, while the semifinal loss to the top-seeded host Greenwave on Thursday was buy a final score of 78-60.

Alijah Huzzie finished with 21 points to lead the scoring versus Temple and was named to the Region 5-AA All Tourney team.

Will Hammett and Ayden Cannon each scored six while Komari Clark notched five points.

Huzzie was also the top scorer in Thursday’s game with 18. Other leading scorers were Cannon with 10, Darius Matthews with nine, Jacorian Allen with eight and Tray Dunson with seven.

Coach Keith Simmons and the Braves (7-19, 6-6) will face a tall task in round one as they travel to meet the AJC’s No. 5 ranked team in the state, the Therrell High Panthers in Atlanta.

The upstart Panthers (18-7, 11-1) reached the state playoffs in 2016 for the first time since 1982 and defeated traditional powerhouse South Atlanta 80-73 in the Region 6-AA Championship Friday night.

Three of Therrell’s four leading scorers are sophomores. The fourth is a freshman, Robbie Armbrester, who averages 10 rebounds to go with his 12 points per game. Sophomore guard DeAndre Brown scored 28 points in another regular season win over South Atlanta.

The round one playoff game will take place next Friday or Saturday in Atlanta.

Spencer survived a late scare from Jordan to win the Region 5-AA title game by a final score of 64-63.