Milton head coach David Boyd said the experience factor of his team - having been in this same spot last season - could not be understated. The Eagles looked every bit of a battle-tested March team on Thursday night in the Class-AAAAA semifinals at the Gwinnett Arena.

Milton streaked to an early double-digit lead right out of the gate, and shot a smoldering 65 percent for the game in hammering shell-shocked Newton, 86-54, to advance to the state finals.

"I think we played about as well as we can play, but I hope we can get at least one more great effort in there," said Boyd, who will gun for his fifth state championship as a coach on Friday, when Milton takes on Westlake in a game scheduled to tip off at 8:45 p.m. at the Gwinnett Arena.

"I thought that we came ready," the coach added. "We were focused. I think the experience of having played here before also helped us, no question about that."

Milton jumped out to a quick 12-2 advantage, which forced Newton head coach Rick Rasmussen to burn an early timeout. Shannon Scott, Evan Nolte, and Dai-Jon Parker exploited Newton's match-up zone by opening up the game on fire from the field, and Milton's superior quickness and active hands on the other end flustered the Rams, who carried a 30-1 record into the game.

Nolte led the charge in the first half, hitting on all five of his 3-point attempts. The Eagle lead grew to 11 at 23-12 at the end of the first period, and Milton upped the ante to 20 (46-26) by halftime, as Scott chipped in 10 points and Parker and big man Julian Royal added nine apiece.

"We had looked at their stats and they were holding people to like 45 (actually 46) points a game," said Boyd. "And that's not the kind of game we like to play, so we wanted to kinda get it up-tempo as much as we could."

Newton's Derrick Henry tried to keep the Rams in it with 12 first-half points and 16 for the game, but Milton did a tremendous job on leading scorer Tevin Bradley. The senior guard entered the game with a 25-point average, but managed just two in the momentous first half and scored but seven for the game.

Milton continued to pour it on in the second-half. Royal scored 11 of his 22 points in the third period, highlighted by three monster dunks that delighted the Milton crowd. On one occasion, Royal received the ball on the right block, slid underneath the basket, and stuffed the ball home with his right hand on the opposite side of the rim. He would add one more field goal on his final dunk in the fourth quarter before getting the rest of the night off.

Milton led 67-43 at the end of three quarters, and built the lead to over 30 points one period later, which held up until the final horn, despite Newton's desperate attempts to narrow the gap.

Royal led the way for the home Eagles in white with 22 points and seven rebounds. Nolte chipped in two more second-half field goals to finish with 19 points and five boards. Scott had a great all-around game with 18 points, eight assists, and four steals. And Parker scored 13 points, including an electric two-handed jam off an alley-oop pass in the first half that pushed Milton's lead to 37-21 at the time.

"That's definitely one of our better shooting performances," said Boyd, on a night when Milton connected on a ridiculous 37 of its 57 field goal attempts. "But, ya know, we're capable of shooting the ball that way."

Milton cleared its bench for much of the final period. Ten players scored for the Eagles, who defeated Newnan by 11 in last year's Class-AAAAA semis before falling to Wheeler, 73-53, in the finals.

Next up for Milton is top-ranked Westlake, in a game for all the marbles. The Lions possess a bevy of size and strength, which should provide a compelling matchup with Milton's blend of perimeter athleticism and its quick, attacking style. Westlake reached the Final 4 in both 2008 and 2009, before taking it one step further this season.

"Well, they're big and physical, and play real hard," said Boyd of the 30-2 Lions from Region 4AAAAA, who defeated Central Gwinnett in an overtime thriller earlier on Thursday. "They've got good size. We'll have to play a great game to beat them."

A game like Thursday's might just do the trick.

Lady Eagles fall to Redan

For two-and-a-half quarters, Milton was the better team. And anyone in attendance who was paying attention would have a hard time arguing against that contention.

The Lady Eagles held a 5-point lead over defending state champion Redan midway through the third period, but the Lady Raiders turned it on to take the lead, extend it, and eventually hold on for a 55-46 over Milton in a Class-AAAAA semifinal game on Thursday night at the Gwinnett Arena.

Milton was able to control the tempo for much of the game, but Redan's pressure eventually paid off and allowed the undefeated Lady Raiders - winners of 58 straight games - to cash in some easy opportunities. Redan's will, and foul trouble for Milton star Nikki Dixon, were the difference in the decisive third quarter.

"They upped the pressure on the press, and mentally I don't think we ever got in our offense in the third quarter and it took us out," said Milton head coach Craig Bennett, whose team posted a 24-6 record for the season.

"That's the time a coach has to take over and call a timeout, and I didn't do that."

Redan's diminutive point guard, Alisha Andrews, drilled two big 3-pointers in the second half - en route to a team-high 17 points - to help turn a 27-22 deficit into a 39-31 lead early in the fourth quarter. Kierra Paige was able to get to the foul line by attacking the basket, and scored 12 of her 15 points in the second half for the Lady Raiders.

Kris Puthoff-King did all she could to keep the Lady Eagles in it. The senior guard led the way with 16 points and scored 10 in the second half, as teammate and fellow standout Dixon was saddled with four first half fouls and sat out the entire third period.

Puthoff-King sustained a cut underneath her right eye off an elbow from Redan's Andrews in the second half, but got it patched up and soon returned to the game.

Milton trailed by two at the half (19-17) but opened the third period on a 12-3 run behind Puthoff-King's free-throws and key buckets from Erin Brundage, Tori Waldner, and Haley Franz. Even with Dixon on the bench, Milton opened up a 5-point lead before Redan's run.

"They're a great team. They've been battle-tested for a long time," Bennett said of Redan. "They took us out of our entire gameplan (in the third quarter). That's my fault. There was a stretch there we were just hoping to get through, and we didn't."

Redan took a 36-31 lead into the fourth quarter by hitting shots, getting to the foul line, and creating transition chances, and built the margin up to 48-39 before Milton made a last-ditch run. The Lady Eagles cut the gap to four at 50-46 with just under two minutes remaining in the game, but had 3-balls from Franz and Dixon rim out that could have narrowed the score even more. Redan scored the final five points to end it.

Milton went on a 9-2 run in the first half to take an 11-6 lead after falling behind early. The Lady Eagles - who pride themselves on holding opponents in check on the scoreboard - had the tempo to their liking in the opening 16 minutes. Milton held a 17-16 lead before Redan's MacKenzie Dalrymple drilled a three just before the half.

Dixon - who had averaged over 20 points in Milton's three previous state tournament wins - picked up four fouls in the first half and headed to the bench before the second period ended. She scored three points before being taken out, but the slower pace allowed Milton to remain right in the game.

Puthoff-King's six points led Milton heading into the intermission. Dixon finished with seven for the game, before fouling out with 1:04 remaining.

Waldner chipped in eight for Milton, while Brundage scored seven and Franz had six.

Redan (31-0) advanced to face Norcross (27-4) in the Class-AAAAA girl's final on Friday.

The loss, though bitter, could not diminish a spirited run from Milton. The Lady Eagles won 16 of 18 games following the turn of the calendar year, and avenged regular season losses to North Cobb and 7AAAAA champ Mill Creek in the postseason.

"They played their hearts out for me," Bennett said of his team. "I'm proud of them."