NORCROSS — After a blowout in the first round, the Norcross boys basketball team expected a tougher test in the second round of the Class AAAAAAA state tournament.

It got just that on Thursday from Colquitt County. The host Blue Devils held on for a 66-59 win over the Packers to advance to the state quarterfinals.

Georgia signee Rayshaun Hammonds led the Blue Devils (24-5) with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Kyle Sturdivant was right behind him with 19 points.

Colquitt (22-7) was led by 17 points from Cam Singletary, who knocked down three 3-point shots in the game.

Norcross will face Pebblebrook in the Elite Eight.

“We knew from what we could find out on Colquitt was they’re a senior-oriented team. They’ve played in a lot of good games, they’re guys that have played multiple sports and played in championships in other sports so we knew they weren’t going to come out and lay down,” Norcross head coach Jesse McMillian said.

“We felt like the last four or five minutes of this game that we finally played a little bit harder than they did. The first 25-26 minutes I just felt like they were playing just a little bit harder, not that we weren’t (playing hard), but I felt like they were playing just a little bit harder, getting some loose balls and getting some extra rebounds.

“Then ultimately around that four-minute mark we challenged our guys and I think that was the first time I think that we played harder than them and that’s when we started getting some of those loose balls. That’s what it came down to and that’s what we told them, ‘Everybody’s good. The little things are going to separate the teams that win and lose.’ I’m just happy that we’re still playing, but Colquitt is really good.”

The loss does not diminish a historic season for the Colquitt County boys.

The Packers finish 22-7, with the victory total tying the most by a Colquitt County boys team.

And it was 33 years ago that the other Packers team won as many.

The 1982-1983 Packers went 22-6, but were eliminated in the first round of the state tournament.

The 22 wins are especially significant considering the three previous Colquitt County boys teams won just 20 games combined.

This season’s Packers advanced to the state tournament as a No. 2 seed after reaching the Region 1-7A finals, before falling to Tift County.

And last week’s first-round victory over Kennesaw Mountain on the William Bryant Court was the first state tournament win by a Packers team since 1955. And it came in a rare home state tournament game.

Colquitt did not go down easily on Thursday.

Norcross led 31-29 at the end of the firs half, but the Packers opened the third quarter with some quick treys to take a one-point lead. Hammond answered, putting Norcross back in front twice, including 40-39 with 3:51 remaining in the third quarter on a three-point play.

The Blue Devils led by four entering the fourth quarter, but Colquitt again closed the gap with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 51 with 6:46 remaining. Norcross then went on a critical 6-0 run, with four points from Hammonds and two from Sturdivant that gave it the cushion it would need the rest of the way.

Colquitt got back within two points on a Jarvis Christopher trey and three free throws from Tyrese King to make it 61-59 with 29 seconds left. But Norcross closed out the game at the free-throw line to advance.

“I want to give them a lot of credit, because this is the first time people have seen them play and they’ve done something in their school that is very special, it had been 61 years since they won a playoff game,” McMillian said of the Packers.

“They came up here and played really hard and I think it was one of the better games that any team has given us this year.”

Throughout the night Hammonds was the one who delivered the big basket for Norcross. It started early in the game when he finished an alley-oop from Jordan Goldwire that gave the Blue Devils a much-needed jolt five minutes into the game.

In the second half, each time the Packers made their runs, he was there to answer with a strong drive to the basket.

“You want your seniors, you want you top players to make plays,” McMillian said. “He’s definitely done that all year long and he definitely came through. And every time we needed a bucket he was able to get to the rim and get something. We leaned on him a lot.”

Goldwire finished the game with 11 points, including three big free throws in the final seconds of the game. Louisiville signee Lance Thomas had just four points on offense, but had seven rebounds and five blocked shots.

A coin toss will determine who hosts the state quarterfinal matchup between Norcross and Pebblebrook.

The Falcons won the regular season meeting between the two teams 77-69.

“It’s going to be Pebblebrook, which we’ve already played this year and have some history and I know our guys are looking forward to this game,” McMillian said. “But we want to get better in execution, we want to get better at rebounding the basketball.”