Alexander advanced to the State Sweet-16 on Wednesday with a dominating 72-59 victory at East Side High School. Alexander entered the game technically as the underdog, with the No. 3 seed from the 5-AAAA region. East Side held a No. 2 seed but was never in the game against the Cougars, especially in the second half.

AHS jumped out early, taking a 15-11 lead in the first quarter. The Cougars led 39-28 at halftime. Alexander made some adjustments at the break and came out playing their best quarter of the game, taking a 59-39 lead.

“We played really good in the third quarter and the first part of the fourth,” said AHS coach Jason Slate. “In the first half we were losing one of their shooters and we did a better job knowing where he was in the second half. Their point guard also was getting in the lane a lot and we did a better job on him and after that they were in trouble.

Offensively, the Cougars were led by Karim Mawuenyega, who had a game high 29 points. Lemarcus Frazier followed with 17.

“I thought for the most part Karim did everything in within the offense and did not force or try to do something special,” said Slate. “Lemarcus played another great defensive game and offensively took drives when they were there.

Jermaine Carpenter and Eric Arnold played well off the bench. Jaquon Grier came in and played a strong defensive game.

The Cougars will head to the second round on Saturday where they will play the winner of Grady and Northwest Whitfield. The game will be on the road. A time has not been set.