ATHENS, Texas - Atlanta's playoff run and 15-game win streak came to an end against No. 1 ranked Dallas Madison.
The Rabbits fell behind by 17 in the first quarter and never recovered as every Atlanta rally was answered by the Trojans, who posted a 75-57 win in the Region II-3A basketball semifinals Friday at Athens' Hornet Gym.
Madison (22-5) takes its 18-game win streak into the regional championship game against Tatum (23-3). Today's Region II-3A final is at 6 p.m. back at Athens High School.
In the early semifinal game, Tatum had a 26-2 run in the second quarter to grab a 40-10 halftime lead, and the Eagles went on to end Paris Chisum's Cinderella season with a 76-36 win - Tatum's 19th straight. The Mustangs' year ended at 20-9 after finishing fourth in District 12-3A but playing four rounds deep in the playoffs.
Down 21 to start the second half, Atlanta scored six in a row and got its deficit to 18 a couple of times. After the Trojans went ahead 55-32, the Rabbits closed the gap with a 5-0 run that turned into an 11-2 rally to get within 14 (57-43) with 1:21 left in the third.
Madison led 59-43 to start the fourth, and the deficit was never closer the rest of the way.
Atlanta's Daimion Collins finished a block shy of his fourth triple-double. Collins scored a game-high 25 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and had nine blocks. Keyshawn Easter added 10 points for the Rabbits, whose season ended at 19-5. Kam Dickerson added eight points.
Atlanta finished shooting 43 percent on 20-of-47 field goals. The Rabbs hit 12 of 18 shots after halftime.
Madison shot 52 percent on 31-of-60 from the floor. It had a slight advantage in rebounds (31-29) and turnovers committed (13-17).
Leone Wright scored 22 points to lead the winners. Kaden Keal added 14 points, and Jerome Rogers and Latrell Wright had nine apiece. Pierre Hunter led Madison with eight rebounds.
The Trojans drained five 3-pointers in the first quarter and raced away with an 18-4 run over the last 3:50 of the first quarter. Atlanta trailed 11-8 before the big run, and Madison went ahead 29-12 at the first break.
The Rabbits slowed the Trojan offense in the second quarter, but the Cass County team wasn't able to translate those extra possessions into points, going 3 of 16 from the floor in the second quarter.
The Trojans shot 58 percent before intermission, when the Dallas team led 44-23. Madison hit 12 of 19 shots in the first quarter and finished 19 of 33 for the half.
Atlanta had a 28 percent shooting percentage at halftime, hitting 8 of 29 field goals.
Today's regional champion will play the Brock Eagles (29-3) in the state semifinals Monday or Tuesday. The Class 3A state championship game is set for 2 p.m. Friday, March 12 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Brock beat Shallowater, 49-46, in the Region I championship game Friday.