SPRINGFIELD, Ga. – Michael Hall poured in 21 points, and South Effingham’s boys held off a flurry of action around the basket in the final seconds to top Greenbrier 56-55 in the first round of the Class 5A Region 1 basketball tournament Saturday afternoon at the Effingham County High School gym.

South (11-14) advanced to the quarterfinals Tuesday at 5 p.m. against Statesboro.

The Mustangs, the No. 4 seed from the South subregion, trailed by 10 points in the third period and by nine with 7:14 left before hitting the Wolfpack with a 14-2 run.

Hall had six points during the spurt, and Quinton Williams capped it with a three-point play to put South ahead 56-53 with 2:38 left.

Greenbrier made 2 of 4 free throws the rest of the way to close within one and had the ball on the game’s final possession with 9.4 seconds left.

Wolfpack big men Jonathan White, a 6-foot-8 forward, and Bryan Kabeki, a 6-5 forward, had shots in the paint, but each attempt teetered off the rim before the buzzer sounded.