SAVANNAH, Ga. --- The ball knocked free again, Raheem Newton put it up perfectly for Rod Hall's dunk.

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The Wildcats' quick hands defensively often led to scoring spurts off steals as Laney beat Lamar County, 75-52, in the Class AA boys state quarterfinals Saturday at Savannah State.

Laney meets Buford in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Macon, Ga.

"I knew I had to go get it," Hall said about the dunk that stretched Laney's advantage to 46-27 as the Trojans got no closer than 12 after it.

Already up 18 points in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats (29-1) maintained control on back-to-back steals and scores.

First, Lamar County threw the ball right to Hall, who passed it to Newton for the layup.

Seconds later, Corinthians Brown made the steal, moved the ball to Hall and then got it back for the slam. Brown finished with a game-high 25 points.

"Basically, it's what makes us go," Laney coach Jerry Hunter said about the defense.

By forcing turnovers, Laney withstood a small third-quarter run by the Trojans, who dominated the offensive glass.

Camden Foster's basket off a missed free throw helped Lamar County close within 50-38, only to see Laney score buckets in transition.

Only two players scored in the first period for the Wildcats.

Brown posted 11 points in the opening period, scoring nine of Laney's first 10 points.

Hall, who had 21 points, put up the other five points in the first. His steal and slam gave the Wildcats the lead for the first time at 16-15 to answer a strong start by Lamar County.

The Trojans (27-4) went up 7-2 as Foster, who finished with 22 points, hit a 3-pointer and then scored off a turnover..

Jamie West's 3-pointer gave the Wildcats the lead for good at 23-20. He added another long-range basket later in the second.

West's first 3 started a 16-4 run to end the opening half as five different players scored during the Wildcats' surge.

Following Shaquille Cook's field goal inside, Newton's three-point play pushed the Laney advantage to eight with an 8-0 spurt.

Darien Bovain closed the first-half scoring with a steal and layup as it was 36-24 Wildcats at the break.

But Laney's defense was only getting started as the Wildcats went up as much as 26 points.

"The team got into it and it got the crowd into it," Hall said about the defense.