Monthly Archives: January 2019

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Girls Recaps, Recaps

Statewide Recap 1-30-19

BOYS

AAAAAAA

No. 3 Meadowcreek 60, Berkmar 51: USF-signee Jamir Chaplin went for 26 points and 4 rebounds. Temple-signee Damian Dunn had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. UAB-signee Jalen Benjamin and Kedrick Green scored 7 points apiece.

No. 9 Shiloh 72, No. 7 Newton 65: Toneari Lane powered in 21 points while Josiah Agnew netted 17 in the win. Armani Harris (22) and Tyrease Brown (19) paced the Rams.

Campbell 63, Newnan 55: Terrell Burden had 25 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Brandon Deravine chipped in 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals. Drew Thomas added 8 points and 8 rebounds. Derreon Martin netted 8 points and grabbed 3 steals. Newnan was led by Tay Watson’s 20 points and Harrison Drake’s 14.

AAAAAA

No. 7 Sprayberry 103, Sequoyah 101 OT: Sequoyah closed on a 14-2 run to force overtime but the Chiefs fell short after a late Myles McGee turnover. Jaylin Galloway led Sprayberry with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Matt Jenkins had 20 points and 11 assists. Saigon Kitt scored 15 points. DJ Patrick had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals while Justin Day had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Shamar Joseph hit 4 threes en route to 12 points. Donovan Shipp led Sequoyah with 30 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. McGee had 29 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals but went 2-of-9 from the foul line. Jacksen Greco dumped in 25 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. DJ King collected 6 points, 5 rebounds, 6 steals and 2 blocks.

Alcovy 72, Grovetown 68: Oliver Gerard had 26 points in the win. Terrel Steele netted 11.

Greenbrier 57, Heritage-Conyers 51: Josh Guilford (16) and Trelan Scott (14) led the Patriots in their upset loss.

AAAAA

No. 1 Buford 70, Loganville 54: Oklahoma State-signee Marcus Watson had 23 points and 9 rebounds. Wingate-signee Donell Nixon scored 12 points along with Bobby Miller.

Cedar Shoals 60, Johnson-Gainesville 27: Tyler Johnson (13), Quincy Canty (12) and Quintyis Dillard (11) paced the Jaguars.

Hiram 61, Cass 58: The Hornets finally won back-to-back games for the first time since December 1st behind Nathan Presnell’s 26 points, 15 rebounds and 2 steals. Javyen Brown scored 14 points. In the loss, Jacquez Fountain had 21 points. Justice Hayes and Ethan Carter scored 13 points apiece.

Stockbridge 80, Locust Grove 47: Trillis Brown and Khobe Comer scored 15 points apiece. Jasier Golatt (13) and Quinton Brown (11) both cracked double digits.

AAAA

No. 2 Sandy Creek 84, LaGrange 53: Drexel-signee TJ Bickerstaff had 26 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists while Julian Alexander had 21 points and 4 steals. DeShone Proctor added 11 points and 7 rebounds. Jabari Smith had 10 points and 9 rebounds. Keith Williams finished with 8 points and 5 assists.

No. 3 St. Pius X 69, North Oconee 48: Matt Gonzalo returned to action with 23 points.

No. 5 Americus-Sumter 73, Shaw 53: In the loss, Dylan Harris had 14 points. Greg Grant and Darnell Morgan had 8 points apiece. Brandon Murphy scored 6 points. Rod Winfrey had 5 points and 6 assists. Jhalil Parker had 4 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Cartersville 79, Chapel Hill 75: Isaac Gridley had 15 points and 16 rebounds. Perignon Dyer posted 29 points and 4 steals.

AAA

No. 7 Westside-Macon 86, Jackson 71: Javian Mosley had 24 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. Des Foston posted 20 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Kowacie Reeves Jr. scored 15 points while Zaylon Carey had 10. Rico Campbell had 7 points and 6 rebounds while Jonta Balkcom had 6 points and 5 rebounds.

Cedar Grove 51, Lovett 44: Kanaris Cummings led the Saints with 11 points. Jakeem Faulkner (8), Chris Carter (6), Jamarcus Glover (6) and Devon Barnes (5) balanced the offense. Lovett was led by Lance Beck’s 16 points and Nick Jackson’s 9.

AA

Banks County 71, Union County 63: Carl Cleveland had 29 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. Pierce Martin had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Wes Ledford (9) and Clay Gosnell (8) chipped in on offense.

A-Private

No. 4 Mt. Bethel 82, King’s Ridge 56: Coleman Boyd had 26 points, 7 assists and 5 steals. Alex Langford scored 19 points. Jordan Meka netted 15.

No. 5 Walker 91, George Walton Academy 78: Unsigned senior Brelan Holston pumped in 35 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals in the loss.

No. 9 Lakeview Academy 59, Athens Academy 56: Blake McIntyre had 21 points and 7 rebounds on Senior Night. Adam Cottrell posted 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. KJ Millwood contributed 11 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Bryce Blackwell had 3 points and 3 assists.

Non-GHSA

New Creation 92, Cumberland Christian 77: Alex Reives had a career-high 28 points.

 

GIRLS

AAAAAAA

No. 5 Grayson 78, South Gwinnett 27: Nyelle Lee had 12 points while Jazmin Robinson posted 11 points and 6 assists. Catherine Alben finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Marietta 57, Hillgrove 53: Charlay Conway scored 17 points while Lauren Walker and Eva Knox scored 10 apiece in the win over Hillgrove. Breah McGrady led the Hawks with 17 points while Georgia College-commit Michelle Smith scored 12.

AAAAAA

Sequoyah 72, Sprayberry 47: Brown-signee Sydney Rosant finished with 15 points. Tatum Dondanville had a season-high 14 points. Aryn Jackson contributed 11 points and 4 steals while Deja Rakestraw tabbed 5 steals.

Heritage-Conyers 65, Greenbrier 34: Sade Harrell scored a game-high 19 points while Jayla Jeffries and Ashley Roberts had 11 points apiece.

Grovetown 56, Alcovy 45: Liana Poole scored 16 points in the loss.

AAAAA

No. 2 Villa Rica 76, Rome 39: Kentucky-signee Deasia Merrill and Dekyia Cofield scored 19 points apiece. Tee Windom added 12.

Cass 63, Hiram 45: The Colonels recorded their 20th win behind Amber Brittian’s 16 points and Londaisha Smith’s 12. Sharia Wade (11), Payton Stoddard (8) and Alexis Ware (8) all chipped in.

AAAA

North Oconee 42, St. Pius X 40: Jenna Tulenko scored 14 points including the buzzer beater to edge St. Pius X. Ansley Hall had 4 assists. Tatum Thompson scored 10 points and Bella Ripley posted 7 points and 7 rebounds.

Cartersville 43, Chapel Hill 31: A’mya Davis and London Shaw scored 11 and 8 points, respectively.

AAA

No. 8 GAC 83, East Hall 43: Kayleigh Addie poured in 34 points. Liberty-signee Kennedi Williams had 11 assists and 8 steals.

AA

Union County 39, No. 8 Banks County 36: Ava Hunter scored 15 points followed by Kait McCarter’s 11 and Brooke Dockrey’s 10 in an upset of Banks County. The Leopards were led by Georgia College-signee Jaycie Bowen. Amber Williams scored 7 points while Heather Vaughan, Kennedy Smith and Pollie Simpson all added 6.

Temple 42, Heard County 37: Temple clinched their first winning season since 2006-07 under Coach Jake Shirley. Ruby Collins (11), Tori Chivers (9), Amiya McDaniel (9) led the way.

A-Private

No. 5 Lakeview Academy 72, Athens Academy 52: Eliza Snyder poured in 21 points while Joelle Snyder had 12 in the win. Maddy Towles (8), Jasmine Howard (7), Jackie Allen (6) and Savannah Kinsey (6) all chipped in. Sadie Thrailkill added 5 points and 5 rebounds. Athens Academy got 26 points and 14 rebounds from Ali Rumpel in the loss. Betul Arpinar scored 7 points.

No. 7 Mt. Paran 77, Whitefield Academy 28: Kara Dunn (20), Jasiah Washington (13) and Sydnee Brothers (11) paced the Eagles.

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

No. 7 Sprayberry survives OT shootout at Sequoyah, 103-101

No. 7 Sprayberry 103, Sequoyah 101 OT

Sequoyah Sprayberry

Following an explosive 96-88 first meeting back on January 5th, No. 7 Sprayberry (21-3, 14-1) and Sequoyah (18-6, 11-4) met in the War Lodge for an important Region 6-AAAAAA bout. With temperatures dropping to below freezing, the two offensive-minded clubs set Hickory Flat ablaze with one of the most entertaining games of the season.

The Chiefs got off to a quick start, leading 4-0 behind a Myles McGee breakaway slam, but Sprayberry saw DJ Patrick hit his first of the team’s 11 threes to get the Yellow Jackets on the board.

Sequoyah and Sprayberry traded baskets at a breakneck pace, but there was some defense sprinkled in as Patrick erased a DJ King layup attempt.

Justin Day ignited an 11-2 run with an offensive rebound and put-back which helped the Jackets push their lead to 27-19.

At the end of one, Sprayberry held a 27-21 lead as Patrick scored nine of his 14 points in the opening frame to pace the Yellow Jackets.

The Chiefs kept close as the trio of McGee, Donovan Shipp and Jacksen Greco attacked the basket, Greco floating in a shot in traffic to cut the Sprayberry lead to 42-36 with 2:28 left in the second.

But while Sequoyah slashed into the lane, Sprayberry bombed from deep with Shamar Joseph coming off the bench to nail three three-pointers in a row, building the Jacket advantage to 48-38. Sprayberry sank seven trifectas in the first half, but McGee buried a buzzer beater to send the Chiefs into the break down 50-41.

Sequoyah came out and trimmed the deficit to 52-46 but, but Sprayberry answered with a 9-2 run to extend the lead back to 61-48 at the 6:05 mark of the third quarter. 6-foot-5 sophomore Jaylin Galloway, younger brother of former Buford/Milton post Kyrin Galloway (UNCG), started to make his presence felt around the rim, balancing Sprayberry’s perimeter orientated offense by scoring eight points in the paint. Galloway’s bucket with 2:50 left gave Sprayberry a 69-56 lead before Sequoyah turned the tables.

The Chiefs ripped off an 8-0 run in a span of 1:36 to close the gap to 69-64 as Shipp and McGee carried the offense, scoring 10 and 9 points, respectively, while King brought his trademark high energy and athleticism on defense.

Sprayberry regained momentum after a defensive break down led to Joseph’s fourth three of the night as the Yellow Jackets took a 75-66 lead into the fourth.

The Yellow Jackets saw Matt Jenkins score six points in the quarter to help Sprayberry build an 85-73 lead with 4:14 remaining as the Jackets were on the verge of running Sequoyah out of the gym but over the final 254 seconds, the Chiefs’ aggressive press finally cracked Sprayberry.

A wild 14-2 run saw Sequoyah tie the game at 87 at the 1:18 mark after McGee cashed in on an And-1 but missed his free throw and saw Greco swoop in for the offensive rebound and game-tying put-back.

Sequoyah came away with a steal from McGee but he and King botched point-blank layup attempts with only one Sprayberry defender in initial position. The Chiefs missed another bunny up close but retained possession after a loose ball scramble with the arrow pointing in favor of the home team with 19.1 seconds remaining.

Shipp sliced to the basket with under 10 seconds to play and was denied by Galloway who collected the block and pitched ahead to Day who airmailed an outlet pass to a wide-open Jenkins, the ball sailing out of bounds as the Chiefs breathed a sigh of relief with 2.1 seconds left in regulation.

The Chiefs’ ensuing inbounds was stolen away but a tumbling Yellow Jacket couldn’t establish his footing and his falling down unbalanced heave at the buzzer fell well short from just 15 feet away, sending the game to overtime tied at 87.

Galloway’s interior presence loomed large in overtime as he scored seven of his team-high 27 points in the quarter to go along with his 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks on the night.

With 1:08 left to play, McGee slashed to the basket for an And-1 and knotted the game up at 99, but again, missed the free throw as the Chiefs failed to take the lead.

McGee got momentary redemption, hitting a tough shot in the lane for his 29th point of the night to tie the game at 101, but the Chiefs failed to get back in transition after the made bucket as the Yellow Jackets tossed ahead to Day for a layup to make it 103-101 with 14.1 seconds remaining.

The Chiefs had a final possession to tie the game and got the ball down low to McGee on a cutting post up, but as he pivoted toward the middle of the lane he was met with traffic and fumbled the ball away allowing Sprayberry to collect it and clear the ball out of harm’s way and tick off the final 3 seconds to secure the number one seed in Region 6-AAAAAA as No. 6 South Cobb fell to Allatoona 69-63.

My Take

It was a wildly entertaining game to watch. Both teams put on a good show offensively but lack state championship caliber defense. Sprayberry seems to have a higher ceiling than Sequoyah with their envious offensive depth as six players scored 12 points or more, five of them knocking down at least one three. When they are hot, Sprayberry can do damage from deep but it was the emergence of 6-foot-5 sophomore Jaylin Galloway who really carried the Yellow Jackets in the second half scoring 17 of his game-high 27 in the final three periods. He has nice length and a calm touch around the rim in traffic. He and 6-foot-5 senior DJ Patrick killed Sequoyah on the glass combining for 21 rebounds, dominating their matchup with 6-foot-4 Ayden Watson who grabbed just two rebounds for the Chiefs.  Shamar Joseph provided instant offense off the bench with four threes while Saigon Kitt and Justin Day chose their spots when to attack the defense. Senior Matt Jenkins was the engine for Sprayberry finishing with 20 points and 11 assists. Sprayberry has the guard play to play extremely fast but defensively, they have a lot of work to do if they want to make a deep run at state.

Donovan Shipp and the Chiefs sliced up Sprayberry’s on-ball defense, getting into the paint at an alarming rate. In fact, it was the most aggressive I’ve seen Shipp play in three years, attacking the basket at will finishing with a game-high 30 points and 6 assists. Shipp has grown tremendously over his first three seasons and should be a D-II target for schools looking for a heady assist-man that can score when he needs to. Myles McGee had 29 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals, but his night ended on a sour note with his 2-of-9 free throw shooting and turnover to end the game. Even with his shortcomings tonight, his gladiator mentality on the floor paired with the football toughness of gridiron teammate DJ King makes the athletic duo the most important pieces to Sequoyah’s full court press. King netted just 6 points but had 5 rebounds, 6 steals and 2 blocks, making his biggest impact defensively. Jacksen Greco had a strong 25-point outing, nailing 3 threes and collecting 6 rebounds and 4 assists in the process. His passing has improved year to year as he is developing into a well-rounded player breaking the mold of just a three-point specialist. Ayden Watson disappointed tonight against Sprayberry’s frontline. Watson has been integral to the Chiefs’ success this year providing size, energy and athleticism in the paint but he was a non-factor with 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 1 block. While Sprayberry struggled defending drives, Sequoyah’s bugaboo was poor rotations leading to too many wide-open three-point shooters. Both teams showed their strengths and weaknesses and in a classification void of a true favorite, both teams could see an Elite Eight berth as a real possibility depending on how the brackets and region tournaments play out.

Top Performers

Sprayberry
Jaylin Galloway – 27 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks
Matt Jenkins – 20 points, 3 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal
Saigon Kitt – 15 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
DJ Patrick – 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block
Justin Day – 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
Shamar Joseph – 12 points (4 threes), 1 rebound

Sequoyah
Donovan Shipp – 30 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
Myles McGee – 29 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals
Jacksen Greco – 25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assist, 1 steal, 1 block
DJ King – 6 points, 5 rebounds, 6 steals, 2 blocks

Girls Basketball, Girls Rankings

Week 11 Girls Rankings

The Sidelines

Class AAAAAAA

1. Westlake (21-0)
2. Collins Hill (22-1)
3. Cherokee (21-3)
4. North Cobb (21-2)
5. Grayson (21-2)
6. North Forsyth (19-4)
7. Norcross (15-9)
8. Brookwood (16-6)
9. Pebblebrook (19-3)
10. Colquitt County (19-2)

Class AAAAAA

1. Lovejoy (20-3)
2. Forest Park (21-2)
3. Northview (19-4)
4. Douglas County (19-4)
5. Stephenson (15-9)
6. Valdosta (20-2)
7. Glynn Academy (20-3)
8. Lanier (20-3)
9. Creekview (19-4)
10. New Manchester (21-3)

Class AAAAA

1. Buford (20-2)
2. Villa Rica (23-0)
3. Veterans (22-2)
4. Southwest DeKalb (17-6)
5. Jones County (19-4)
6. Harris County (17-5)
7. Eagle’s Landing (17-5)
8. Wayne County (19-3)
9. Carrollton (17-6)
10. Arabia Mountain (17-3) 

Class AAAA

1. Carver-Columbus (24-0)
2. Henry County (22-2)
3. Flowery Branch (21-3)
4. Spalding (17-4)
5. Madison County (21-2)
6. West Laurens (17-5)
7. Luella (18-4)
8. Sandy Creek (18-4)
9. Northwest Whitfield (20-4)
10. Baldwin (17-6)

Class AAA

1. Jefferson (20-2)
2. Beach (20-4)
3. Johnson-Savannah (14-7)
4. Hart County (18-5)
5. Peach County (17-4)
6. Morgan County (17-6)
7. Dawson County (16-7)
8. GAC (12-11)
9. Tattnall County (18-5)
10. North Murray (17-7)

Class AA

1. Dodge County (21-1)
2. Douglass (18-5)
3. Fitzgerald (21-0)
4. Bryan County (22-0)
5. Rabun County (21-1)
6. Laney (21-2)
7. Swainsboro (19-3)
8. Banks County (19-4)
9. Early County (19-3)
10. Southwest-Macon (16-4)

Class A-Private

1. Holy Innocents’ (16-7)
2. St. Francis (18-3)
3. Wesleyan (22-2)
4. ELCA (17-3)
5. Lakeview Academy (19-4)
6. Stratford Academy (21-1)
7. Mt. Paran (18-2)
8. Paideia (18-3)
9. Calvary Day (20-3)
10. Greenforest (16-4)

Class A-Public

1. Marion County (22-0)
2. Georgia Military College (15-1)
3. Wheeler County (17-4)
4. Telfair County (17-4)
5. Greenville (21-2)
6. Calhoun County (20-2)
7. Mitchell County (17-4)
8. Dooly County (17-4)
9. Bowdon (19-4)
10. Central-Talbotton (13-6)
 

Don’t look now, but unranked McEachern (12-9) is starting to climb the Region 3-AAAAAAA standings with five-straight wins highlighted by a 36-30 grudge match victory over Marietta then stunning No. 4 North Cobb 63-40, giving the Warriors their first region loss of the season after winning at Marietta 54-47 and dropping one spot. The Indians can rise all the way to the number two seed if they knock off Kennesaw Mountain and Hillgrove (15-7) this week. The Hawks lost 73-61 to North Cobb and fall from the poll. They are replaced by No. 10 Colquitt County who has won 12-straight.

The long-awaited Class AAAAAA showdown between No. 1 Lovejoy and No. 2 Forest Park takes place this Tuesday at Lovejoy. The Panthers dominated the second half to rally from down 35-13 at the half to force overtime before falling 58-56 back on December 8th. No. 3 Northview held off Pope 67-56 and went to Savannah to edge defending state champion Class 3A No. 3 Johnson-Savannah 50-44 as Rice-signee Ashlee Austin led the way with 18 points. No. 7 Glynn Academy tumbles three spots after a bad 44-37 loss to rival Brunswick (11-10). No. 6 Valdosta survived Northside-Warner Robins 50-49 while No. 8 Lanier clinched a state playoff berth by sweeping Dacula 53-42, Kalen Surles scoring 17 points and Nala Lawrence adding 16.

There is a changing of the guard in Class AAAAA. It is just too difficult to ignore what No. 1 Buford has done this season without a star player after graduating Class 5A Player of the Year Tory Ozment (Michigan State) and Audrey Weiner (Air Force). The Wolves replace undefeated No. 2 Villa Rica atop the poll after beating last week’s Class A-Private No. 1 Wesleyan 54-52 on Sara Viti’s put-back with seconds left to hold off a Wesleyan comeback. Viti scored 15 points followed by Ebony Grant’s 10 and 8 apiece from Tate Walters and Tatum Ozment. The Wolves now have wins over Class 6A No. 6 Valdosta (70-46), Class 7A No. 5 Grayson (67-58), Class 3A No. 6 Morgan County (62-36), Class 6A No. 3 Northview (58-40), Class A-Private No. 1 Holy Innocents’ (48-45) and Class 2A No. 8 Banks County (63-33). Villa Rica has mauled opponents for the most part behind Kentucky-signee Deasia Merrill, but they just haven’t seen the same level of competition. The Wildcats have a respectable resume with wins over Class 3A No. 3 Johnson-Savannah (53-43), No. 9 Carrollton (58-51; 66-58), Class 6A No. 10 New Manchester (57-37) and Rome (51-45), who has been in and out of the Top 10 this season and will travel to play Villa Rica this week. At the bottom of the poll, No. 7 Eagle’s Landing sinks four spots after losing 59-52 against Class 4A No. 8 Sandy Creek and failing to impress in a 53-48 win in OT against St. Pius X. Statesboro (21-3) and Woodland-Stockbridge (17-6) drop out. Ranked No. 6 last week, Statesboro lost 52-48 to returnee No. 8 Wayne County and at Ware County 49-47 while the Wolfpack stumbled at Locust Grove 61-52. No. 10 Arabia Mountain cracks back into the rankings and hosts No. 4 Southwest DeKalb on Tuesday looking to avenge a 50-36 loss.

No. 1 Carver-Columbus finally met some resistance in Class AAAA, but eventually put away Westover 72-61, their closest win since a 48-46 victory over Bishop O’Connell (VA) in December. The Tigers now host the Patriots on Friday. No. 4 Spalding defeated No. 6 West Laurens 50-44 while No. 8 Sandy Creek climbs four spots after beating Class 5A No. 7 Eagle’s Landing 59-52 and running their winning streak up to 13 after three subsequent wins. No. 10 Baldwin is down two spots after beating Warner Robins 63-56 but losing 55-46 at Burke County. No. 3 Flowery Branch blasted Marist (16-6) out of the poll, 77-48. The War Eagles are replaced by No. 9 Northwest Whitfield who resurfaces after a 65-34 win over Pickens. The Bruins will try to clinch the number one seed in Region 6 as they host 19-5 Gilmer sometime this week depending on the weather (initially scheduled for Tuesday).

Region 8-AAA provided more interesting results as a Lou Reid-less No. 6 Morgan County lost at No. 1 Jefferson 68-55 and to No. 4 Hart County 71-64. The same merry-go-round of wins and losses in Region 7 raged on as unranked Lumpkin County (17-7) finally got their signature win, 61-57 over No. 8 GAC, but the Indians couldn’t crack the Top 10 after losing 56-53 to No. 7 Dawson County and 41-31 to Gilmer. GAC ended their week with a 70-27 loss at Class A-Private No. 1 Holy Innocents’ while Dawson County earned a 68-59 win over North Hall on Tuesday and have trimmed the Spartans’ lead in the region to a single game heading into the final week. Coahulla Creek (17-6) departs after two weeks in the Top 10, beating Sonoraville 56-52 but getting flattened by Ringgold 54-31. Fellow Region 6’er No. 10 North Murray debuts in the poll riding a seven-game winning streak which has seen the Mountaineers score wins over Coahulla Creek (51-46), Darlington (47-43) and most recently, at Ringgold 34-32 as Korbin Tipton finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds and the following night, senior guard Sarah Plemons committing to Georgia College.

There finally is some movement in the stalemate of Class AA. No. 6 Laney slips two spots after a 60-55 loss to Grovetown, giving way to undefeated No. 4 Bryan County and No. 5 Rabun County. The Redskins won at No. 7 Swainsboro 66-63 as junior Olonna Rawls obliterated the Tigers with 35 points which led to Kennesaw State trekking down south to watch Rawls’ encore performance of 30 points, 6 assists and 4 steals in a 66-43 win over Vidalia. Bryan County’s final hurdle to a perfect regular season comes this Tuesday at 18-5 Woodville-Tompkins. Rabun County won their 19th straight game thanks to two Destiny Deetz free throws with a second left to survive Monticello 61-59. Brooke Henricks led the way with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists while Presbyterian-signee Georgia Stockton returned to action working her way back into shape for a playoff push. No. 3 Fitzgerald swept No. 9 Early County 75-65 as Hayleigh Ross (23), Trinity Jones (21) and Kyah Crook (15) combined for 59 points and helped ignite an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Washington County (16-6) drops out of the poll after getting whipped by No. 1 Dodge County 74-48 and losing to debutant No. 10 Southwest-Macon 54-44. For the Patriots to stick in the rankings, they will have to win at East Laurens on Tuesday, the Falcons beating Southwest-Macon 72-58 in their first meeting.

Following a rocky 1-3 start to the season and uncharacteristic disappointing losses to Top 10 competition throughout the year, No. 1 Holy Innocents’ has finally found its groove and has taken over the top spot in Class A-Private. Already holding a win over former No. 1 Wesleyan 68-63, the Golden Bears went back to work and destroyed Class 3A No. 8 GAC 70-37 on Saturday. No. 3 Wesleyan falls two spots after losing 54-52 to Class 5A No. 1 Buford. No. 2 St. Francis earned wins over Auburn (AL) 59-51, King’s Ridge Christian 65-56 and No. 7 Mt. Paran 72-56. No. 6 Stratford Academy is up a spot after beating Elite Scholars Academy 60-43 to atone for their lone 56-49 loss back on December 4th. No. 10 Greenforest ran over Strong Rock Christian 52-27.

Class A-Public belongs to No. 1 Marion County as the Eagles swept No. 5 Greenville 73-63 and dispatched of No. 8 Dooly County 62-39. No. 3 Wheeler County busts into the Top 3 thanks to a 64-54 win at No. 4 Telfair County. No. 7 Mitchell County beat rival Pelham in two nail-biters, 61-50 in OT and 45-44. Clinch County (15-5) and Wilcox County (14-7) exit the poll after the Panthers lost 40-32 to 8-15 Brooks County while the Patriots fell 47-45 to 6-12 Monroe. No. 9 Bowdon and No. 10 Central-Talbotton reappear. Bowdon completed a 3-0 week with wins over Christian Heritage 61-36, at Darlington 61-58 and at Gordon Lee 52-30 while Central-Talbotton’s week was highlighted by a 56-42 win over Kendrick.

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Rankings

Week 11 Boys Rankings

Class AAAAAAA

1. McEachern (22-0)
2. East Coweta (23-1)
3. Meadowcreek (19-4)
4. Discovery (20-3)
5. Grayson (20-3)
6. Norcross (17-7)
7. Newton (17-5)
8. Milton (16-7)
9. Shiloh (15-7)
10. Pebblebrook (15-8)

Class AAAAAA

1. Coffee (20-2)
2. Chattahoochee (20-3)
3. Douglas County (18-5)
4. Alexander (18-7)
5. Tri-Cities (18-6)
6. South Cobb (16-5)
7. Sprayberry (20-3)
8. Lakeside-Evans (20-3)
9. Lanier (16-6)
10. Tucker (20-4)

Class AAAAA

1. Buford (20-2)
2. Eagle’s Landing (18-3)
3. Fayette County (20-4)
4. Southwest DeKalb (17-6)
5. Woodland-Stockbridge (19-3)
6. Jonesboro (16-8)
7. Lithonia (16-8)
8. Kell (19-5)
9. Carrollton (14-8)
10. Harris County (15-7)

Class AAAA

1. Upson-Lee (21-1)
2. Sandy Creek (19-3)
3. St. Pius X (20-3)
4. Henry County (22-2)
5. Americus-Sumter (18-3)
6. Woodward Academy (15-8)
7. Carver-Columbus (18-5)
8. Marist (16-7)
9. Thomson (16-4)
10. Druid Hills (16-7)

Class AAA

1. GAC (19-4)
2. Morgan County (22-2)
3. Dawson County (19-4)
4. Hart County (17-6) 
5. Pace Academy (16-7)
6. Johnson-Savannah (16-6)
7. Westside-Macon (18-5)
8. Central-Macon (18-5)
9. Monroe (16-6)
10. Windsor Forest (19-4)

Class AA

1. Woodville-Tompkins (23-0)
2. Therrell (19-6)
3. South Atlanta (18-5)
4. Vidalia (20-3)
5. Spencer (19-3)
6. Washington County (17-5)
7. Northeast-Macon (18-4)
8. Glenn Hills (20-3)
9. Early County (16-6)
10. Elbert County (20-3)

Class A-Private

1. St. Francis (19-4)
2. Greenforest (16-5)
3. ELCA (15-7)
4. Mt. Bethel (17-6)
5. Walker (16-6)
6. Holy Innocents’ (13-10)
7. Riverside Military (17-4)
8. Wesleyan (17-6)
9. Lakeview Academy (16-7)
10. Mt. Paran (13-8)

Class A-Public

1. Calhoun County (22-0)
2. Hancock Central (17-4)
3. Treutlen (21-1)
4. Terrell County (20-2)
5. Irwin County (18-2)
6. Wilcox County (18-2)
7. Wilkinson County (14-9)
8. Greene County (17-5)
9. Pelham (17-4)
10. Marion County (17-4)

Continue reading Week 11 Boys Rankings →

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Girls Basketball, Spielin' & Dealin' Podcast

Spielin’ & Dealin’ Ep. 65: East Coweta + Class 3A/2A Girls Breakdown

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The Sidelines

Region/State tournament requests [2:00]
No. 2 East Coweta [3:45]
No. 1 Jefferson girls climb to top [10:28]
Can someone beat Savannah’s powers in Class 3A? [13:21]
Will the Class 2A state champion come from outside of Augusta? [16:47]
Class 2A girls state bracket preview [24:40]