Class AAAAAAA
1. Wheeler (5-1)
2. Grayson (7-1)
3. Norcross (9-0)
4. McEachern (8-4)
5. Milton (10-0)
6. Pebblebrook (7-4)
7. Newton (4-4)
8. Archer (8-2)
9. Osborne (8-2)
10. Carrollton (7-1)
Class AAAAAA
1. Alexander (8-1)
2. St. Pius X (7-3)
3. Langston Hughes (7-3)
4. Jonesboro (6-2)
5. Grovetown (2-6)
6. Marist (8-3)
7. Lanier (5-4)
8. Etowah (5-5)
9. South Paulding (6-2)
10. Blessed Trinity (9-3)
Class AAAAA
1. Kell (8-0)
2. Eagle’s Landing (9-0)
3. Mays (6-3)
4. Hiram (8-2)
5. Jones County (9-2)
6. Dutchtown (10-4)
7. Lithonia (9-2)
8. Chapel Hill (4-4)
9. Creekside (7-3)
10. Tri-Cities (4-4)
Class AAAA
1. McDonough (7-0)
2. Pace Academy (6-2)
3. Fayette County (7-2)
4. Southwest DeKalb (5-1)
5. North Oconee (10-1)
6. Lovett (7-3)
7. Baldwin (6-2)
8. Bainbridge (9-1)
9. Stephenson (7-3)
10. Madison County (8-2)
Class AAA
1. Sandy Creek (8-2)
2. Johnson-Savannah (9-2)
3. Cedar Grove (8-2)
4. Beach (10-1)
5. Monroe Area (5-1)
6. Calvary Day (6-2)
7. Cross Creek (4-6)
8. Oconee County (8-2)
9. Upson-Lee (7-2)
10. Wesleyan (6-3)
Class AA
1. Westside-Augusta (5-4)
2. Columbia (10-1)
3. Thomson (4-1)
4. Spencer (6-2)
5. Providence Christian (8-2)
6. Putnam County (7-1)
7. Drew Charter (7-2)
8. Windsor Forest (7-3)
9. Vidalia (8-1)
10. Sumter County (3-4)
Class A D-I
1. Mt. Bethel (8-1)
2. King’s Ridge (6-3)
3. Mt. Pisgah (6-2)
4. Mt. Vernon Presbyterian (9-6)
5. Social Circle (5-3)
6. Darlington (6-1)
7. Tallulah Falls (9-2)
8. Dublin (6-1)
9. Savannah (8-3)
10. Oglethorpe County (6-3)
Class A D-II
1. Greenforest (4-4)
2. Christian Heritage (6-0)
3. Portal (10-1)
4. Wilkinson County (6-3)
5. Charlton County (4-0)
6. Mitchell County (9-0)
7. Calhoun County (7-2)
8. Manchester (3-0)
9. Telfair County (6-0)
10. Macon County (5-2)
Events like the Sandy’s Spiel Shootout, Playing for a Change and the Lemon Street Classic gave the state some big Top 10 matchups.
There is no movement in Class 7A as only No. 7 Newton lost, falling to Lake Highlands, TX 76-68 in overtime at the City of Palms. No. 1 Wheeler defeated Tampa Catholic 69-63 at City of Palms. No. 4 McEachern exploded with a 27-5 third quarter to race past Class 6A No. 4 Jonesboro 68-58 at Playing for a Change, Ace Bailey dumping in 21 points. No. 5 Milton secured a pair of wins in Hawaii at the Iolani Classic. No. 8 Archer held off Class A D-I No. 5 Social Circle 57-52 at the Sandy’s Spiel Shootout as Elijah Davis scored 16 points. No. 6 Pebblebrook and No. 10 Carrollton had close calls, the Falcons defeating South Cobb 60-50 while the Trojans survived Landmark Christian 61-57.
No. 1 Alexander held serve atop Class 6A, edging Walton 60-57 at the Lemon Street Classic. Below the Cougars, there are serious changes. No. 2 St. Pius X rises three spots with road wins over Riverwood (81-67) and Dunwoody (73-64) but more so due to the losses above them. No. 5 Grovetown ran their losing streak to six-straight, beat by Tri-Cities 74-72 at Playing for a Change, dropping the Warriors three spots. No. 7 Lanier tumbles four slots after losing 70-58 to Mill Creek at Santa Jam. No. 4 Jonesboro holds tight following a 68-58 loss to Class 7A No. 4 McEachern at Playing for a Change, outscoring the Indians in three quarters and doing so without leading scorer Devon Rainey (21.0 ppg). No. 3 Langston Hughes had a busy week, posting a 3-1 mark to climb three spots. The Panthers have won close games all season long recording six of their seven wins by five points or less. Their latest triumphs came in overtime battles against No. 9 South Paulding 59-57 and on the road at Paulding County 55-53. The Panthers won in regulation against East Coweta 55-54 before closing the week with a 68-58 loss at Class 4A No. 2 Pace Academy at Playing for a Change. No. 6 Marist took advantage of a shorthanded Class A D-I No. 1 Mt. Bethel, winning 64-45 led by Luke Harpring’s 18 points. No. 8 Etowah has now won five-straight games after their 0-5 start with blowouts of Creekview (69-37) and Luella (76-17).
Class 5A juggernaut No. 1 Kell turned back Class A D-II No. 1 Greenforest for the second time, this time at Playing for a Change 55-50 as CJ Brown and Jaylen Colon scored 14 points apiece. No. 2 Eagle’s Landing beat No. 5 Jones County 69-62. No. 4 Hiram drops a spot after losing 71-66 to St. Andrew’s at the War Lodge Classic. No. 3 Mays moves into the Top 3 following a 74-65 win against Wenonah, AL at the Peach State Classic, midseason addition Roc Lee tallying 19 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 7 steals. No. 7 Lithonia held off Class 4A No. 7 Baldwin 49-47 at the Sandy’s Spiel Shootout, Caleb Taylor pouring in 27 points with junior colleges watching. Heritage-Conyers (7-4) falls out with a 63-61 loss at Eastside. No. 10 Tri-Cities quickly resurfaces after toppling Class 6A No. 5 Grovetown at Playing for a Change 74-72, the Bulldog backcourt of Kyndon Wilburg (24), Presbyterian-signee Kory Mincy (20) and Malique Johnson (19) combining for 63 points.
In Class 4A, No. 1 McDonough trounced Tucker 88-67 at Playing for a Change, Da’Avion Thomas collecting 18 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. No. 2 Pace Academy fended off Class 6A No. 3 Langston Hughes 68-58 at Playing for a Change as Eric Chatfield posted 17 points and 7 assists. No. 3 Fayette County escaped Westlake 75-74 at the Peach State Classic while No. 6 Lovett lost 68-59 to Butler at the Lemon Street Classic, falling two spots. No. 5 North Oconee rises two positions after winning 39-38 at No. 10 Madison County behind Byrd Carter’s 16 points and 8 rebounds. No. 7 Baldwin loses a spot in the poll but had a strong overall week, beating Spalding 67-54 and losing to Class 5A No. 7 Lithonia 49-47 at the Sandy’s Spiel Shootout, missing leading scorers Rudolph Satcher and Quamond Dennis who combine for 37 points per game. Tremarius Lawrence stepped up with 19 points. Miller Grove (6-4) and Westside-Macon (6-4) drop out of the poll. The Wolverines beat Druid Hills 67-59 in double overtime but were a casualty of an unforgiving Region 6, losing 57-50 to Hapeville Charter. Westside-Macon lost 65-62 to Perry and 61-59 at West Laurens. No. 8 Bainbridge debuts after snatching three road wins, beating Colquitt County 46-39, last week’s Class 3A No. 8 Monroe 52-45 and Seminole County 46-33. KJ Cochran has been a rock averaging 16.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. No. 9 Stephenson reappears in the rankings out of Region 6. The Jaguars topped Hapeville Charter and Druid Hills by the identical score of 56-54.
The weekly merry-go-round of teams moving up and down in Class 3A continues. No. 1 Sandy Creek handled Trinity Christian 61-47 but No. 3 Cedar Grove couldn’t, losing to the Lions 66-63 at the War Eagle Classic dropping the Saints a spot. No. 2 Johnson-Savannah moves up after winning the Savannah Holiday Classic, beating Groves 71-53 in the finals. No. 4 Beach defeated Class 2A No. 8 Windsor Forest 73-70 behind Shamarrie Hugie’s 32 points but were upset in the Savannah Holiday Classic semifinals by Groves 53-51, their first loss of the season. No. 5 Monroe Area jolts up five spots after dethroning Class A D-I No. 5 Social Circle 52-51 on the Redskins’ home floor to take the Walton County crown and closed the week by beating Habersham Central 67-63 at the Sandy’s Spiel Shootout as Jeremy Anderson filed in 28 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 3 blocks. No. 6 Calvary Day beat Groves 63-58 and went 2-1 at the Savannah Holiday Classic, losing 46-40 to Jenkins. No. 7 Cross Creek was drilled by Byrnes, SC 77-58 at The Bash to sink two spots. No. 8 Oconee County is also moving in the wrong direction, losing 58-46 at Central Gwinnett to fall two places. Monroe (3-4) exits the rankings with a 52-45 loss to Class 4A No. 8 Bainbridge. No. 9 Upson-Lee sneaks into the Top 10, reenergized by the return of two-time state title winning head coach Darrell Lockhart. The Knights knocked off last week’s Class 2A No. 10 Therrell 59-56 at the Lemon Street Classic.
The top three in Class 2A all suffered losses this past week. No. 1 Westside-Augusta made a statement with a 66-50 win at No. 3 Thomson but lost 73-70 to undefeated North Augusta, SC. No. 4 Spencer sinks two spots with a 71-65 loss at Dougherty. No. 6 Putnam County received 30 points from Georgia Southern-signee Eren Banks in their 65-60 win over Butler. No. 8 Windsor Forest lived life on the edge during their 3-1 week. Larry Pounds hit a three from beyond halfcourt to stun Tattnall County 67-64. In the Savannah Holiday Classic, the Knights lost 73-70 at Class 3A No. 4 Beach but rebounded with nail biting victories against New Hampstead (59-56) and SLAM, FL (61-60). Therrell (6-5) couldn’t handle the Top 10 target, losing three-straight games beat by Southwest Atlanta Christian 49-41, KIPP Atlanta 57-53 and Class 3A No. 9 Upson-Lee 59-56. No. 9 Vidalia breaks into the poll fresh off a 50-45 road win at Toombs County.
Class A D-I No. 1 Mt. Bethel was missing two starters in their 64-45 loss to Class 6A No. 6 Marist. No. 2 King’s Ridge lost 73-71 to Augusta Christian while No. 4 Mt. Vernon Presbyterian went 0-2 at the Shooter’s Paradise Showcase at Flint Hill, VA. No. 5 Social Circle had two hard fought losses after avenging their prior lone loss to Morgan County, winning 59-49. The Redskins fell to Class 3A No. 5 Monroe Area 52-51 and were edged by Class 7A No. 8 Archer at the Sandy’s Spiel Shootout 57-52, AJ Vinson dominant in defeat with 24 points and 14 rebounds. No. 6 Darlington won at Chattooga 69-53. The Indians (5-3) fall out of the poll after also losing to Model at the 69th annual Rome Seven Hills Rotary Christmas Tournament 68-43. Woodville-Tompkins (8-6) is out following a 0-3 showing at the Savannah Holiday Classic. No. 9 Savannah debuts after winning the Savannah Holiday Classic Washington Square Bracket, scoring wins over South Effingham (71-62), McIntosh County Academy (72-65) and Jenkins 65-49 in the championship game as Amarion Watson scored 16 points and Maki Joyner netted 15. No. 10 Oglethorpe County squeezes into the poll with a 2-1 week, highlighted by a 71-58 win at Athens Christian and lowlighted by a 59-42 loss to No. 7 Tallulah Falls, evening the season series.
For the second time this season, Class A D-II No. 1 Greenforest lost to Class 5A No. 1 Kell in a barnburner, 55-50 at Playing for a Change. Jax Abernathy guided No. 2 Christian Heritage to a 58-51 overtime win against Tattnall County at the Sandy’s Spiel Shootout, finishing with 29 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Cash Hare added 16 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. No. 4 Wilkinson County won at Dooly County 61-56 to knock the Bobcats (5-3) out of the Top 10 as they also lost to Crisp County 64-59. No. 7 Calhoun County topped Dougherty 69-67 on the road. No. 8 Manchester beat No. 10 Macon County 82-68. No. 9 Telfair County gets a crack at the Top 10 after a 3-0 week, beating Howard 54-53 at Bear Brawl.