Class AAAAAA
1. Grayson (5-0)
2. Wheeler (4-1)
3. Norcross (3-1)
4. Newton (4-3)
5. Walton (5-0)
6. Etowah (5-0)
7. South Gwinnett (6-0)
8. McEachern (3-2)
9. Pebblebrook (3-3)
10. Lambert (4-1)
Class AAAAA
1. Milton (2-1)
2. Tri-Cities (4-2)
3. Woodward Academy (4-0)
4. Lee County (3-1)
5. Winder-Barrow (7-1)
6. Habersham Central (4-1)
7. Bradwell Institute (5-0)
8. Riverwood (3-2)
9. Gainesville (2-2)
10. Alexander (1-2)
Class AAAA
1. Pace Academy (4-0)
2. Kell (6-0)
3. North Oconee (2-2)
4. Eagle’s Landing (2-0)
5. Maynard Jackson (5-1)
6. McDonough (2-1)
7. Westminster (5-1)
8. St. Pius X (2-2)
9. Marist (3-2)
10. Southwest DeKalb (5-0)
Class AAA
1. Cedar Grove (4-2)
2. Cross Creek (4-1)
3. Westside-Augusta (2-4)
4. Dougherty (4-2)
5. Pickens (5-0)
6. Sandy Creek (0-0)
7. Cherokee Bluff (6-0)
8. Douglass (5-0)
9. Baldwin (1-1)
10. Upson-Lee (2-0)
Class AA
1. Carver-Columbus (2-0)
2. Columbia (6-2)
3. Butler (2-2)
4. South Atlanta (3-2)
5. KIPP Atlanta (3-2)
6. Westside-Macon (1-1)
7. Laney (4-1)
8. Union County (3-1)
9. Hart County (3-1)
10. Spencer (2-1)
Class A D-I
1. Southwest-Macon (5-0)
2. Putnam County (8-0)
3. BEST Academy (3-2)
4. Rabun County (4-1)
5. Temple (2-0)
6. Towers (6-1)
7. Model (0-1)
8. Banks County (4-3)
9. Vidalia (3-0)
10. East Laurens (1-0)
Class A D-II
1. Savannah (2-1)
2. Warren County (1-0)
3. Manchester (0-0)
4. Calhoun County (3-0)
5. McIntosh County Academy (2-0)
6. Mitchell County (2-0)
7. Randolph-Clay (3-0)
8. Macon County (1-0)
9. Jenkins County (0-0)
10. Mt. Zion-Carrollton (2-0)
Class 3A-1A Private
1. Holy Innocents’ (2-2)
2. Greenforest (4-0)
3. North Cobb Christian (2-1)
4. Darlington (2-0)
5. St. Francis (2-3)
6. GAC (4-2)
7. Lovett (3-2)
8. Mt. Paran (3-2)
9. King’s Ridge (2-3)
10. Mt. Bethel (2-3)
A full week of Thanksgiving Break basketball challenged top teams across the state but no teams fell from their perch above their respective classifications although three number one ranked teams did suffer losses.
Class 6A No. 1 Grayson had a trio of signature wins, beating Class 5A No. 1 Milton 73-58 at the Jared Cook Classic, Class 3A No. 1 Cedar Grove 71-49 at the On The Radar Hoops Thanksgiving Showcase and Combine Academy, NC 79-74 at Hard in the Paint, Caleb Holt with 30 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. No. 2 Wheeler earned a pair of wins in Utah at Five For The Fight, topping Timpview, UT 83-52 and Prolific Prep, CA 64-62 before coming home to lose to Columbus, FL 88-54 at Holiday Hoopsgiving. No. 3 Norcross was beat at the Lighthouse Classic, 78-58 by Hoover, AL. No. 4 Newton hangs onto their spot thanks to strength of schedule, beating Impact Christian, FL 72-63 before losses at Hard In The Paint to Class 3A No. 1 Cedar Grove 56-52 and Private No. 1 Holy Innocents’ 62-48. No. 5 Walton saw CJ Jordan dominate with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks in a win over South Paulding at Hoya Hoopsgiving before the Raiders beat Class 2A No. 4 South Atlanta 57-37. No. 6 Etowah blasted Class 3A No. 3 Westside-Augusta 65-38 at the Jared Cook Classic, Alex Young with 15 points and 10 rebounds. No. 8 McEachern moves up a spot with an 87-55 win over last week’s Class 5A No. 8 Gainesville at Hard In The Paint while No. 9 Pebblebrook slips a spot with a 61-42 loss to Wasatch Academy, UT at Holiday Hoopsgiving. No. 10 Lambert lost 76-60 to Class 5A No. 2 Woodward Academy at the On The Radar Hoops Thanksgiving Showcase but rebounded with a 79-75 victory against last week’s Class 5A No. 5 Habersham Central at FeastGiving, Cameron Bland with 26 points while Taj McLeod recorded 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Class 5A No. 1 Milton took a 73-58 loss at the hands of Class 6A No. 1 Grayson at the Jared Cook Classic, Milwaukee-signee Josh Dixon with 26 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists. No. 2 Woodward Academy rises a spot after beating Class 6A No. 10 Lambert 76-60 at OTR and outlasting North Tampa, FL 75-67 in overtime at Holiday Hoopsgiving, Deke Cooper with 29 points while Clemson-signee Zac Foster tallied 21 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals. No. 3 Tri-Cities is down one place, beating No. 4 Lee County 83-76 at OTR but losing to Davidson Day, NC 75-68 at Holiday Hoopsgiving. The Bulldogs closed the week with a 67-65 win against Jonesboro at Hard In The Paint, Tre Keith with 22 points. No. 5 Winder-Barrow climbs two spots with a 74-62 victory over last week’s Class 4A No. 2 North Oconee at FeastGiving, Jerrin Samuel posting 26 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, earning a Stetson offer after the game. No. 6 Habersham Central slips one spot with a 79-75 loss to Class 6A No. 10 Lambert at FeastGiving, Jalen Davis with 20 points. No. 8 Riverwood falls two places after losing 68-45 to Private No. 1 Holy Innocents’ at the Buckhead Hoops Festival and 77-49 to Private No. 2 Greenforest at OTR. No. 9 Gainesville lost 87-55 to Class 6A No. 8 McEachern at Hard In The Paint while No. 10 Alexander was swept at the Hoopsgiving Invitational, beat by Sagemont, FL 80-49 and St. Thomas Aquinas, FL 76-48. Langston Hughes (1-4) drops out of the poll with losses to North Broward Prep, FL 55-44 and Norland, FL 59-54. No. 7 Bradwell Institute debuts coming off a 66-64 win over Private No. 5 St. Francis at the Joe Greene Tournament. The Tigers picked up 6-foot-4 sophomore Zi’on Thomas from Long County right before the season started and have seen the explosive second year player average 15.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block per game.
In Class 4A, No. 1 Pace Academy defeated Private No. 7 Lovett 66-52. No. 2 Kell is up in the poll, surviving Central, AL 60-57 in overtime at the Jared Cook Classic. No. 3 North Oconee lost 74-62 to Class 5A No. 5 Winder-Barrow at FeastGiving. No. 5 Maynard Jackson is up two spaces with wins at Hard In The Paint, beating last week’s Class 3A No. 8 Baldwin 61-51 and topping North Atlanta 70-38. No. 7 Westminster defeated North Atlanta 67-61 at the Buckhead Hoops Festival. No. 8 St. Pius X slips two slots following a 65-57 loss to Webb, TN at the Notre Dame Thanksgiving Invitational. Central-Carrollton (3-1) exits the Top 10 after losing 52-50 to Johns Creek. No. 10 Southwest DeKalb breaks into the rankings off to a 5-0 start with Jackson Ushery (12.8), Aaron Burks (11.4) and Kelvin Peek (10.5) all averaging in double figures.
Class 3A No. 1 Cedar Grove lost 71-49 to Class 6A No. 1 Grayson at the On The Radar Hoops Thanksgiving Showcase but defeated Class 4A No. 4 Newton 56-52 at Hard In The Paint behind Manny Green’s 18 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists and Javonte Floyd’s 15 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks. No. 2 Cross Creek finished runner-up at the Tip-Off at The Dam, losing 65-64 to River Bluff, SC. No. 3 Westside-Augusta is on a four-game losing streak, crushed by Class 6A No. 6 Etowah at the Jared Cook Classic 65-38, then beaten twice at the Thanksgiving HoopFeast by Plant City, FL (61-60) and in double overtime by Tampa Catholic, FL (95-92). No. 4 Dougherty was upset by Houston County at the HypeSouth Hardwood Invitational 61-52. No. 7 Cherokee Bluff routed their way to the Jackson EMC Tip-Off Championship, blowing out host Jefferson 63-35 in the title game, Cooper Glover posting 24 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. No. 8 Douglass rises two spaces with a 58-52 win against McCallie, TN at Hard In The Paint, Chris Jones with 29 points. No. 9 Baldwin falls one position with a 61-51 loss at Class 4A No. 5 Maynard Jackson at Hard In The Paint before a 78-74 come from behind overtime victory against Warner Robins at the HypeSouth Hardwood Invitational, rallying from down 20 points as Deven Nelson (33) and Karez Demory (24) combined for 57 points.
Down in Class 2A, No. 2 Columbia went on their annual trip to the Bahamas for the William Dale Burns Classic and recorded a 4-1 mark, losing 59-45 to Dutchtown before beating Tabernacle Baptist 68-48 for third-place. No. 4 South Atlanta lost 57-37 to Class 6A No. 5 Walton at Hoya Hoopsgiving and fell 53-49 at Private No. 7 Lovett. No. 6 Westside-Macon holds onto their spot after losing 49-48 to Valdosta at the HypeSouth Hardwood Invitational, Josh Harden scoring 17 points. Thomson (1-1) and Salem (3-4) depart from the rankings. Thomson lost 61-55 to Midland Valley, SC while Salem fell to Lakeview Academy 60-54 and Private No. 8 Mt. Paran 55-39 at Truett McConnell. No. 7 Laney enters the Top 10 off a 65-52 win against Greenbrier at the 100 Black Men Classic. No. 10 Spencer climbs back in with a 56-52 victory at Central-Macon at the HypeSouth Hardwood Invitational, Joshua Seldon posting 21 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
Class A D-I gets a major facelift due to inactivity as three new teams crowd the poll. No. 1 Southwest-Macon toppled Johnson-Savannah at the HypeSouth Hardwood Invitational 51-50, Chase Dupree (16) and Caron Howard (14) combining for 30 points. No. 3 BEST Academy falls a spot with losses at Holiday Hoopsgiving to Private No. 2 Greenfreost 80-50 and Private No. 3 North Cobb Christian 82-61. No. 4 Rabun County shoots up four spots after a 2-0 weekend at Truett McConnell, beating ELCA 68-61 and getting 27 points from Huey Blalock in a 65-53 win against No. 7 Model who drops three spots. Jasper County (0-0), Toombs County (0-0) and Swainsboro (0-0) will all have to earn their way back into the rankings after not playing the first three weeks of the season, Toombs County still in the football state playoffs. No. 6 Towers debuts after a perfect showing at the Cambridge Thanksgiving Tournament, beating South Forsyth 80-76 and Roswell 57-52 to go 3-0. The backcourt of 5-foot-11 senior Domyius McFarland (20.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 3.1 spg) and 5-foot-9 junior Jalen Kelly (18.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 5.7 apg, 3 spg) powers the Titans. No. 8 Banks County yo-yos back into the Top 10 after a three-game winning streak while No. 9 Vidalia breaks in after wins over Veterans 51-40 and Bleckley County 46-36.
There are no changes to the Class A D-II Top 10. No. 1 Savannah beat Harlem 69-49 at the Savannah Shootout while No. 2 Warren County won 67-41 at Jefferson County and CJ Battle dropped 41 points for No. 5 McIntosh County Academy in a 96-51 win against Glynn Academy. No. 10 Mt. Zion-Carrollton netted a pair of blowout wins, Payton Waters averaging 20 points.
The Private Classification was busy as No. 1 Holy Innocents’ defeated Class 5A No. 8 Riverwood 68-45 at the Buckhead Hoops Festival but lost 59-47 to North Tampa, FL at Holiday Hoopsgiving before finishing on a high note with a 62-48 triumph against Class 6A No. 4 Newton at Hard In The Paint, Caleb Wilson recording 18 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 7 blocks. No. 2 Greenforest thumped Class 5A No. 8 Riverwood 77-49 at OTR before scoring Hoopsgiving wins over Class A D-I No. 3 BEST Academy 80-50 and Woodstock 45-38. No. 3 North Cobb Christian defeated Class A D-I No. 3 BEST Academy 82-61 at Hoopsgiving behind Will Russell’s 16 points and 15-points each from Xavier Butler and Grant Robich. No. 5 St. Francis clings onto their spot with a pair of losses in Savannah at the Joe Greene Tournament, beat by Class 5A No. 7 Bradwell Institute 66-64 and Johnson-Savannah 67-63. No. 6 GAC lost 64-62 to Sequoyah at the Jared Cook Classic. No. 7 Lovett inches up a spot after losing 66-52 to Class 4A No. 1 Pace Academy but beating Class 2A No. 4 South Atlanta 53-49 as Biko Rice scored 15 points. No. 8 Mt. Paran split at the Truett McConnell Showcase, losing 63-58 to the Brookwood School but beating last week’s Class 2A No. 8 Salem 55-39 with JT Scott netting 15 points. Mt. Vernon (1-2) slips out with a 66-48 loss to Lanier, replaced by No. 10 Mt. Bethel, back in the rankings for the first time since the preseason after wins over The King’s Academy and Alpharetta and a tough 62-53 loss to McCallie, TN at Hard In The Paint.