All posts by KyleSandy

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

***SUBSCRIBE/DOWNLOAD/LISTEN ON iTUNES***
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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]

Girls Basketball, Girls Rankings

Week 10 Girls Rankings

The Sidelines

Class AAAAAAA

1. Westlake (19-0)
2. Collins Hill (19-1)
3. North Cobb (19-1)
4. Cherokee (19-3)
5. Grayson (19-2)
6. North Forsyth (15-4)
7. Norcross (14-9)
8. Brookwood (15-6)
9. Hillgrove (14-6)
10. Pebblebrook (17-3)

 Class AAAAAA

1. Lovejoy (19-3)
2. Forest Park (20-2)
3. Northview (16-4)
4. Glynn Academy (18-2)
5. Douglas County (17-4)
6. Stephenson (13-9)
7. Valdosta (18-2)
8. Lanier (17-3)
9. Creekview (16-4)
10. New Manchester (19-3)

Class AAAAA

1. Villa Rica (20-0)
2. Buford (17-2)
3. Eagle’s Landing (14-4)
4. Veterans (20-2)
5. Southwest DeKalb (16-6)
6. Statesboro (21-1)
7. Jones County (17-4)
8. Harris County (16-5)
9. Woodland-Stockbridge (15-5)
10. Carrollton (15-6)

Class AAAA

1. Carver-Columbus (21-0)
2. Henry County (21-2)
3. Flowery Branch (19-3)
4. Spalding (15-4)
5. Madison County (19-2)
6. West Laurens (16-4)
7. Luella (16-4)
8. Baldwin (15-5)
9. Marist (15-5)
10. Sandy Creek (14-4)

Class AAA

1. Jefferson (18-2)
2. Johnson-Savannah (12-6)
3. Beach (18-4)
4. Morgan County (16-4)
5. Hart County (15-5)
6. GAC (11-9)
7. Peach County (14-4)
8. Tattnall County (16-5)
9. Dawson County (14-7)
10. Coahulla Creek (16-5)

Class AA

1. Dodge County (18-1)
2. Douglass (17-5)
3. Fitzgerald (19-0)
4. Laney (19-1)
5. Bryan County (20-0)
6. Rabun County (18-1)
7. Swainsboro (16-2)
8. Early County (17-2)
9. Banks County (16-4)
10. Washington County (15-4)

Class A-Private

1. Wesleyan (21-1)
2. St. Francis (14-3)
3. Holy Innocents’ (13-7)
4. ELCA (14-3)
5. Lakeview Academy (17-4)
6. Mt. Paran (17-1)
7. Stratford Academy (18-1)
8. Paideia (16-3)
9. Calvary Day (17-3)
10. Greenforest (15-4)

Class A-Public

1. Marion County (19-0)
2. Georgia Military College (13-1)
3. Telfair County (16-3)
4. Greenville (20-1)
5. Wheeler County (14-4)
6. Calhoun County (18-2)
7. Dooly County (15-3)
8. Mitchell County (15-4)
9. Clinch County (12-4)
10. Wilcox County (13-6)

Region play affords us some crucial Top 10 showdowns across all classifications as region tournament seeding is up for grabs. A handful of rematches will make us re-think what we thought we knew about the landscape of Georgia.

In Class AAAAAAA, No. 1 Westlake remained unbeaten, rallying from down 36-24 at the half to knockoff Class 5A No. 2 Buford on the road 58-51. Raven Johnson attacked the glass in the second half and led the Lions with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals and 2 blocks while 6-foot-3 junior center Lydia Freeman proved to be the ultimate difference maker, dumping in 17 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks as Buford had no answer for her size and girth inside. No. 7 Norcross fell to No. 8 Brookwood 54-44 as both teams continue their see-saw seasons. The Broncos return to the Top 10 riding a six-game winning streak and will try to avoid anymore trap games. They replace tough-luck Colquitt County (16-2) who outlasted Camden County 46-45 on the road. No. 5 Grayson held off Class 6A No. 6 Stephenson 70-69 behind freshman Catherine Alben’s game-winning free throw and 19 points and 6 assists. No. 9 Hillgrove edged archnemesis McEachern 57-55.

Outside of No. 6 Stephenson dropping one spot after a 70-69 loss to Class 7A No. 5 Grayson and Dacula (16-5) falling out of the poll following a 66-61 loss to Winder-Barrow, everything in Class AAAAAA was status quo. The Falcons are replaced by returnee No. 10 New Manchester who went a perfect 4-0 last week with wins over Alexander (57-48), Starr’s Mill (42-32), Tri-Cities (78-22) and South Paulding (79-17).

There is no movement in Class AAAAA. No. 1 Villa Rica pumped Cass 71-47 while No. 10 Carrollton sneaked out of White with a 50-47 win. No. 3 Eagle’s Landing turned back No. 7 Jones County 40-37. No. 4 Veterans defeated Class 3A No. 7 Peach County 63-56. No. 8 Harris County handled Warner Robins 74-51.

Westover (15-3) and Perry (10-7) are casualties in Class AAAA. The Patriots were upset by 8-11 Cairo 44-35 while Perry went 0-3 last week, losing to No. 4 Spalding (62-40), No. 6 West Laurens (42-32) and Class A-Public No. 7 Dooly County (47-34). No. 8 Baldwin rises above the wreckage even after a 50-38 loss to Cross Creek. The Braves rebounded with a big 60-56 win over Class 2A No. 10 Washington County. Returning to the Top 10 is No. 9 Marist. The War Eagles beat White County 61-48 and Chestatee 61-42 before losing to No. 3 Flowery Branch 64-48. No. 10 Sandy Creek debuts in the poll and are on a nine-game winning streak. The Patriots have beat up on a weak Region 5, their latest win coming at Central-Carrollton 49-34, who has sunk to 13-5 and 3-4 in region play after a 10-0 start to the season. 6-foot-1 junior post Daija Powell is powering the Patriots with 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

The gauntlet known as Region 8 in Class AAA claimed another victim as No. 4 Morgan County slips three spots from their top ranking after losing 77-63 to No. 5 Hart County. Western Kentucky-signee Torrion Starks controlled the game with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists while Taniya Alexander added 23 points and 15 rebounds inside. Rising to the perch for the first time is the third Region 8 team in the Top 5, No. 1 Jefferson. They came out of Carnesville with a 40-33 win over Franklin County and now have a rematch this Tuesday against visiting Morgan County, who slayed the Dragons 60-52 back on December 14th. No. 6 GAC has gained breathing room in Region 7, beating No. 9 Dawson County 53-41 and dispatching of North Hall 61-46. No. 10 Coahulla Creek narrowly survives their first week in the poll in a topsy-turvy Region 6. The Colts lost to North Murray 51-46, splitting the season series, but bounced back with a 55-42 win at Adairsville. The Region 6 standings are a logjam up top: Ringgold (15-6, 11-1), Coahulla Creek (16-5, 10-2), North Murray (15-7, 10-3) and Sonoraville (15-6, 9-3) are the leaders. The Colts get the nod over the rest of the pack due to their crucial 47-44 win at Ringgold. North Murray is close on their tail with five-straight wins. Ringgold could have gotten the final spot this week, but they lost 54-51 to Class 4A Heritage-Catoosa and are 2-3 in their last five games.

For a second consecutive week there are no changes to the Class AA poll, though major shakeup could be on the horizon. No. 1 Dodge County travels to No. 10 Washington County on Tuesday looking to complete a season sweep of the Golden Hawks, who they beat 73-64 last month. No. 3 Fitzgerald travels to No. 8 Early County. The host Bobcats will look to avenge their 62-60 loss the Purple Hurricanes two weeks ago. No. 7 Swainsboro welcomes No. 5 Bryan County on Tuesday, the Redskins beat Swainsboro 68-64 in their first meeting. This past week, No. 4 Laney swept 9-8 Burke County 59-54. No. 6 Rabun County, winners of 16-straight, did the same against rival No. 9 Banks County, winning 59-53 with Brooke Henricks’ 19 points leading the way.

Class A-Private’s hated rivals wrote another chapter in their storied history as No. 3 Holy Innocents’ handed No. 1 Wesleyan their first loss of the year 68-63 as freshman Marya Hudgins had a career night with 26 points and 7 rebounds. Starting point guard Paige Lyons did not play in the loss. Wesleyan retains their number one position. Dating back to 2016-17, the Golden Bears have gone 6-1 in the regular season/region tournament, winning four-straight against the Wolves but have lost the last two state championships to Wesleyan. No. 2 St. Francis welcomes No. 6 Mt. Paran on Friday as the Lady Knights look to sweep the Eagles after beating them 59-42 in their first contest. No. 10 Greenforest clings onto their spot in the poll following a 67-65 loss at Landmark Christian.

Class A-Public sees Bowdon (16-4) and Central-Talbotton (10-6) fall from the Top 10. The Red Devils were upset 45-42 at Trion while the Hawks were drilled by No. 1 Marion County 76-44 and lost 60-59 to No. 4 Greenville. Continuing the statewide theme of rematches, the defending state champion Greenville Patriots travel to Marion County on Tuesday. The Eagles handed them their only loss of the season back in December, 71-70. No. 3 Telfair County blasted No. 9 Clinch County 76-47, India Wells posting 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. The Panthers fall two spots after also getting torched by Gracie Brunel in a 59-51 loss to Lanier County, the unsigned senior who leads the state in scoring dropping in 38 points. No. 5 Wheeler County heads to No. 3 Telfair County for a rematch of their season-opening 65-60 loss to the Trojans. No. 7 Dooly County is up a spot after a big 47-34 win against last week’s Class 4A No. 10 Perry. Returning to the poll is No. 8 Mitchell County and No. 10 Wilcox County. The Eagles battle with rival Pelham this week while the Patriots try to ride momentum from their 73-59 win over Echols County. Wilcox County is led by freshman Destiny Tisdol’s 14.5 points per game and Coach Santita Coon boasts the state’s leading rebounder, 5-foot-10 sophomore Alayshia Dixon who averages 14.1 points, 16.7 rebounds, 4.4 steals and 1.8 blocks.