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GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Girls Recaps, Recaps

Early season “upsets” challenge state rankings

Not even two weeks into the season and holiday tournaments and other non-region games across the state have put the Top 10 rankings to the test. With teams still trying to gain their footing on the young season some games are more of upsets than others. Accolades and preseason rankings have already proven to not matter much once the ball is tipped. Here are a few of the most interesting results from a full Monday of action.

BOYS

Lowndes 64, 2ANo. 2 Thomasville 51
Am I reading this score correctly? If so, Thomasville, who went 28-2 last year, is now 0-2 to start the year after opening as the state’s No. 1 team in Class AA. The Bulldogs were humbled by Class 7A Tift County 75-40 and now drop to Lowndes. Ever since the Bulldogs were smacked in the Elite Eight against Pace Academy 78-48, I just don’t know what to believe anymore, especially without Jordan Willis leading the charge at point. Reggie Perry has been described as a future “NBA Lottery Pick”, but if that’s the case, I don’t understand how the 6-foot-8 Arkansas-commit isn’t carrying this team on his back. Don’t forget 6-foot-9 Titus Wright is also receiving high major offers. No excuses for a 35-point loss and a 13-point loss to a team you should overwhelm with your D-I size. I’m hovering my hand over the panic button because I thought highly of this team last year and this season, only to be left searching for answers.

South Forsyth 70, 5ANo. 10 Riverwood 61
UNCW-signee Evan Cole carried the War Eagles with 39 points while Isaiah Magee added eight. Embry-Riddle signee did the best he could to lift the Raiders, pouring in 26 points. Charnchai Chantha added six points and 10 assists but the 6-foot-8 Cole was too much to handle.

Dorman, SC 86, 2ANo. 4 Monticello 57
This one wasn’t too much of an upset as the South Carolina power rolled over a smaller scrappy Monticello team. Ashton Bonner finished with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. CJ Adams collected 13 points, four assists and six steals. This was a classic learning experience as Monticello entered as a heavy underdog with their enrollment of 700 playing against South Carolina’s largest school, Dorman, who boasts 3,400 students.

7ANo. 10 Collins Hill 54, 5ANo. 1 Columbia 51
A front-end miss of a 1-and-1 helped Collins Hill hold off Columbia in a great game. Top 10 matchups can’t really be considered too much of an upset especially with a higher classification beating a lower one, but still, when a No. 1 team gets beaten, it’s big news.

GIRLS

Hillgrove 66, 7ANo. 8 Brookwood 53
Hillgrove always has talent. They might not be what they once were, but they are still a tough team and let Brookwood know firsthand. Hillgrove’s only losses so far have come to Class 7A No. 1 Norcross and Class A-Private No. 2 Wesleyan. They have already beaten Class 3A No. 5 GAC and now Brookwood. They held Texas A&M-signee N’Dea Jones to 11 points and eight rebounds (she did have six blocks however). With a couple more strong performances, Hillgrove should crack the Top 10 and this one probably won’t end up being a bad loss for Brookwood.

5ANo. 2 Flowery Branch 55, 6ANo. 1 Winder-Barrow 46
This was a great game between evenly matched opponents. Flowery Branch got 12 points and four rebounds from North Georgia-signee Julianne Sutton as she battled the No. 1 ranked post player in the nation, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who finished with a game-high 18 points. Versatile X-factor Taniyah Worth had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists while Lexie Sengkhammee scored 10 points and Caroline Wysocki pitched in eight points and six rebounds to take down the Bulldoggs. The two schools will meet twice more, on Nov. 29 at Flowery Branch and Jan. 3 at Winder-Barrow.

Rome 74, 3ANo. 4 Calhoun 65
Rome won 18 games last year but lost by 43 in the first round of state to eventual champion Southwest DeKalb. The battle tested 5A school rode post player Taya Gibson’s 31 points to edge past Calhoun using a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter to put it out of reach. Re’tavia Floyd netted 16 to flank Gibson. Calhoun received 25 from Ashlyn Barnes and 23 from Jana Johns in the loss. This one will sting right now, but Rome is a larger school with a good group coming back.

North Forsyth 45, 6ANo. 6 Northview 30
The Titans rose four spots in this week’s poll but quickly saw their Forsyth County nightmares reappear. North Forsyth has now won eight straight against Northview and managed to control the game and play the style they wanted as the Raiders negated the Titans’ size advantage. North Forsyth is 5-0 to begin the year and is on the verge of busting down the door to crack the Class 7A rankings.

 

GHSA, Girls Basketball, Girls Rankings

Week 1 Girls Rankings

Class AAAAAAA

  1. Norcross (3-0)
  2. Archer (4-0)
  3. McEachern (0-1)
  4. Collins Hill (0-0)
  5. Newton (2-0)
  6. Westlake (0-1)
  7. Cherokee (1-0)
  8. Brookwood (1-0)
  9. Mill Creek (2-0)
  10. Colquitt County (1-0)

Class AAAAAA

  1. Winder-Barrow (1-0)
  2. Douglas County (2-1)
  3. Mays (0-0)
  4. Grovetown (3-0)
  5. Harrison (1-1)
  6. Northview (2-0)
  7. Jonesboro (2-1)
  8. Sequoyah (2-0)
  9. Brunswick (0-0)
  10. Tucker (2-0)

 Class AAAAA

  1. Buford (0-0)
  2. Flowery Branch (1-0)
  3. Southwest DeKalb (1-1)
  4. Griffin (3-0)
  5. Bainbridge (0-0)
  6. Warner Robins (1-0)
  7. Villa Rica (0-0)
  8. Carrollton (0-0)
  9. Loganville (1-2)
  10. Harris County (1-0)

Class AAAA

  1. Columbus (1-0)
  2. Cross Creek (0-0)
  3. North Oconee (3-0)
  4. Henry County (1-1)
  5. West Hall (0-2)
  6. Carver-Columbus (2-0)
  7. Americus-Sumter (1-1)
  8. Northwest Whitfield (0-0)
  9. Jefferson (2-0)
  10. Sandy Creek (2-0)

Class AAA

  1. Johnson-Savannah (2-0)
  2. Morgan County (0-1)
  3. Beach (0-0)
  4. Calhoun (0-0)
  5. Greater Atlanta Christian (1-2)
  6. Ringgold (0-0)
  7. Kendrick (1-0)
  8. Redan (3-0)
  9. Haralson County (1-0)
  10. Hart County (1-0)

Class AA

  1. Model (0-1)
  2. Putnam County (0-0)
  3. Rabun County (1-0)
  4. Vidalia (0-0)
  5. Laney (0-0)
  6. Dodge County (0-0)
  7. Banks County (2-0)
  8. Swainsboro (0-1)
  9. Armuchee (1-1)
  10. Heard County (2-1)

Class A-Private

  1. St. Francis (2-0)
  2. Wesleyan (3-0)
  3. Holy Innocents’ (2-0)
  4. Greenforest (0-0)
  5. Our Lady of Mercy (2-0)
  6. Calvary Day (0-0)
  7. Southwest Atlanta Christian (0-1)
  8. Tattnall Square (0-0)
  9. Lakeview Academy (1-0)
  10. Savannah Country Day (1-0)

Class A-Public

  1. Pelham (0-0)
  2. Terrell County (0-0)
  3. Taylor County (0-0)
  4. Greenville (1-0)
  5. Telfair County (2-0)
  6. Treutlen (0-0)
  7. Wheeler County (1-1)
  8. Hancock Central (0-0)
  9. Wilcox County (1-0)
  10. Mitchell County (0-0)

 

In search of a four-peat in the state’s highest classification, No. 3 McEachern was stopped by No. 1 Norcross in a star-studded early season matchup, 57-53. No. 2 Archer moves up a spot after a 4-0 start with wins over Class AAAAA No. 9 Loganville (38-29), Class AAAAAA No. 7 Jonesboro (48-36) and Class AAA No. 2 Morgan County (64-49). Woodstock and Duluth both drop out of the Top 10. The Wolverines were beat by Class AAAAAA’s No. 6 Northview 57-44 and No. 10  Tucker 48-41 while sandwiching a nice victory over Class AAA No. 5 Greater Atlanta Christian, 61-56, in between. Duluth picked up two blow out wins but fell to South Gwinnett 54-46. Into the rankings are No. 9 Mill Creek and No. 10 Colquitt County. Mill Creek drilled Fayette County and then beat Class AAAA No. 5 West Hall 43-35. Colquitt will be a tough out in South Georgia. They beat Crisp County 73-41 behind Za’Nautica Downs’ 29 points, eight rebounds and five steals.

Class AAAAAA’s No. 1 Winder-Barrow demolished Berkmar 89-14. No. 2 Douglas County holds onto their spot after an overtime loss to Greater Atlanta Christian 78-75. The Tigers beat Class AAAAAAA No. 6 Westlake 60-57 and slipped by Stephenson 63-57. No. 5 Harrison moves up a spot after a 74-64 loss to Norcross and a 56-50 win over Class AAAAA No. 3 Southwest DeKalb. No. 10 Tucker debuts following wins over Parkview (45-39) and Woodstock (48-41). The biggest mover so far? No. 6 Northview. The Titans pounded away at Woodstock and held a 20-point lead for the majority of the game and then took down previously ranked St. Pius, 48-28. Not many teams can match Northview’s quality size inside, making them a dangerous team come tournament time if they can keep it all together.

It was pretty much status quo in Class AAAAA outside of No. 3 Southwest DeKalb dropping to Harrison by six. The Panthers did however, earn a 59-48 win over Stephenson beforehand. Loganville drops a spot to No. 9 after tough losses to ranked opponents Archer (38-29) and North Oconee (49-42).

Preseason Class AAAA No. 3 West Hall falls to No. 5 after losing to Mill Creek 43-35 and P.K. Yonge, FL 60-47. A tough early season schedule should pay dividends later in the season. North Oconee takes over at No. 3 with wins over Loganville, Central Gwinnett (58-39) and Cedar Shoals (50-32). St. Pius drops out but also does Marist, who opened the year ranked No. 5. The War Eagles lost to Centennial 36-32 and will need to regroup. No. 9 Jefferson and No. 10 Sandy Creek will try to cement themselves as Top 10 teams.

With No. 2 Morgan County’s loss to Archer, Johnson-Savannah takes the reigns as top dog in Class AAA. Greater Atlanta Christian slips two spots after seeing mixed results against a tough schedule, losing to Woodstock and Hillgrove but beating Douglas County in overtime. Preseason No. 8 Lovett, No. 9 East Hall and No. 10 Franklin County all exit the poll. In is No. 8 Redan, No. 9 Haralson County and No. 10 Hart County. Haralson County won a defensive battle with Class AA No. 10 Heard County, 34-16.

Class AA No. 1 Model lost to Class A-Private No. 3 Holy Innocents’ (68-61), but their strong showing is enough for the Blue Devils to retain their No. 1 ranking. No. 3 Rabun County rises a spot after drilling Dawson County 76-51. Swainsboro plummets three spots to No. 8 after a 46-41 loss to Coffee. Armuchee moves up to No. 9. Their win over Class A-Private Preseason No. 10 Darlington 43-32 outweighs their 43-38 loss to Cass just enough to stay ranked. No. 7 Banks County is new to the poll after Jeff Davis exits following a 49-37 loss to Class A-Public No. 5 Telfair County. Banks County picked up wins in Hall County beating North Hall 56-43 and Class AAA Preseason No. 9 East Hall, 60-48.

It was ho-hum for Class A-Private’s top three teams, each of them picking up wildly impressive victories. No. 1 St. Francis crushed Class AAAA No. 7 Americus-Sumer 63-26. No. 2 Wesleyan beat Hillgrove 66-53 and blew out Effingham County (93-28) and Tattnall County (90-38). No. 3 Holy Innocents’ beat Model and thumped rival Riverwood 77-15. No. 10 Savannah Country Day replaces Darlington.

Not much happened in Class A-Public but No. 5 Telfair County has already moved up two spots, beating Jeff Davis 49-37 and No. 7 Wheeler County 66-59. No. 4 Greenville looked good in their 68-35 rout of Calhoun County.

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Rankings

Week 1 Boys Rankings

4 Comments

Class AAAAAAA

  1. Wheeler (0-0)
  2. Pebblebrook (1-1)
  3. Westlake (1-0)
  4. Newton (2-0)
  5. Norcross (2-0)
  6. McEachern (1-0)
  7. Tift County (2-0)
  8. Berkmar (1-0)
  9. Shiloh (1-1)
  10. Collins Hill (2-0)

Class AAAAAA

  1. Jonesboro (0-0)
  2. Gainesville (1-0)
  3. South Paulding (1-0)
  4. Langston Hughes (0-1)
  5. Allatoona (0-0)
  6. Heritage-Conyers (3-0)
  7. Dacula (1-0)
  8. Alpharetta (2-0)
  9. Alexander (0-0)
  10. Brunswick (0-0)

Class AAAAA

  1. Columbia (1-0)
  2. Cedar Shoals (1-0)
  3. Buford (1-0)
  4. Miller Grove (0-1)
  5. Warner Robins (1-0)
  6. Eagle’s Landing (0-1)
  7. New Hampstead (2-0)
  8. Fayette County (1-0)
  9. Southwest DeKalb (2-1)
  10. Riverwood (2-0)

Class AAAA

  1. Sandy Creek (2-1)
  2. Upson-Lee (2-0)
  3. Thomson (0-0)
  4. North Clayton (0-0)
  5. Henry County (0-2)
  6. LaGrange (0-0)
  7. St. Pius X (0-1)
  8. Richmond Academy (2-0)
  9. Westover (0-1)
  10. Stephens County (0-0)

Class AAA

  1. Pace Academy (0-0)
  2. Westside-Macon (0-0)
  3. Liberty County (2-0)
  4. Jenkins (0-1)
  5. Morgan County (0-0)
  6. Cedar Grove (0-0)
  7. Greater Atlanta Christian (1-0)
  8. Lovett (3-0)
  9. Redan (3-0)
  10. Islands (0-1)

Class AA

  1. South Atlanta (1-0)
  2. Thomasville (0-1)
  3. Dublin (0-0)
  4. Monticello (2-0)
  5. Vidalia (1-0)
  6. Callaway (0-0)
  7. Swainsboro (0-0)
  8. Butler (1-1)
  9. Chattooga (0-0)
  10. Banks County (1-1)

Class A-Private

  1. Greenforest (1-0)
  2. North Cobb Christian (1-0)
  3. Southwest Atlanta Christian (0-1)
  4. St. Francis (2-0)
  5. Holy Innocents’ (0-1)
  6. Lakeview Academy (1-0)
  7. Tattnall Square (0-0)
  8. Aquinas (0-0)
  9. Whitefield Academy (0-0)
  10. Christian Heritage (0-0)

Class A-Public

  1. Wilkinson County (0-0)
  2. Crawford County (0-0)
  3. Turner County (0-0)
  4. Calhoun County (1-0)
  5. Taylor County (0-0)
  6. Hancock Central (0-0)
  7. Manchester (0-0)
  8. Quitman County (2-0)
  9. Lincoln County (0-0)
  10. Hawkinsville (2-0)

 

Week 1 is in the books and Class AAAAAAA has already seen a few teams make some statements, but no one has been more impressive than No. 4 Newton who leaps over an impressive in their own right, No. 5 Norcross. The Rams have throttled opponents, blitzing Class AAAA Preseason No. 1 Henry County 83-67 and trouncing Class A-Private No. 3 Southwest Atlanta Christian, 91-60. Jacksonville-signee JD Notae went on a scoring binge against SACA, dropping in 41 points. Norcross scored a nice 66-51 win over Class AAAAA No. 6 Eagle’s Landing. No. 2 Pebblebrook beat Dillard, FL 49-40, but then lost to Montverde Academy, FL, 81-63. They won’t be punished however and retain their No. 2 spot after No. 3 Westlake won 107-94 against a rebuilding Douglas County team. No. 7 Tift County rises three spots after abusing Class AA Preseason No. 1 Thomasville, 75-40. Undersized senior forward PJ Horne, now 100% from an ACL injury, ate up 6-foot-8 Arkansas-commit Reggie Perry, hanging 25 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Alabama State-signee Micah Johnson torched the Bulldog backcourt with 23 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and six steals.

Class AAAAAA was treated to a potential late February matchup as No. 2 Gainesville blew past No. 4 Langston Hughes, who drops a spot after their 74-57 loss. KJ Buffen was too much, going for 22 points, nine rebounds and three steals. No. 6 Heritage-Conyers won two nail biters, beating Class AAAAA No. 9 Southwest DeKalb 51-47 and Lithonia 70-66 before drilling Brookwood 90-67. No. 8 Alpharetta leaps inactive No. 9 Alexander. The Raiders have looked the part of a Top 10 team, defeating North Forsyth 67-47 and Creekview 78-47.

No. 1 Columbia rolled Stephenson 76-61 in their season opener after scheduled Arlington Country Day, FL decided not to show up. Miller Grove tumbles to No. 4 after an 84-69 loss to Class AAAAAAA No. 6 McEachern. The Wolverines didn’t look all that great in their preseason scrimmage against Gainesville either, dropping 84-65. Miller Grove isn’t void of talent, but the majority of their roster hasn’t seen varsity minutes behind senior guard Tae Hardy, meaning it will take some time for them to become a finished product. No. 8 Fayette County knocked off Class AAAA No. 2 Sandy Creek 75-69, but move up just one spot. No. 7 New Hampstead retains their slim advantage over Fayette County thanks to an 83-76 win over Class AAA No. 10 Islands.

Here we are. Just one week into the season and already the crapshoot classification known as Class AAAA has seen Preseason No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, No. 8, No. 9 and No. 10 all drop games. Henry County limps out of the gates after earning the No. 1 ranking. They were steam rolled by Newton and then dropped an eyebrow raising game to Arabia Mountain 73-71 to start the year 0-2 and sink to No. 5. Sandy Creek suffered a tough loss to Fayette County but got back on track by blowing out Forest Park 101-62 and scoring a very strong resume building W against Peachtree Ridge 56-40 to take ahold of the No. 1 spot. The versatility and size of 6-foot-7 senior Evan Jester is Sandy Creek’s ace in the back pocket. He is averaging 20 points per game with over eight rebounds. D-I schools please take note. The Patriots meet No. 4 North Clayton this Friday at the Atlanta Hardwood Jam Fest. No. 7 St. Pius X drops three spots after getting surprised by Cherokee in overtime, 68-59. Perry and Cartersville both exit the polls. Perry lost 69-67 to Bleckley County while Cartersville was run out of the gym by Class A-Private No. 2 North Cobb Christian 92-64 at the Georgia Elite 8 Tip-Off Classic. To be fair, Cartersville was missing nearly its entire team due to football and won’t have the group together until after the state championship. Until then, the Canes will take some lumps, but come region schedule time, Cartersville should be right back in the mix. Replacing Cartersville and Perry is No. 8 Richmond Academy and No. 10 Stephens County. Richmond Academy has two blowouts under their belts, beating Grovetown 63-40 and Woodward Academy 63-38. No. 2 Upson-Lee took care of business in their games. Junior combo guard Tye Fagan is averaging 24 points per game in limited minutes due to blow outs for Upson-Lee.

No. 3 Liberty County has looked sharp in Class AAA where they will try to repeat as state champs after winning it all in Class AAAA. They knocked off No. 4 Jenkins 83-75 as Auburn-signee Davion Mitchell went for 31 and Will Richardson had 29. In the loss, Trevion Lamar had 29 points, 18 rebounds and five assists as top point guard Zion Williams missed the game due to Jenkins’ playoff run in football. Mitchell and Richardson both poured in 42 points in their 120-80 win over Bradwell Institute. As good as those two have been, who has been the best player in the state of Georgia? No. 8 Lovett’s sophomore point guard Ryan Greer, who has carried the shorthanded Lions to three narrow victories as eight football players look to return soon. The results haven’t been pretty for Lovett but wins are wins right now. They beat North Atlanta in 2OT, 51-46; North Springs 52-50 and latest, an 81-79 overtime win over Landmark Christian when Greer posted the stat line of the season:

50 points
16-21 FG
2-4 3pt
12-14 FT
14 reb (3 off and 11 def)
3 assists
2 steals
4 turnovers

If you’re a Division-I coach, get on the horn right now.

Elsewhere in the state Crisp County has looked bad and has fallen out of the poll, replaced by No. 9 Redan and Tyonn Stuckey.

The loss of Jordan Willis and the rest of Thomasville’s Class of 2016 guards is already starting to hurt as Arkansas-commit Reggie Perry and Titus Wright proved they still aren’t ready to carry the team in Class AA. Tift County embarrassed the bigger and more highly recruited Bulldogs causing them to slip to No. 2 and allow No. 1 South Atlanta to take the reigns as leader in the clubhouse. No. 8 Butler and No. 10 Banks County both suffered losses. Butler dropped 64-48 to Mountain View as Christian Robinson didn’t suit up and Head Coach Cervantes Boddy didn’t even show up until the second quarter. Banks County lost on a buzzer-beater against East Hall.

Class A-Private No. 1 Greenforest played the part in their 51-40 win over Shiloh. No. 4 St. Francis moves up as Dwon Odom has transitioned well to the high school game and No. 5 Holy Innocents’ slipped to rival Riverwood 63-62 to open the year. No. 10 Christian Heritage replaces King’s Ridge Christian who lost to Norcross 79-52, but more disappointingly, lost to Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy 47-32 in an ugly game.

Not much has gone on in Class A-Public, but both No. 8 Quitman County and No. 10 Hawkinsville have fared well this season. Quitman beat Kendrick 82-77 and Spencer 80-51. Hawkinsville stopped Bleckley County 52-48 and Webster County 69-58.

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

No. 7 Butler can’t overcome slow start against Mountain View

Mountain View 64, No. 7 Butler 48

Coming off of a 76-43 win at Evans, the Mountain View Bears set sights on their next Augusta foe in the Evans Tip-Off Tournament, Class AA No. 7 Butler. The Bears led wire-to-wire, using five threes in the first quarter to gain separation and hold off a scrappy Bulldog bunch, 64-48.

Butler, without Christian Robinson and Head Coach Cervantes Boddy, who arrived at the 6:20 mark of the second quarter, fell behind early as Miles Long drained four threes and finished with 14 points in the frame. To make matters worse, the undersized Bulldogs saw strong man Will Lambert pick up two early fouls and head to the bench at the 3:09 mark, Butler already down 8-2.

The Bears took a 22-6 lead into the second quarter but the Bulldogs found life once Boddy arrived to the sidelines. Butler’s quick guards ramped up the press and started to cause havoc, Mardrez McBride leading the way with five points in the frame. Butler closed to within 29-25 at the 2:34 mark riding a 19-7 run but Spencer Rodgers helped Mountain View regain control scoring seven of his 14 points in the second quarter as the Bears entered the half up 35-28.

Butler continued to hang around in the third quarter, surviving a Rodgers steal and jam, countering with a Jerry Leverette three ball.

At the 4:25 mark of the third quarter, Butler closed the gap to 41-39 on a McBride floater, but it would be as close as the ‘Dogs would get.

Mountain View carried a 47-42 advantage into the fourth quarter and proceeded to finally land the knockout punch. The Bears outscored the tiring Bulldogs 17-6 in the final quarter as Uchenna Nwagbara beat away at the smaller Butler frontline. Nwagbara, only pushing 6-foot-4ish on a good day, scored 10 of his 12 points in the final eight minutes. He came away with two back-to-back blocks (five on the game) which led to buckets for the Bears.

Butler’s DeAndre Barton scored 11 points in the game but was held to just two in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs couldn’t keep pace with the Bears.

My Take

The absence of Cervantes Boddy to begin the game and Christian Robinson being out for the entire game really hurt Butler. Robinson scored 16 points in their season opener and is a tenacious defender that was sorely missed. I’m not sure why Boddy was late, but once he arrived the Bulldogs picked up their intensity tenfold and really started to push Mountain View. A sour first quarter and fourth quarter bookended a game in which Butler never could get over the hump. They will be a tough team in Class AA. With Robinson playing, he is another solid guard to help out. Butler’s press didn’t force too many turnovers but it sped the game up. Will Lambert’s foul trouble kept Butler’s lone big guy from ever establishing himself (scoreless). Lefty Mardrez McBride has some wiggle to him and played well.

Miles Long has been great to start the year for Mountain View and he had his flamethrower on him early with four first quarter triples. The cohesion of the group was apparent as they all fed off each other. Uchenna Nwagbara was great down the stretch on both ends of the floor but the unsung hero was Kevin Kayongo. He finished with three points, all in the fourth, and collected 10 rebounds, two assists and one block.

 

Top Performers

Mountain View
Miles Long – 20 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Spencer Rodgers – 14 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal
Uchenna Nwagbara – 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks
Jalen Hayes – 8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals

Butler
Mardrez McBride – 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
DeAndre Barton – 11 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals
Keith Littles – 6 points, 2 rebounds
Davian Burns – 6 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Girls Recaps, Recaps

GHSA Statewide Recap 11-18

BOYS

 

Class AAAAAAA

No. 2 Pebblebrook 49, Dillard, FL 40: Xavier signee Elias Harden scored a game-high 16 points and Alabama signee Collin Sexton tossed in 11 to hold off Dillard and Florida State signee RaiQuan Gray’s 15 points.

No. 5 Newton 83, 4ANo. 1 Henry County 67: Jacksonville signee JD Notae scored 17 points and Isaiah Miller and Darvin Jones both had 15 as the Rams overpowered Class AAAA No. 1 Henry County after leading 30-8 after the first quarter and 46-29 at the half. Damion Rosser (New Orleans) led Henry County with 16 points before rolling his ankle. George Mason signee Javon Greene had 13.

Mountain View 76, Evans 43: Mountain View steamrolled Evans at the Evans Tip-off Tournament. Spencer Rodgers scored a team-high 15 points and added 3 steals. Miles Long chipped in 13 points and 4 assists. Uchenna Nwagbara flirted with a double-double, posting 12 points and 9 rebounds. The Bears meet Class AA No. 7 Butler tomorrow morning.

Forsyth Central 57, Lassiter 36: Ethan Hester went for 19 points and 8 rebounds while CJ Smith netted 13 points.

Class AAAAAA

No. 9 Alpharetta 67, North Forsyth 47: Head Coach Jason Dasigner got his first win on the sidelines at Alpharetta. The Raiders led 41-19 at the half behind Brandon Barron’s 20 points. The sophomore finished with 23 on the night. David Swillum chipped in 8 points and 10 rebounds. Carlos Carriere, fresh off the football field, had 10 points and 5 rebounds.

Creekview 74, Brewbaker Tech, AL 69: Creekview’s backcourt powered the Grizzlies. KJ Jenkins scored 18 and Weber Sandlin added 17. Cole Mikes chipped in 16 points and drew two charges. Desmond Williams led Brewbaker Tech with 28 points.

Osborne 64, North Atlanta 53: Latrell Tate went for 18 points and Kaylin Davis poured in a team-high 20 to lift the Cardinals. Jermaine Thompson added 9 points.

Cambridge 50, Walton 45:  Caleb Snyder and Noah Lucas netted 11 points apiece while Ryan Kulaga chipped in 9 points in a Bears win.

River Ridge 70, Pickens 54:  Chris Simmons and Noah Fitzgerald scored 13 apiece while Destin Exinor added 10 to defeat Pickens. The Knights held Pickens scoreless in the third quarter, ballooning a 34-29 halftime lead to a 50-29 advantage. Pickens was led by Joseph Gossett (12) and Zach Goss (10). Blake Gorth had 8 points and 8 rebounds.

Class AAAAA

No. 10 Riverwood 71, Mt. Vernon Presbyterian 36: Senior guard Charnchai Chantha powered the Raiders from his guard position, totaling 16 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals. Josh Brown added 14 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. Rudy Fitzgibbons had 10 points and 7 steals.

Flowery Branch 59, Chattahoochee 38: The Falcons caught fire from deep, sinking 12 total threes on the night and added 15 steals defensively all without Brannon Clark and Dalton Gerdts. Patsheko Lutumba nailed four threes and finished with a team-high 14 points. Both Justin Quick and Caleb Murphy scored 12 points. Blake Coxworth chipped in 5 points and 7 assists.

Walnut Grove 63, Social Circle 25: Jailen Robinson scored 13 points, Dashun Smith scored 12 and RJ Selman chipped in 10 for the Warriors in a season opening win.

South Effingham 83, Groves 61: Derrick Newberry poured in 23 points to lead the Mustangs while Ryan McGee (14) and Makenly Newbill (12) also had strong games.

Class AAAA

Richmond Academy 63, Woodward Academy 38: Vontrez Roberts led 10 Musketeers that scored with 11 points. Moses Williams scored 10, DT Stephens added 8 and Isaiah Williams and Jason Weaver both pitched in 7 points apiece. Junior Malik Poindexter led Woodward with 10 points while Brennan McDaniel added 8 points and 8 rebounds. The War Eagles shot just 24%  and had 16 turnovers.

Class AAA

Redan 62, Monroe Area 54: Tyonn Stuckey went for 21 points, 8 assists and 4 steals in an impressive road win. Tremayne Anderson had 15 points and 8 rebounds. William Littles contributed 11 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

Class A-Private

No. 5 St. Francis 71, Roswell 53: St. Francis’ youth overwhelmed Roswell. Freshmen Dwon Odom and Chase Ellis had big games. Odom finished with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists while Ellis went for 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Sophomores CJ Riley and Sean Paradise poured in 15 and 13 points respectively. Sophomore guard Miles Herron led all scorers with 24 for Roswell.

Hebron Christian 67, Mt. de Sales 62: John Stewart scored 18 and Connor Almon scored 17 to power the Lions attack. Troy Allen chipped in 11 in the win.

Galloway 82, Providence Christian 59:  A young Providence Christian team received 15 points from Al Dorsey and 13 from Parker Trump in a loss.

GICAAMt. Bethel Christian 71, Paideia 50: Jordan Meka, a 6-foot-7 freshman, collected 16 points and 10 blocks in a GICAA-GHSA early season showdown. Sophomore Coleman Boyd had 19 points and junior Jaquez Gilbert had 17 in the Hoops for the Cure Classic victory.

Class A-Public

(Scrimmage) No. 1 Wilkinson County 107, Central-Macon 105 2OT: In a scrimmage for the ages, No. 1 Wilkinson County held off a game Chargers group. Clarence Jackson went off for 37 points, 16 rebounds and 7 assists. Antarius McCoy carried Central-Macon with 38 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Tyrice Paul added 24 in the loss.

                                                                                

GIRLS

Class AAAAAAA

Dacula 52, North Gwinnett 47: Kandy Brown posted an 11-point, 12-rebound, 11-block triple-double to carry the Falcons past the Lady Bulldogs. Kendall Bollmer netted 20 points and Helena Lee had 13 in the win. Jessica Belcher led North Gwinnett with 12 points while Alanni Brown chipped in 10 points.

Mountain View 52, Greenbrier 32: Kamryn Collins scored 16 points and Alea Spears had 12 in the Bears’ victory in the Wolfpack Tip-off Classic.

Class AAAAAA

No. 8 Sequoyah 58, Woodward Academy 35: Alyssa Cagle scored 11 points, dished out 7 assists and grabbed 6 rebounds. Peyton Satterfield netted 15 points. Gabi Latimer had 6 points and 10 rebounds while Lauren Schletty had 6 points 9 rebounds. Colby Carden chipped in 7 points and 4 assists.

Lovejoy 54, Hampton 10: Taylor Borum outscored the Lady Hornets by herself, tallying 11 points and 6 rebounds.

River Ridge 57, Pickens 43: Pickens dropped their first game of the young year to the Knights. In the loss Shelby Cook had 11 points and 6 rebounds. Mykenzie Weaver had 9 points and 3 steals.

Lanier 60, Landmark Christian 25: Bailey Bassett paced the Longhorns with 14 points and 4 steals. Kalen Surles had 14 points and 6 rebounds.

Class AAAAA

Cass 43, 2ANo. 10 Armuchee 38: The Lady Colonels knocked off Armuchee behind Jana Morning’s 15 points and Payton Stoddard’s 9.

McIntosh 63, New Manchester 50: DeLayne Rotolo dropped 18, Kennedi Miller scored 16 and Samantha Coffey added 12 to lead the Lady Chiefs to a non-region victory.

Class AAAA

No. 4 North Oconee 58, Central Gwinnett 39: Emma Weynand posted 15 points in the Lady Titans victory.

Class AAA

No. 2 Johnson-Savannah 58, Richmond Hill 38: The Atomsmashers rolled behind Jacksonville signee Alexis Pierce who scored 30 points and collected 9 steals and 9 assists.

Class A-Private

No. 1 St. Francis 63, 4ANo. 8 Americus-Sumter 26: The defending Class AAAA champs had no shot against the Class A-Private title holders. Kasi Kushkituah (Tennessee) had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks. Olivia Swanston had 13 points and 3 steals. Maya Dodson (Stanford) went for 10 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Western Kentucky signee Nichel Tampa pitched in 10 points, 4 assists and 6 steals.

No. 2 Wesleyan 93, Effingham County 38: Mikayla Coombs finished with 11 points and 9 rebounds as Wesleyan used a balanced onslaught to rip Effingham County. Sutton West had 12 points and 9 rebounds. AC Carter went for 8 points and 12 rebounds and Natalie Armstrong tallied 8 boards.