Category Archives: GHSA Basketball

Upperclassmen Trio helps Parkview protect homecourt vs. Newton

Parkview 64, Newton 62

Tuesday night Parkview (7-3) hosted Newton (7-7) in an early Region 4-7A matchup that pitted an up-and-comer in the Panthers vs. an established program loaded with talent in the Rams. Newton, having just fallen out of the Top 10, needed to get back on track against a Parkview team that had quietly gotten off to a hot start. In a back-and-forth battle, it was Parkview who came up with enough stops to earn a signature win to move to first-place in the region at 2-0 while Newton sank to last at 0-2.

The Panthers opened quickly, dealing with Newton’s superior size and athleticism at each position. 6-foot-5 senior Avantae Harper set the tone as a battering ram, using his aggressive motor to score in the paint and give Parkview an early 8-3 lead.

Harper would score eight of his 16 points in the first quarter and collect 13 rebounds and 3 blocks over the course of the game, winning his matchup with 6-foot-7 Miokaye Grant. Newton saw TJ Clark score five points in the opening frame using his pull-up game to his advantage, able to shoot over Parkview’s smaller guards.

Stephon Castle found Jakai Newton in the corner for a late three to knot the game at 16 heading into the second quarter.

Parkview extended their lead to seven points but MJ Whitlock came off the bench for the Rams and provided energy, scoring and playmaking for others.

The Panthers switched from man to a 1-2-2 zone and disrupted the flow of the Rams. Asher Woods, who got hot with 10 points in the quarter, chased the ball up top and applied ball pressure, hindering Newton’s slashing guards from getting anything going downhill. Jason Edwards hit a pair of threes in the quarter and helped Parkview maintain a 39-31 advantage after 16 minutes.

In the third quarter the two teams traded bucket for bucket. Whitlock scored two of his 9 points on a floater to make it 45-39 with 4:17 left before Woods answered with a tough reverse layup to keep the lead at six.

A Whitlock three tied the game at 47 before the Rams stole momentum with a late Castle steal and slam before the buzzer, giving Newton a 51-49 lead.

The Panthers edged ahead in the final frame with Woods and Edwards hitting consecutive threes and would take a 61-56 lead with 3:01 remaining when Nathaniel Belete worked the high-low with Harper.

With the game slowly slipping away, Clark stepped up for the Rams and netted seven of his 16 points in the quarter helping cut the lead to 61-60. Newton had a contested layup attempt with 51 seconds left to take the lead, but he couldn’t convert and the Rams had to send Woods to the line with 27.1 seconds to play. Woods, who finished with a game-high 24 points, would coolly sink 3-of-4 from the line in the final seconds to ice the game and secure the Panther win.

Top Performers

Parkview
Asher Woods – 24 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal
Avantae Harper – 16 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks
Jason Edwards – 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals

Newton
Stephon Castle – 18 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
TJ Clark – 16 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks
Jakai Newton – 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
MJ Whitlock – 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block

My Take

Continue reading Upperclassmen Trio helps Parkview protect homecourt vs. Newton

Week 8 GHSA Boys Basketball State Rankings

Class AAAAAAA

1. Milton (12-2)
2. Grayson (14-3)
3. McEachern (14-3)
4. Pebblebrook (13-2)
5. Berkmar (11-4)
6. Cherokee (14-3)
7. South Forsyth (14-3)
8. Discovery (11-2)
9. North Gwinnett (9-7)
10. Collins Hill (8-3)

Class AAAAAA

1. Wheeler (12-3)
2. Kell (11-4)
3. Evans (10-1)
4. Chattahoochee (9-1)
5. Richmond Hill (12-0)
6. Lanier (11-3)
7. Centennial (9-2)
8. Shiloh (9-4)
9. Buford (11-2)
10. North Atlanta (13-2)

Class AAAAA

1. St. Pius X (12-1)
2. Eagle’s Landing (12-1)
3. Tri-Cities (10-4)
4. Veterans (9-0)
5. Forest Park (6-0)
6. Lithonia (7-2)
7. Woodward Academy (7-3)
8. Loganville (10-3)
9. Cass (10-4)
10. Jonesboro (10-1)

Class AAAA

1. Spencer (4-0)
2. Baldwin (4-0)
3. Stephenson (3-1)
4. Westover (4-2)
5. Monroe (7-3)
6. Luella (13-3)
7. Cedar Shoals (8-5)
8. Dougherty (7-3)
9. North Oconee (11-2)
10. Arabia Mountain (5-1)

Class AAA

1. Sandy Creek (10-4)
2. Hart County (10-3)
3. Windsor Forest (3-1)
4. Johnson-Savannah (7-1)
5. Salem (6-2)
6. LaFayette (7-0)
7. Cross Creek (7-3)
8. Carver-Atlanta (7-3)
9. Dawson County (10-5)
10. Upson-Lee (7-4)

Class AA

1. Pace Academy (12-1)
2. Swainsboro (6-1)
3. Lovett (8-4)
4. Woodville-Tompkins (9-1)
5. Washington County (4-0)
6. Thomasville (8-1)
7. Westside-Augusta (8-2)
8. Banks County (11-6)
9. Chattooga (7-2)
10. Laney (4-3)

Class A-Private

1. Greenforest (3-2)
2. Mt. Pisgah (9-5)
3. St. Francis (2-5)
4. Providence Christian (14-3)
5. Galloway (7-0)
6. Trinity Christian (9-6)
7. St. Anne-Pacelli (4-3)
8. Christian Heritage (10-2)
9. Holy Innocents’ (4-1)
10. Tallulah Falls (8-2)

Class A-Public

1. Drew Charter (10-0)
2. Dublin (12-1)
3. Lanier County (8-2)
4. Towns County (6-1)
5. Chattahoochee County (4-1)
6. Manchester (4-1)
7. Bowdon (12-2)
8. Calhoun County (1-1)
9. Warren County (4-1)
10. Turner County (7-3)

Region play is here as classifications start to configure their Top 10 alignments. Some classifications are settling in while others are getting even more unpredictable especially with some key players being ruled ineligible and a few programs forfeiting games. Continue reading Week 8 GHSA Boys Basketball State Rankings

Game Night Recap 1-8

BOYS

Class AAAAAAA

No. 2 Grayson 61, No. 7 Newton 43: Clemson-signee Ian Schieffelin posted 20 points, 20 rebounds and 6 blocks. Charleston Southern-signee Taje Kelley had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks while Kaden McArthur added 10 points. Tyrese Elliott delt out 7 assists. TJ Clark scored 12 points for Newton.

No. 6 Cherokee 43, Etowah 41: Xavier-signee Elijah Tucker poured in 20 points while Taihland Owens had 13.

No. 9 Archer 88, Duluth 59: Christian Drummer (19), Jaylen Magby (14), Damoni Harrison (13) and Major Freeman (11) all reached double digits. Mekhi Carter scored 8 points and Trenton Lee chipped in 6.

South Forsyth 73, No. 10 Gainesville 70: Brandon Stoudamire exploded for 27 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks while Devin McGlockton tallied 23 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks. Ethan Underwood scored 19 points. Continue reading Game Night Recap 1-8

Championship Vision Basketball Podcast: Episode 227

Kyle Sandy joined Coach Kevin Furtado of Lake Oconee Academy and legendary head coach Pete Aycock of the Championship Vision Podcast to discuss all eight GHSA classifications and all the obstacles of a COVID-ridden season.

Visit championshipvision.org and Anchor for the latest episodes of the Championship Vision Podcast. Also follow @KevinFurtado on Twitter for updates throughout the season.

Game Night Recap 1-5

BOYS

Class AAAAAAA

No. 2 Grayson 52, No. 9 Archer 46: Tyrese Elliott had 13 points and 3 steals while Chauncey Wiggins had 11 points. Robert Cowherd chipped in 10 points, 4 assists and 3 steals. Kaden McArthur delt 7 assists.

No. 5 Berkmar 70, Dunwoody 45: Ahmed Soumahoro (16), Jameel Rideout (14), Destin Logan (12), Jalen Harris (12) and Trey Lock (11) led the Patriots.

South Forsyth 53, North Gwinnett 50: Devin McGlockton had 14 points and 8 rebounds while Kohl Harris and Brandon Stoudamire scored 13 apiece.

Roswell 59, Woodstock 41: Jase McCullough (14), Jackson Kemp (13), Michael Fitzgerald (12) and Mason Kemp (11) led a balanced attack. Woodstock was led by Landon Stubblefield’s 18 points.

Lambert 60, Mountain View 48: Paul Lunguana had 21 points and 11 rebounds while Mason Barnes tallied 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Niko Wilson scored 10 points. James Tyre chipped in 7 points and 5 assists. Chance Boothe led Mountain View with 17 points followed by Javon Jordan (11) and Zay Wilson (7).

Collins Hill 83, Brookwood 68: Vino Glover (24) and Travis Hunter (16) combined for 40 points. Chris Lanns added 11 points while Ethan Davis and Alpha Diallo had 10 apiece.

Walton 60, Kennesaw Mountain 45: Dylan Pumpian (20) and Luke Flynn (19) combined for 39 points. Continue reading Game Night Recap 1-5