Class AAAAAA

1. Norcross (23-2)
2. Wheeler (20-5)
3. Westlake (19-4)
4. Tift County (22-2)
5. Pebblebrook (17-8)
6. McEachern (22-3)
7. Shiloh (19-5)
8. Berkmar (17-8)
9. Lambert (23-2)
10. Newton (21-4)

Class AAAAA

1. Miller Grove (22-2)
2. Allatoona (25-0)
3. McIntosh (23-2)
4. Gainesville (18-4)
5. Cedar Shoals (23-2)
6. Riverwood (24-1)
7. South Paulding (22-3)
8. Warner Robins (17-2)
9. Effingham County (21-3)
10. Southwest DeKalb (21-4)

Class AAAA

1. Jonesboro (21-4)
2. Lithonia (20-4)
3. Liberty County (21-1)
4. St. Pius (21-4)
5. Grady (22-3)
6. Upson-Lee (21-3)
7. Walnut Grove (22-3)
8. Eagle’s Landing (22-3)
9. Monroe (18-5)
10. Bainbridge (18-7)

Class AAA

1. Morgan County (19-4)
2. Calhoun (23-0)
3. Laney (22-2)
4. South Atlanta (20-5)
5. Central-Macon (23-2)
6. Jenkins (21-4)
7. Westminster (22-2)
8. Callaway (16-3)
9. Islands (19-6)
10. North Clayton (16-9)

Class AA

1. Thomasville (24-1)
2. Seminole County (19-5)
3. Vidalia (22-3)
4. Crawford County (20-3)
5. Lovett (19-5)
6. Swainsboro (16-7)
7. Dublin (21-4)
8. Macon County (17-5)
9. Early County (19-6)
10. Pace Academy (14-10)

Class A-Private

1. Greenforest (23-2)
2. North Cobb Christian (20-3)
3. SWAC (17-8)
4. St. Francis (17-7)
5. Whitefield Academy (17-9)
6. Lakeview Academy (21-4)
7. Our Lady of Mercy (19-4)
8. Stratford Academy (16-5)
9. St. Anne-Pacelli (16-8)
10. Tattnall Square Academy (16-7)

Class A-Public

1. Wilkinson County (20-5)
2. Calhoun County (16-8)
3. Turner County (19-6)
4. Hancock Central (19-5)
5. Treutlen (21-3)
6. Central-Talbotton (17-8)
7. Taylor County (17-7)
8. Lincoln County (16-6)
9. Atkinson County (17-6)
10. Clinch County (16-9)

The region tournament is here. Time to see who are the contenders and who are the pretenders entering the state playoffs. As there are every year, a couple good teams will see their seasons end short and won’t get a chance to dance. With that said, here are the Week 12 Region Tournament Edition rankings.

No. 1 Norcross capped off its second-best record in school history after three wins last week highlighted by a 68-42 victory over Duluth. Elsewhere in Class AAAAAA No. 3 Westlake rose two spots following an 82-72 win over No. 5 Pebblebrook on Tuesday and surviving Langston Hughes in overtime on the road, 49-44 on Friday. No. 6 McEachern earned a 67-64 overtime win over ^1A-Private No. 5 Whitefield Academy on Monday. Last week’s debutants Brookwood and Campbell both struggled with their new found targets on their backs, both losing back-to-back games. The Broncos fell from No. 8 to unranked following losses to Dacula 54-39 and an upset defeat to rival Parkview 57-35 on Saturday. Former No. 9 Campbell slipped at South Cobb 74-68 then lost 92-85 at No. 5 Pebblebrook. Newton tripped up as well and falls to No. 10 from No. 7 after a 71-64 loss at Eastside. Making their triumphant return to the top ten for the first time since Week 6 is No. 9 Lambert. The Longhorns took care of Johns Creek 70-62 on the road last Friday to finish region play unblemished. No. 8 Berkmar finally cracks the code and enters the rankings after a hot finish to the season in which they almost took first-place in Region 8, instead losing to No. 7 Shiloh in the championship deciding game.

No movement was seen in Class AAAAA. No. 2 Allatoona finished the regular season undefeated, using an 18-0 run late in the third quarter into the fourth quarter to dispatch of New Manchester 75-57. The Buccaneers have now won 77-straight regular season region games. No. 4 Gainesville polished off a perfect 15-0 record in Region 8, the state’s toughest region. No. 3 McIntosh is now 23-2 overall and has not lost a game since the GHSA ruled Isaac Kellum eligible.

Class AAAA’s No. 1 Jonesboro suffered a 74-50 loss to nationally ranked Oak Hill Academy but remain atop the classification. No. 7 Walnut Grove reenters the poll and steals away the No. 1 seed heading into the Region 4 tournament after winning five-straight including beating No. 8 Eagle’s Landing 64-59 at home. The Eagles also lost to Henry County 72-69. Henry County, who was ranked as high as No. 4 early in the year, will play No. 1 Jonesboro for a chance to make state and stun the two-time defending state champs. The Cardinals escaped the Warhawks 70-65 in overtime in their only meeting this year. Thomson drops out of the poll after three-straight losses and more importantly, because of San Antonio Brinson’s broken wrist which he suffered in a 66-62 loss at New Hampstead on Monday, beginning the slide. Worth County also falls out after a 76-62 loss at Northside-Warner Robins. Into the top ten is the aforementioned Walnut Grove and No. 10 Bainbridge, who opened the year ranked No. 4. Georgia signee Tyree Crump and the Bearcats have won four in-a-row and get the nod over Worth County after sweeping them, 79-65 and 92-78.

South Atlanta tumbles from No. 2 to No. 4 in AAA following a 74-71 loss in overtime on Tuesday to new No. 10 North Clayton. No. 2 Calhoun finished off a perfect regular season by holding on against Coahulla Creek in overtime, 65-58 before stomping Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 76-36. No.7 Westminster ran its winning streak to 21 games after sneaking past Therrell 64-62. Banks County exits the top ten after a 63-61 upset loss to 11-win Fannin County. No. 9 Islands debuts in the top ten for the first time in school history. The Sharks won its biggest game in their existence, beating No. 6 Jenkins, the defending state champs, 61-59 at home. The Warriors rebounded on Saturday with a 78-65 win at Johnson-Savannah, knocking the Atomsmashers out of the top ten.

No. 1 Thomasville flexed its muscle as the top team in Class AA after getting its revenge against defending state champion No. 2 Seminole County, 70-52 at home. Chattooga drops out of the poll after back-to-back losses at Darlington 61-50 and at Cedartown 61-51. No. 10 Pace Academy replaces the Indians and are riding a three-game winning streak. Both No. 4 Crawford County and No. 5 Lovett suffered setbacks, the Eagles losing at Lamar County 77-76 and the Lions dropping to GAC 57-52.

The only shuffling in Class A-Private came in the middle of the poll, No. 6 Lakeview Academy swapping spots with No. 7 Our Lady of Mercy. The Bobcats’ 13-game winning streak was snapped by King’s Ridge Christian, 84-75 on Friday. In Class A-Public, No. 3 Turner County’s 14-game winning streak came to an end thanks to new No. 10 Clinch County, who beat the visiting Rebels 75-73 on Saturday. No. 5 Treutlen falls a spot after being blown out by ^2A No. 7 Dublin, 88-72. Randolph-Clay and Quitman County both drop out. The Red Devils lost 72-59 at No. 2 Calhoun County on Saturday. No. 9 Atkinson County reenters the poll as well. Knocking on the door of the top ten is Woodville-Tompkins. The second-year program has gone from 2-23 to 15-10 this year with an 8-4 mark in Region 3. Edwaun Johnson has led the way averaging 15.8 points per game.

Class AAAAAA

1. Norcross (20-2)
2. Wheeler (17-5)
3. Pebblebrook (16-7)
4. Tift County (21-2)
5. Westlake (16-4)
6. McEachern (19-3)
7. Newton (20-3)
8. Brookwood (16-6)
9. Campbell (16-5)
10. Shiloh (16-5)

 Class AAAAA

1. Miller Grove (21-2)
2. Allatoona (23-0)
3. McIntosh (19-2)
4. Gainesville (16-4)
5. Cedar Shoals (22-2)
6. Riverwood (23-1)
7. South Paulding (20-3)
8. Warner Robins (15-2)
9. Effingham County (20-3)
10. Southwest DeKalb (20-4)

 Class AAAA

1. Jonesboro (20-3)
2. Lithonia (18-4)
3. Liberty County (18-1)
4. St. Pius (19-4)
5. Eagle’s Landing (22-1)
6. Grady (19-3)
7. Upson-Lee (19-3)
8. Monroe (16-5)
9. Thomson (16-4)
10. Worth County (17-4)

 Class AAA

1. Morgan County (18-4)
2. South Atlanta (19-4)
3. Calhoun (21-0)
4. Laney (20-2)
5. Jenkins (19-3)
6. Central-Macon (21-2)
7. Westminster (19-2)
8. Callaway (14-3)
9. Banks County (21-2)
10. Johnson-Savannah (17-5)

Class AA

1. Thomasville (21-1)
2. Seminole County (18-4)
3. Crawford County (19-2)
4. Lovett (16-4)
5. Vidalia (21-3)
6. Swainsboro (14-7)
7. Chattooga (21-1)
8. Dublin (19-4)
9. Early County (17-5)
10. Macon County (16-5)

Class A-Private

1. Greenforest (20-2)
2. North Cobb Christian (17-3)
3. SWAC (14-8)
4. St. Francis (15-7)
5. Whitefield Academy (14-8)
6. Our Lady of Mercy (17-3)
7. Lakeview Academy (19-4)
8. Stratford Academy (15-5)
9. St. Anne-Pacelli (14-8)
10. Tattnall Square Academy (14-7)

Class A-Public

1. Wilkinson County (16-5)
2. Turner County (18-5)
3. Calhoun County (14-8)
4. Treutlen (19-2)
5. Hancock Central (16-5)
6. Lincoln County (14-5)
7. Central-Talbotton (16-8)
8. Taylor County (15-7)
9. Randolph-Clay (15-8)
10. Quitman County (16-8)

 Welcome to February. The cold month of January heated up during its final week seeing a multitude of upsets that has given the rankings its most movement over the entire season. Class AAAAAA saw two powers take major hits. Westlake took over the No. 1 ranking from Shiloh back in Week 2 and held serve for eight weeks before falling to No. 5 this week after an 81-80 loss at home to new No. 9 Campbell on Tuesday and a 59-57 loss at Douglas County (13-9) on Friday. The Spartans have won five-straight now in Region 3, highlighted by wins over Westlake, Douglas County 72-61 and Langston Hughes, 79-74. The aforementioned Shiloh saw its struggles continue, dropping to No. 10 after a 62-59 loss to Brookwood on Friday, who debuts in the polls at No. 8. The Generals had lost two in a row before rebounding on Tuesday with a 74-44 throttling of Dacula (17-5), who started their downward spiral the week before. Shiloh looked back on track after the bounce back win, but the Broncos ambushed them. The Generals showed resilience on Saturday beating Grayson (17-5) 61-47. As Shiloh has sank in the ranking, they have dragged down Grayson and Dacula with them, knocking last week’s No. 10 and No. 9 teams out of the top ten.

No. 8 Brookwood earned its signature win to enter the poll on Friday. It has been a long time coming for Coach Daniel Bowles. From a 5-win season in 2011-12, Bowles advanced the team to 16-10 the next year, but fell on hard times, going 12-14 in 2013-14 and 7-19 last season. The Broncos finished second to last in Region 8 last year but now find themselves in a log jam for fourth place. The resume has been impressive for Brookwood. Wins have come over Berkmar (14-7), White County (16-7), Johns Creek (21-2), GAC (14-9), Heritage-Conyers (17-5), Grayson (17-5) and now No. 10 Shiloh (16-5). Micah Kinsey and Bubba Parham have been a lethal 1-2 punch in the backcourt. Kinsey, an unsigned senior point guard, is as true a leader as they come averaging 11.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 4.5 steals. Parham leads the team in scoring from his two-guard spot averaging 16.3 points.

No. 7 Newton drops two spots after a tough loss to rival Rockdale County (12-10) on Senior Night, 52-50. The Rams had taken first-place in Region 2 momentarily after beating Tucker (18-5) on Wednesday, 58-48. Pebblebrook leaps three spots to No. 3 and in the process pass No. 4 Tift County, who doesn’t climb the top five even after two Westlake losses. The Falcons have been playing their best basketball of the season and received some scoring punch from someone other than Collin Sexton and Jared Harper, in Dwight Murray. The sophomore guard scored 18 points in a 72-48 win over Langston Hughes. Pebblebrook leaps No. 4 Tift County based upon strength of schedule and more importantly, Preston Horne, the Blue Devils’ leading scorer, being out for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury. Pebblebrook has a chance to cement itself among the top five, getting a rematch at Westlake on Tuesday, a game they lost 76-70 at home earlier in the year.

On the precipice of cracking the top ten remain Lambert (21-2), Johns Creek and Collins Hill (20-3). The same goes for Lambert and Johns Creek as it does with Tift County. The Longhorns and Gladiators have complied great records and will be a legitimate No. 1 and No. 2 pair out of Region 6, but the region is weak and doesn’t stack up to the likes of Region 3, 7 and 8, which has put six teams in the top ten (No. 1 Norcross, No. 3 Pebblebrook, No. 5 Westlake, No. 8 Brookwood, No. 9 Campbell, No. 10 Shiloh). Both teams are both still in search of their key signature win.

The only change in Class AAAAA came between the bottom two spots. No. 9 Effingham County moves up a spot over No. 10 Southwest DeKalb. The Rebels have passed every test presented to them in Region 3, with their latest A+ grade coming against Statesboro (17-6) last week, scoring a 51-35 win on the road. No. 10 Southwest DeKalb lost at home against No. 1 Miller Grove in front of a capacity crowd on Tuesday, 53-45. McDonalds All-American and UConn signee Alterique Gilbert scored a game-high 17 points to fend off a wild Panther rally, scoring nine of the Wolverines’ 10 fourth quarter points. No. 5 Cedar Shoals and No. 8 Warner Robins both have challenges coming up. The Jaguars host Heritage-Conyers (17-5) on Tuesday in a rematch of a 54-51 victory which saw Cedar Shoals lead for only the last 6:06 of the game to earn the Region 8 road win. The Demons visit Jones County (14-9) and potent scorer Devin Wooten. The senior guard pours in 25.6 points per game.

Region 6-AAAA was won on Friday night as No. 2 Lithonia used an 11-3 run in the third quarter to pull away from No. 4 St. Pius and land a 56-48 win over the Golden Lions on Senior Night. UT-Chattanooga signee Rodney Chatman went off for a game-high 24 points and grabbed six rebounds in the region clinching win. Kerney Lane posted 19 points and seven rebounds in the loss. No. 3 Liberty County moves up two spots following a season sweep of No. 9 Thomson, 80-72 on the road.  Grady tumbles two more spots to No. 6 after a 67-62 loss at home to Lithonia on Tuesday. The Knights weren’t at their best later in the week, but they still managed to pull out a 56-52 overtime win against Columbia. Sandy Creek (15-6) lasted just one week in the top ten after resurfacing. The Patriots lost 58-56 to Carrollton on Friday but quickly turned around and beat Fayette County 76-64. In for Sandy Creek is No. 8 Monroe, their second time in the poll. The Tornadoes get the nod over 17-7 Bainbridge. On Jan. 23, Monroe beat the Bearcats 65-52. UGA signee Tyree Crump was held to 8 points on 1-of-8 shooting. Emeshaun Offord leads Monroe in scoring and poured in 23 points in the win. The Bearcats are in consideration to make the top ten after drilling No. 10 Worth County 93-79 last week. Crump shook off his prior bad shooting performance and dropped in 45 points. No. 7 Upson-Lee ran its win streak up to 14 games with a 62-61 edging of Westside-Macon on the road. No. 1 Jonesboro beat Pike County 116-14; a 102-point win. It’s not the first time Coach Daniel Maehlman has run the score up on the lowly Pirates. They drilled them 80-19 on Jan. 15.

No movement was seen in AAA. No. 2 South Atlanta survived a 36-point fourth quarter from Jackson-Atlanta on Tuesday to win 72-71 on the road. No. 3 Calhoun faces its last test of the season before entering the state tournament, welcoming 19-4 Coahulla Creek on Tuesday. The Colts lost by just eight in their previous meeting, 60-52. Jireh Wilson scored 31 points to lift the Yellow Jackets. Caleb Lewis and Alex Fisher will need monster games in order to upset Calhoun. Elsewhere, No. 6 Central-Macon survived Spencer (7-16) for their 14^th straight win, 73-69. No. 7 Westminster puts its 18-game winning streak on the line against rival Blessed Trinity (11-11) this Tuesday. No. 9 Banks County got its revenge against North Hall. The Leopards won 62-47 at North Hall following a 67-66 loss on Dec. 21.

And then there was won. Lovett moves up two spots to No. 4 in AA and in the process kicks Pace Academy (11-10) out of the ranking after holding the No. 4 spot, with a 66-63 win in overtime against the Knights. Crawford Schwieger hit a three at the buzzer to send the game to overtime for the Lions. Henry Richardson torched the Knights from deep, hitting 6-of-9 threes for 23 points. Ryan Greer added 14 points, six rebounds and seven assists while Schwieger netted 12 points in the statement victory. Wendell Carter Jr. had 24 points and Isaiah Kelly 17 in the loss. Pace’s roller coaster of a season now sees them out of the top ten late in the year. They have a respectable Region 6 record at 9-2, but the region as a whole has been up-and-down for various reasons. At points in the season, four teams filled the top ten, but now just Lovett remains. Holy Innocents’ (15-6) drops from No. 9 to unranked following a 63-46 loss at Pace. The Golden Bears have been riddled with injuries. Brent Duncan, the team’s top low post option at 6-foot-7, has missed half the season with an injury. Back up 6-foot-7 center Richard Surdykowski played exceptionally well, but a stress fracture in his foot has cut his junior season short. For GAC (14-9, 9-3), Garrett Covington a Gwinnett Daily Post Super Six selection has left in the middle of the season. Brian Coffey, a recent North Florida-commit, is gone as well leaving first-year Head Coach David Eaton’s team in shambles.

Outside of Region 6’s turmoil, Region 1 features a rematch of one of the best games of the year and possibly a future state championship matchup between No. 1 Thomasville and No. 2 Seminole County. The defending state champion Indians took down the bigger Bulldogs on Jan. 9 at home, 71-65. Thomasville has since regained the No. 1 ranking in the state and will try to hold it for good if they are able to slow down Jordan Harris (UGA) and Anfernee King. No. 6 Swainsboro moves up four spots and has proven that it is more dangerous than its modest record suggests. The Tigers drilled No. 8 Dublin 75-61. No. 9 Early County and No. 10 Macon County both re-enter the top ten after Pace and Holy Innocents’ fall out.

In a legit battle of 7-footers in Class A-Private, No. 1 Greenforest crushed King’s Ridge 74-45, dropping the Tigers (13-8) out after just one week as they lost three straight games. Justin Forrest finished with 21 points and five assists, collecting the 1,000^th point of his career along the way. Ikey Obiagu battled with newly eligible Tolu Jacobs inside, nearly 14-feet worth of bodies. Obiagu outclassed Jacobs with 14 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks. Jacobs, with the muscle advantage, could only muster three points and fouled out early in the fourth quarter. No. 2 North Cobb Christian crushed Christian Heritage 73-39. No. 6 Our Lady of Mercy swapped places with No. 7 Lakeview Academy due to an impressive win at Walker 73-57, dropping the Wolverines out of the ranking. Replacing Walker and King’s Ridge are No. 9 St. Anne-Pacelli and No. 10 Tattnall Square Academy. The Trojans sneak into the top ten thanks to a 69-67 win over No. 8 Stratford Academy and a 64-59 win over First Presbyterian Day before slipping to Landmark Christian 74-69. Tattnall Square has nice wins on its resume such as No. 9 St. Anne-Pacelli (14-8), ^2A No. 6 Swainsboro (14-7), ^1A-Public No. 1 Wilkinson County (16-5) and wins over No. 8 Stratford (15-5) and First Presbyterian (13-8).

Class A-Public saw Hancock Central fall from No. 1 to No. 5 following a 61-59 upset at Lincoln County, who rises four spots to No. 6. It was the Red Devils’ first win over Hancock in over 25 years. Following back-to-back losses, Lincoln County has turned things around winning three-straight. They followed Tuesday’s momentous victory over the Bulldogs with a 82-40 drubbing of Glascock County and a 61-54 win against Georgia Military in which they held Luke Lawson, the state’s third leading scorer at 25.7 points per game, to two points. Ahmad Rand flirted with another triple-double, posting 10 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks. With Hancock’s loss, No. 1 Wilkinson County takes over. The Warriors have great size inside and have won seven-straight. No. 2 Turner County continued along its warpath to the No. 1 spot while No. 4 Treutlen drops a slot due to strength of schedule. No. 10 Quitman County enters the top ten, but it is No. 7 Central-Talbotton who is making the most noise right now. A 66-61 win over No. 8 Taylor County pushes the Hawks into contender status.

Class AAAAAA

1. Westlake (14-2)
2. Norcross (17-2)
3. Wheeler (15-5)
4. Tift County (19-2)
5. Newton (17-2)
6. Pebblebrook (13-7)
7. McEachern (16-3)
8. Shiloh (14-4)
9. Dacula (14-4)
10. Grayson (16-3)

Class AAAAA

1. Miller Grove (19-2)
2. Allatoona (19-0)
3. McIntosh (17-2)
4. Gainesville (13-4)
5. Cedar Shoals (20-2)
6. Riverwood (20-1)
7. South Paulding (16-3)
8. Warner Robins (13-2)
9. Southwest DeKalb (18-3)
10. Effingham County (18-3)

 Class AAAA

1. Jonesboro (17-3)
2. Lithonia (15-4)
3. St. Pius (17-3)
4. Grady (18-2)
5. Liberty County (17-1)
6. Eagle’s Landing (19-1)
7. Upson-Lee (16-3)
8. Thomson (14-3)
9. Worth County (15-3)
10. Sandy Creek (14-5)

Class AAA

1. Morgan County (15-4)
2. South Atlanta (16-4)
3. Calhoun (18-0)
4. Laney (18-2)
5. Jenkins (16-3)
6. Central-Macon (18-2)
7. Westminster (17-2)
8. Callaway (11-3)
9. Banks County (18-2)
10. Johnson-Savannah (15-5)

Class AA

1. Thomasville (20-1)
2. Seminole County (15-4)
3. Crawford County (17-2)
4. Pace Academy (9-9)
5. Vidalia (18-3)
6. Lovett (13-4)
7. Dublin (17-3)
8. Chattooga (19-1)
9. Holy Innocents’ (14-5)
10. Swainsboro (12-6)

Class A-Private

1. Greenforest (18-2)
2. North Cobb Christian (15-3)
3. SWAC (12-8)
4. St. Francis (13-7)
5. Whitefield Academy (13-7)
6. Lakeview Academy (17-4)
7. Our Lady of Mercy (14-3)
8. Stratford Academy (13-4)
9. King’s Ridge (12-5)
10. Walker (12-5)

Class A-Public

1. Hancock Central (13-4)
2. Wilkinson County (14-5)
3. Treutlen (16-2)
4. Turner County (16-5)
5. Taylor County (14-6)
6. Atkinson County (15-4)
7. Calhoun County (12-8)
8. Randolph-Clay (15-7)
9. Central-Talbotton (13-8)
10. Lincoln County (11-5)

Snow and ice wrecked most of the week’s action, but that still didn’t stop Class AAAAAA from seeing some major changes. It had been over five years since No. 8 Shiloh had lost back-to-back region games before the Generals were shocked by Central Gwinnett 61-58 on Tuesday. They have now fallen six spots in the past two weeks. No. 5 Newton is the main beneficiary of the movement, as the Rams continue to rise. No. 4 Tift County suffered a major blow with leading scorer and rebounder Preston Horne tearing his ACL and now being out for the year. Fred Lloyd has stepped up in his absence. No. 2 Norcross caught a raw deal because of the weather, having to miss their own tournament the Peachtree Corners Invitational and see its field of games shrink from five games to two and have the tournament be held at St. Pius instead. The Blue Devils did however pick up a big win on Tuesday, surviving at home against Collins Hill (16-3), 50-48, in the process knocking the Eagles out of the top ten. Rayshaun Hammonds once again caused problems for Collins Hill, posting 20 points and 11 rebounds. Kenny Stanciel gave the Eagles a big lift with a career-high 20 points while TeShaun Hightower (3) and Kai Lambert (1) were held to a combined four points. Coming off a 76-74 win over Berkmar, No. 10 Grayson finds itself back in the poll.

Everything went chalk for the most part in AAAAA. No. 8 Warner Robins used a Jacolbey Owens three-pointer at the buzzer to knock off rival Northside-Warner Robins 60-57 and hand Coach Jamaal Garman his 100^th career win. No. 10 Effingham County continued to make a statement in Region 3 with a 72-66 win over defending state champion Brunswick. The Pirates had won 9-straight before the loss. No. 3 McIntosh held off Morrow 68-63 behind Jordan Lyons’ 25 points. No. 1 Miller Grove’s DeKalb County rematch with ^4ANo. 2 Lithonia was snowed out and will not be made up.

No. 7 Upson-Lee took care of business against Perry 72-62, to take a share of first-place in Region 2-AAAA and advance its winning streak to 10 games. Senior O’Qualon Harris (17.2 ppg) and sophomore Ty Fagan (17.9 ppg) have powered the Knights this season. No. 9 Worth County earned another good win against Westover, 70-63. Walnut Grove (17-3) slips out of the top ten after a two-game losing streak, the Warriors’ most recent loss coming to Henry County 84-68. Replacing them is No. 10 Sandy Creek, who defeated Woodward Academy 70-54 last week.

AAA saw a state title contender emerge as No. 2 South Atlanta led wire-to-wire against ^1A-PrivateNo. 1 Greenforest at the Blue Collar Basketball MLK Showcase, earning a 62-57 win. Jenkins falls three spots to No. 5 following a 66-59 loss to Johnson-Savannah, who debuts in the polls at No. 10. No. 4 Laney moves up a spot with an 80-60 beat down of Westside-Augusta, who now tumbles out of the top ten.

Class AA’s most dynamic player, Jordan Harris (UGA) of No. 2 Seminole County, went off for 47 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks and six three-pointers and six dunks in a 86-62 win over Berrien. Without teammate Anfernee King suited up to play, Harris had no problem taking full control of the game. No. 5 Vidalia lost 62-58 to new No. 10 Swainsboro and falls two slots. Pace Academy now holds the No. 4 ranking and is .500, but has won 7 of 8 games. GAC just misses staying in the top ten following a 42-39 loss to Pace. No. 7 Dublin has quietly worked its way up the rankings and has won 10-straight.

If there were ever a chance for a team to unseat No. 1 Greenforest in Class A-Private, it would have been after the Eagles loss to South Atlanta, but that did not happen. No. 5 Whitefield Academy finally slayed the dragon that is their arch-nemesis No. 4 St. Francis, 75-73. Isaiah Hart and Brendon Myles had monster games for the Wolf Pack. Hart finished with 37 points, five assists and two blocks while Myles went for 25 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. St. Anne-Pacelli (13-7) finally slips out of the top ten after holding strong the first nine weeks. Losses to Marion County 76-64 and Central-Talbotton 88-79 did the Vikings in. Both they and Hebron (14-6) fall out. The Lions only lasted one week in the poll before being thumped by No. 6 Lakeview Academy 65-48 and Tallulah Falls 67-53. No. 9 King’s Ridge and No. 10 Walker make an appearance in the top ten. Walker returns for the first time since Week 3 when it started 5-1. King’s Ridge debuts and has played well this year. The Tigers have won 4-straight and still have 7-foot center Tolu Jacobs waiting in the wings to become eligible and potentially change the landscape of A-Private.

In Class A-Public, No. 1 Hancock Central completes its ascension to the top of the state following No. 3 Treutlen’s 66-51 loss to No. 7 Calhoun County, knocking the Vikings from their perch. After a 5-5 start, Coach Tasha Kimble’s No. 4 Turner County Rebels are red-hot, winning 11 in a row including demolishing Hawkinsville 70-48 and No. 6 Atkinson County 82-46.  The Rebels have won their last five games by an average of 33.8 points. No. 9 Central-Talbotton enters the top ten for the first time following wins over Hawkinsville and St. Anne-Pacelli.

Class AAAAAA

1. Westlake (13-2)
2. Norcross (16-2)
3. Wheeler (13-5)
4. Tift County (17-2)
5. Shiloh (14-3)
6. Newton (16-2)
7. Pebblebrook (12-7)
8. McEachern (15-3)
9. Dacula (13-4)
10. Collins Hill (16-2)

Class AAAAA

1. Miller Grove (17-2)
2. Allatoona (18-0)
3. McIntosh (16-2)
4. Gainesville (11-3)
5. Cedar Shoals (19-2)
6. Riverwood (19-1)
7. South Paulding (15-3)
8. Warner Robins (12-2)
9. Southwest DeKalb (16-3)
10. Effingham County (15-3)

Class AAAA

1. Jonesboro (16-3)
2. Lithonia (14-4)
3. St. Pius (16-2)
4. Grady (16-2)
5. Liberty County (15-1)
6. Eagle’s Landing (18-1)
7. Upson-Lee (15-3)
8. Walnut Grove (17-2)
9. Thomson (14-3)
10. Worth County (12-3)

Class AAA

1. Morgan County (15-3)
2. Jenkins (15-2)
3. Calhoun (16-0)
4. South Atlanta (14-4)
5. Laney (15-2)
6. Central-Macon (16-2)
7. Westminster (17-2)
8. Callaway (9-3)
9. Westside-Augusta (10-2)
10. Banks County (17-2)

Class AA

1. Thomasville (18-1)
2. Seminole County (13-4)
3. Vidalia (16-2)
4. Crawford County (14-2)
5. Pace Academy (7-8)
6. Lovett (12-4)
7. Chattooga (18-1)
8. GAC (12-7)
9. Dublin (14-3)
10. Holy Innocents’ (13-5)

Class A-Private

1. Greenforest (17-1)
2. St. Francis (13-5)
3. North Cobb Christian (14-3)
4. SWAC (11-8)
5. Lakeview Academy (15-4)
6. Our Lady of Mercy (13-3)
7. Whitefield Academy (11-7)
8. St. Anne-Pacelli (13-5)
9. Stratford Academy (12-3)
10. Hebron Christian Academy (14-4)

Class A-Public

1. Treutlen (15-1)
2. Hancock Central (12-4)
3. Wilkinson County (12-5)
4. Atkinson County (13-3)
5. Turner County (12-5)
6. Taylor County (10-6)
7. Lincoln County (11-4)
8. Hawkinsville (9-5)
9. Randolph-Clay (13-6)
10. Calhoun County (10-7)

If there was ever any question as to if No. 1 Westlake deserved the top spot in Class AAAAAA, there shouldn’t be anymore. The Lions picked up a 76-70 win at No. 7 Pebblebrook to remain undefeated in Region 3 and more importantly, the state of Georgia. Chuma Okeke and Ronald Bell posted double-doubles with 19 points and 15 rebounds and 18 points and 16 rebounds respectively as they exploited the smaller Falcons. Auburn signee Jared Harper was held in check with just 23 points. Shiloh slips three spots to No. 5 after suffering their first in-state regular season loss since Feb. 7, 2014 (Archer) as No. 9 Dacula scored a huge 66-57 win at home and in the process finds itself back in the top ten. The Generals falling three spots isn’t meant to be a harsh punishment or to say Shiloh isn’t one of the state’s elite teams, it is just a credit to how well Norcross, Wheeler and Tift County are playing, making the slightest of slip ups costly. No. 6 Newton has hung around the bottom of the poll but has never dropped out and now finds itself cracking the glass ceiling and a spot away from being in the top five. Coach Rick Rasmussen’s Rams crushed Alcovy 120-51 behind Jaquan Simms’ career-high 30 points, JD Notae’s 24 and freshman Ashton Hagans’ 16 points and 10 assists. They followed it up on Saturday by spanking North Oconee 75-37. Grayson (15-3) slips out of the rankings due to Dacula’s impressive win and a 69-61 loss to Brookwood (13-5). The Broncos are in fifth-place in Region 8 with a 5-4 mark, but have impressive wins over Berkmar, White County, Johns Creek, ^2ANo. 8 GAC, Heritage-Conyers and Grayson, making them one of the most dangerous teams in the state that has yet to hold a top ten ranking. Teams on the bubble of making the poll including Lambert (17-2), Johns Creek (17-2), Brookwood, Grayson and others, will have an eye on what No. 10 Collins Hill does on Tuesday at No. 2 Norcross. The Blue Devils blitzed the Eagles for a 93-72 win earlier in the year and another lopsided loss may knock Collins Hill from their perch in the poll.

Region 5’s finest went at it again in AAAAA and once again it was No. 2 Allatoona coming up big and extending its region dominance to 66-straight wins (now 67 after win over Lithia Springs on Saturday). The Bucs fended off host No. 7 South Paulding 53-44 after blasting them at home on Dec. 18, 65-46. Ephraim Tshimanga and Trey Doomes were too much up top. Tshimanga finished with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals while Doomes went for 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. Kane Williams of South Paulding was held to 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists. 6-foot-7 forward Ja’Cori Wilson scored 21 in the losing effort. No. 4 Gainesville steps into the limelight with a chance to make a statement in the state of Georgia as they play at ^6A No. 3 Wheeler, the defending state champs, on MLK Day. The game was an in-season pick up after the Red Elephants lost three games due to their out of state mishap in Kentucky. Gainesville’s record may be 11-3, but they have only lost one game to Brentwood Academy (TN) in the King of the Bluegrass tournament while their other two losses came via forfeit in Lanierland. No. 5 Cedar Shoals won a thrilling game late Friday night against Heritage-Conyers, 54-51, after taking their first lead with just 6:06 left in regulation. Snipe Hall scored a game-high 16 points to lead the way while Phlan Fleming added 11. The loss was Heritage’s third straight. The Patriots (15-4) were ranked as high as No. 5 this year and were No. 7 last week, but losses to Rockdale County in overtime, Brookwood 96-68 and now Cedar Shoals has seen the talented group tumble out. Replacing them is No. 10 Effingham County, who debuts in the rankings. The Rebels have eight wins by six points or less and their three losses have come by a total of 10 points. They are in first-place in Region 3 at 8-0, but have four teams hot on their tracks, highlighted by defending state champion Brunswick (15-4) who has now won eight straight.

Spots 2-4 in Class AAAA belong to Region 6. No. 3 St. Pius jumps two spots after getting revenge against No. 4 Grady, 62-50 at the X-Dome. Christian Merrill scored a game-high 17 points, Jakob Spitzer posted 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks and Kerney Lane notched 13 points to knock off Grady. Bucknell-commit Avi Toomer was held to 16 points in the loss. With the win, the Golden Lions now have a chance at a region title in the log-jammed standings. As it stands today, Grady is now tied (hold tie-breaker) at 11-1 with No. 2 Lithonia, while St. Pius slides in at 10-2. No. 6 Eagle’s Landing rallied from down 25-7 to edge No. 8 Walnut Grove 69-61. Freshman Chris Hood got hot and scored 23 in the win for the Eagles. No. 7 Upson-Lee has won nine in a row and hosts Perry (10-7, 7-0) on Friday to take first-place from the Panthers, who beat the Knights 68-63 earlier in the year for Upson-Lee’s only Region 2 loss. Sandy Creek (13-5) peaked at No. 5 early in the season but now finds itself on the outside looking in after a loss to Whitewater 56-54 sees them fall from No. 8 to unranked. Replacing the Patriots is No. 10 Worth County. The Rams opened the year at No. 7 but fell from the top ten in Week 4 and hadn’t returned until this week. Unsigned 6-foot-5 forward Brandon Moore has put up beastly numbers next to 6-foot-8 Auburn signee Anfernee McLemore. Moore went for 32 points and 10 rebounds in a 60-59 win over Monroe. He and McLemore make up most likely the toughest post duo in the state as Moore averages 22.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks while McLemore posts 15.2 points, 12.8 rebounds and 6.3 blocks through 12 games.

East Jackson (9-8) had a chance to prove it could hang with AAA No. 1 Morgan County, but once again it was the Bulldogs taking a bite out of the Eagles for a 75-56 win. Colin Hubbard recapped the action as Florida Atlantic commits Jailyn Ingram and DeVorious Brown were too much for the young birds. Something you haven’t heard in years: No. 5 Laney has dropped two of its last three games. Josey (7-8) upset the Wildcats 66-55 on Saturday led by Donald Jordan’s 17 points. No. 6 Central-Macon won a classic over Southwest-Macon (13-5) in double overtime, 80-76. Derrick Evans (23 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists) and juniors Kentravious Jones (19 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks) and Anterious McCoy (26 points, 8 rebounds) were too much for the Patriots and have formed possibly the most potent inside-out trio in the classification. The two hottest teams in the state? No. 3 Calhoun and No. 7 Westminster are both riding 16-game winning streaks. The Yellow Jackets buzzed Murray County 74-44 to remain undefeated. Ray Reeves poured in 24 points while Jireh Wilson (12) and Chapin Rierson (11) also scored in double figures for Coach Vince Layson’s always balanced attack.

In Class AA, No. 2 Seminole County swaps places with No. 1 Thomasville after an 82-69 slip to Bainbridge. Expect Seminole County and Thomasville to battle for No. 1 all season long. The two Region 1 foes meet again on Feb. 2, at Thomasville, the second to last game of the season. No. 3 Vidalia rises a spot after No. 4 Crawford County lost 98-80 to Northside-Warner Robins. The Indians also earned their rise by beating Long County 76-65 at Long County, knocking the Blue Tide (14-5) from the rankings temporarily. No. 5 Pace Academy might not be above .500, but they are peaking now that they are in Region 6 play. They dropped No. 6 Lovett 53-40 this past week. No. 10 Holy Innocents’ clings onto the top ten, but barely after taking a 77-37 thrashing at now No. 8 GAC. The Golden Bears have been banged up and the Spartans (7-1 in region) have found a new lease on life after some addition by subtraction, losing two of their best players. Early County instead of Holy Innocents’ drops from the rankings from No. 7 after a bad loss to Brooks County, 68-67. The Trojans are just 7-10 overall this season. No. 9 Dublin debuts in the poll after taking down Swainsboro 65-56 and are riding a seven-game win streak. On Tuesday the Fighting Irish host Houston County, who handed Dublin their first loss of the season 88-77 on Dec. 4.

No. 2 St. Francis is finally hitting its stride in Class A-Private. Kobi Simmons poured in 34 points at the HoopHall Classic to defeat Lone Peak (UT) 94-92 in double overtime. Chance Anderson added 24 in the win. The win is a big one as Lone Peak is one of two out-of-state teams that has handed 5A No. 1 Miller Grove a loss, 73-71 at the FreeTaxUSA.com Shootout earlier this season. After the game, Simmons announced that he will be heading to Arizona to play college basketball, ending the long courtship of the 5-star guard. He and Alterique Gilbert of Miller Grove both were selected Sunday night to play in the McDonald’s All-American game. Elsewhere in the state, newly minted No. 10 Hebron Christian has a chance to pick up a signature win over No. 5 Lakeview Academy. Lakeview currently is 7-0 in Region 8 while Hebron is 6-0. The two teams meet at Lakeview on Tuesday.

Class A-Public’s hottest team outside of No. 1 Treutlen is No. 2 Hancock Central, who rides an eight-game win streak. No. 5 Turner County is also red-hot, rising five spots on its seven-game winning streak. No. 9 Randolph-Clay has fallen six spots after losses to Stewart County and Early County. Mitchell County (9-6) drops out of the top ten after losses to Westover and Quitman County. No. 10 now belongs to defending state champion Calhoun County. The Cougars have won three in a row and are 8-3 in Region 1.

Class AAAAAA

1. Westlake (9-2)
2. Shiloh (12-2)
3. Norcross (14-2)
4. Wheeler (11-5)
5. Tift County (15-2)
6. McEachern (13-2)
7. Pebblebrook (12-6)
8. Newton (13-2)
9. Grayson (14-2)
10. Collins Hill (14-2)

Class AAAAA

1. Miller Grove (15-2)
2. Allatoona (15-0)
3. McIntosh (13-2)
4. Gainesville (9-3)
5. Cedar Shoals (16-2)
6. South Paulding (14-2)
7. Heritage-Conyers (15-2)
8. Riverwood (16-1)
9. Warner Robins (10-2)
10. Southwest DeKalb (15-3)

Class AAAA

1. Jonesboro (13-3)
2. Grady (15-1)
3. Lithonia (12-4)
4. Liberty County (12-1)
5. St. Pius (13-2)
6. Eagle’s Landing (15-1)
7. Walnut Grove (16-1)
8. Sandy Creek (12-4)
9. Upson-Lee (13-3)
10. Thomson (12-3)

Class AAA

1. Morgan County (13-3)
2. Jenkins (12-2)
3. Laney (14-1)
4. Calhoun (13-0)
5. South Atlanta (12-4)
6. Central-Macon (13-2)
7. Westminster (14-2)
8. Callaway (7-3)
9. Westside-Augusta (7-2)
10. Banks County (15-2)

Class AA

1. Seminole County (12-3)
2. Thomasville (16-1)
3. Crawford County (13-1)
4. Vidalia (14-2)
5. Holy Innocents’ (12-4)
6. Lovett (11-3)
7. Early County (12-3)
8. Pace Academy (5-8)
9. Chattooga (16-1)
10. Long County (13-3)

Class A-Private

1. Greenforest (15-1)
2. St. Francis (10-5)
3. North Cobb Christian (12-3)
4. St. Anne-Pacelli (11-4)
5. SWAC (8-8)
6. Lakeview Academy (13-3)
7. Whitefield Academy (10-7)
8. Our Lady of Mercy (10-3)
9. Stratford Academy (10-3)
10. Tattnall Square Academy (11-3)

Class A-Public

1. Treutlen (12-1)
2. Hancock Central (9-4)
3. Randolph-Clay (12-4)
4. Wilkinson County (9-5)
5. Atkinson County (11-2)
6. Taylor County (9-5)
7. Lincoln County (9-3)
8. Hawkinsville (9-4)
9. Mitchell County (9-4)
10. Turner County (9-5)

After nearly a month long layoff, Class AAAAAA’s No. 1 Westlake returned to the hardwood and picked up two Region 3 wins. The Lions held off UNC signee Brandon Robinson and Douglas County 65-59 before edging Langston Hughes 76-61. Chuma Okeke came up big for Westlake, finishing with 20 points, 12 rebounds and three assists vs. Douglas County while Robinson poured in 21. Danny Lewis added 22 points and Jamie Lewis 14 points and nine assists for the Lions. In Friday’s win over Langston Hughes, it marked the first time this year Okeke played against his former school. No. 4 Wheeler dropped Milton 71-60 behind a balanced attack. Georgia Tech signee Romello White posted 22 points and eight rebounds. Cam Jordan and Darius Perry scored 19 and 18 points respectively. No. 7 Pebblebrook is red-hot and jumps up three spots. The Falcons rallied from down 87-74 with 4:43 left against Douglas County to force overtime and eventually win in two extra periods, 111-107 in a game of the year nominee. Collin Sexton dropped 44 points. Pebblebrook hosts No. 1 Westlake this Tuesday.

No.  9 Grayson makes its first appearance in the top ten this season after defeating Dacula 73-69, in turn taking their place in the poll. Austin Dukes scored 27 points to lead the Rams and Tre Sconiers recorded 14 points, 15 rebounds, two steals and four blocks. On Friday, Grayson had an opportunity to improve its resume even more with a crack at No. 2 Shiloh, but the upset-minded Rams fell short 80-73.

No. 2 Allatoona is now the lone undefeated team in Class AAAAA after Camden County lost to Effingham County 77-63 and slipped out of the top ten. Replacing the Wildcats is a familiar face, No. 10 Southwest DeKalb. The Panthers have won six straight and are quickly closing in on a rematch with No. 1 Miller Grove. No. 7 Heritage-Conyers falls a spot following a 73-66 overtime loss to Rockdale County. No. 9 Warner Robins stopped rival Northside-Warner Robins in front of a sold out crowd, 65-58. Donovan Brown finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds on the road to carry the load with star guard Marquez Callaway missing the game due to playing in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Class AAAA saw No. 4 Liberty County thump No. 10 Thomson 100-53. The statement win helps the Panthers jump back over No. 5 St. Pius. Thomson falls one spot only. No. 6 Eagle’s Landing moves up two spots and leaps over region foe No. 7 Walnut Grove. The Eagles knocked off Henry County 96-83 on Tuesday, drilled 13-3 Eastside 76-49 on Friday and outlasted Stockbridge 84-78 on Saturday. No. 1 Jonesboro survived a scare from Henry County on Saturday, 70-65 in overtime. MJ Walker exploded for 33 points to pace the Cardinals. Damion Rosser netted 28 points and Javon Greene 23 in the loss for the Warhawks.

Down goes Frazier! The AAA heavyweight No. 3 Laney finally lost a game to who else but No. 1 Morgan County, the same team that ended the Wildcats’ season in the semifinals last year. The Bulldogs won 65-63 behind Devorious Brown’s 27-point outburst.  Jailyn Ingram, who is heading to Florida Atlantic along with Brown, added 14 points and freshman Alec Woodard chipped in 13. Zep Jasper (College of Charleston) finished with 21 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals while Christian Keeling (Charleston Southern) posted 21 points and 10 rebounds for Laney. No. 10 Banks County resurfaces in the top ten after wins over Lumpkin County, 69-65 and Buford, 60-50.

I took a 217 mile trip down to South Georgia to see Class AA’s finest: No. 3 defending state champs Seminole County hosting undefeated No. 1 Thomasville. In the end, it was the championship duo of Jordan Harris (UGA) and Anfernee King that proved to be too much for the bigger and more balanced Bulldogs, combining for 49 points in the Indians’ 71-65 win in front of a raucous crowd. With the win, Seminole County regains the No. 1 spot in the state while Thomasville slides to No. 2. A string of close calls finally caught up to the battle-tested Bulldogs. Before their loss at Seminole County, last week Thomasville had beaten Bainbridge 63-61 and won at No. 7 Early County, 79-76. Region 1 looks like a force to be reckoned with come tournament time.

Two Region 6 teams drop out in Wesleyan and GAC, but two replace them with No. 6 Lovett and No. 8 Pace Academy. Currently Lovett owns sole possession of first place in the region with a 5-0 mark. The Lions hold wins over No. 5 Holy Innocents’ and just beat Wesleyan and GAC back-to-back on Friday and Saturday, knocking them both from the poll. On Friday Lovett gets to prove its record as they visit Pace Academy, a sleeping giant that has now won three in a row and hold a 4-1 mark in region play. Tomorrow in Southeast Georgia, No. 10 Long County hosts No. 4 Vidalia in a crucial Region 2 measuring stick game. Also keep an eye on Region 3’s Swainsboro (7-5, 3-0). The Tigers have played some tough competition out of region and are much better than their record shows. They are riding a five-game winning streak and may re-enter the poll sooner rather than later.

More of the same occurred in Class A-Private: Madness and business as usual. On the business side of things, No. 1 Greenforest dispatched of No. 5 SWAC, 81-58. The madness occurred with No. 2 St. Francis holding on against King’s Ridge (9-5), 72-71. Kobi Simmons became the Knights’ all-time leading scorer last week and surpassed the 2,000-point barrier. Landmark Christian tumbled out of the top ten with a 9-5 record and losses to Paideia in overtime 71-61 and No. 7 Whitefield Academy, 91-62. No. 9 Stratford Academy takes the War Eagles’ place in the rankings after dropping No. 10 Tattnall Square Academy, 67-58. Also, Quintez Cephus made SportsCenter with his thunderous baseline throw down against First Presbyterian Day.

Class A-Public sees No. 2 Hancock Central leap all the way from No. 9 thanks to five straight wins including victories over No. 7 Lincoln County and No. 4 Wilkinson County on Saturday, 70-62. No.5 Atkinson County continues to rise in the rankings while No. 8 Hawkinsville slips four spots following a 67-59 loss to Greenville. No. 9 Mitchell County and No. 10 Turner County replace Terrell County and Wilcox County. The Green Wave is riding a two-game skid while Wilcox County is on a three-game losing streak.