R5 #1 Manchester (23-5) vs. R6 #2 Lovett (22-6)

Coach Ryan Koudele has turned around a 13-15 program into the No. 6-ranked team in the state in his first year at the helm of Lovett. A strong senior class has helped guide the Lions into the Elite Eight for the first time since 2008. Henry Richardson has been a sharpshooter all year long and scored 18 points in their win over Long County in the Sweet 16, 76-61. Charles Nastopoulos added 16 points and seven rebounds while providing Coach Koudele with his best size at 6-foot-3, 203 pounds. Underclassmen have made major impacts as well with sophomore Crawford Schwieger and freshman Ryan Greer providing stability from the guard positions. Greer posted 16 points and seven assists in the second round. No. 10 Manchester is the last of the Mohicans, the lone team standing from Region 5, while Lovett is one of three Region 6 squads remaining.  The Blue Devils receive contributions from sophomores point guard Jahnile Hill and wide body Jerquavion Mahone. Hill is quick with the ball and Mahone is a 6-foot-4, 255-pounder that throws his weight around inside. Demarcus Addie and Marquavious Jackson help round out the backcourt. Bobby Stevenson and Garrett Brown provide size at 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-7. Lovett will have to be ready for the Blue Devil press which Coach Curtis Noble likes to deploy.

R4 #2 Monticello (20-10) vs. R3 #1 Dublin (25-4)

Back in Week 3 I pegged Monticello as a team to keep an eye on. Low and behold, a couple months later and the Hurricanes are in the Elite Eight. De’Miria Glover leads a balanced scoring attack at 13.7 points per game while bringing down 9.6 rebounds. Sophomore Ashton Bonner (10.5 ppg) and junior CJ Adams (10 ppg) round out Coach BJ Thomas’ offense. Jordan Stone pitches in 9.9 points per game from his off-guard position. The Hurricanes outlasted Fitzgerald in round one 63-58 and Rabun County in overtime in the Sweet 16, 81-73. Glover tagged on 24 points and 14 rebounds while Adams finished with 24 points, five assists and five steals. Bonner sank three three-pointers on his way to 17 points. Monticello lost to high-flying No. 2 Crawford County three times, but even the Eagles’ offense doesn’t compare to the run-and-gun juggernaut of No. 4 Dublin. The Fighting Irish lead the entire state in points per game, averaging 85.4; 2477 scored on the season. Through the first two games of the tournament, they have showed no mercy trouncing Bryan County 96-61 and cruising past GAC 101-88, the fourth time eclipsing the 100-point mark. Kameron Pauldo is the engine for Coach Paul Williams. The sophomore has already netted 1,000 points in his career and is quickly on his way to becoming one of the top scorers in school history. Pauldo is lethal from beyond the arc but also can share the ball as well, going for 28 points and 10 assists in their Sweet 16 win. He totaled 22 points and 10 assists in just three quarters against Bryan County. Torian Holder and Gerald Phillips are two more jitterbug-quick guards that Monticello will have to slow down. Dublin is no stranger to post season success, winning state titles in 2006 and 2009 under Clint Thomas and Marvin Latham.

R1 #1 Thomasville (28-1) vs. R6 #1 Pace Academy (18-10)

The records tell completely different stories. No. 1 Thomasville’s 28-1 mark is as legit as it gets, coming out of the brutal Region 1 with just one loss, 71-65 at No. 7 Seminole County, the defending state champs led by UGA signee Jordan Harris and Anfernee King, who saw their high school careers end in a blowout loss to No. 2 Crawford County in the first round, a rematch of the 2015 title game. Thomasville has jaw-dropping size for a Class AA school. The Perry brothers transferred in from Tallahassee and have helped transform the program along with freshman Titus Wright. The frontline reads: 6-foot-6 senior Alex Perry, 6-foot-8 sophomore Reggie Perry and 6-foot-8 freshman Titus Wright. The younger Perry, Reggie, is already being recruited by Oklahoma, Florida, Florida State, Arkansas and Iowa State. The trio of towers join Jordan Willis. The senior guard led the Bulldogs in scoring last year and still might be the most important piece to a potential state championship puzzle. He did not play in the first quarter of the Seminole County game due to disciplinary reasons but still managed to score a team-high 16 in the losing effort. Shedric Cooper and Gregory Hobbs round out a sturdy backcourt that is as physically imposing as the frontcourt. No. 3 Pace Academy has 10 losses, starting the year 2-8 after taking its lumps on the national circuit. After losses to ^6A No. 2 Westlake and ^1A-Private No. 1 Greenforest to kick off the year, Pace’s only other two in-state losses came to GAC 55-49 in the third game of the season dropping them to 0-3, and at No. 6 Lovett in overtime 66-63 on Jan. 30. All eyes will be on five-star junior center Wendell Carter Jr. and versatile 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Isaiah Kelly as they battle against Thomasville’s long interior. Carter went for 35 points in Pace’s 69-58 win over Jefferson County in the Sweet 16 while Kelly added 14. Penn-commit Zack Kaminsky must play tough to advance the Knights deep in the tournament. The 6-foot-6 small forward netted 14 in their latest win and needs to stretch the defense. Pace loses some firepower with Caleb Holifield no longer on the team, but the Knights have still won 10 of their last 11 games.

R4 #1 Crawford County (24-3) vs. R6 #4 Holy Innocents’ (20-9)

No. 2 Crawford County looked unbeatable in an emotional 95-64 massacre of No. 7 Seminole County, taking out their frustrations after losing in the finals a year ago, but the Eagles came back to earth and struggled with Temple in the Sweet 16, trailing 37-33 at the half before pulling away 69-55. The Eagles have a rabid fan base that will try to pack Georgia College & State to support their team. William Jarrell and Marcal Knolton are absolute handfuls for opposing front courts. Jarrell is a 6-foot-5 small forward posting video game numbers of 25-11-7-4-4. Knolton can be a monster as well and is a 6-foot-7 junior averaging over 20 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks a night. Monkeize Moore is a scrappy guard averaging over 16 per and almost eight assists. A finally healthy Holy Innocents’ team is on the mend and ready to make a run. 6-foot-7 Brent Duncan missed much of the season after an injury while fellow 6-foot-7 post Richard Surdykowski has dealt with a stress fracture in his foot and is likely out for the year. Three-point specialist Cole Smith has been clutch. He went the length of the court before hitting a whirling 30-foot prayer to stun host Model 54-51 in the first round. Duncan posted 23 points and 10 rebounds in the first round “upset”. In the Sweet 16, the Golden Bears had a date with destiny, traveling to No. 9 Swainsboro who ended Holy Innocents’ season a year ago in the same round after the home score keepers added on a phantom point to the Tigers’ total which helped them force overtime and eventually beat the Bears. This time it was Holy Innocents’ doing the spoiling, winning an emotional rematch 61-58 behind Smith’s 18 points, Duncan’s 15 & 7 and Jules Erving’s 17-point 11-rebound double-double. Role players Harrison Cobb, Matthew Meadows and point guard Ibrahim Shabazz have made steady contributions throughout the year and will need to play well against an explosive Crawford County team.