Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

Javon Greene’s historic performance leaves Langston Hughes shell-shocked at Holiday Hoopsgiving

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No. 5 Henry County 92, No. 4 Langston Hughes 89

In possibly the most improbable outcome in Holiday Hoopsgiving history, Class AAAA No. 5 Henry County rallied from down 47-31 at the half to stun Class AAAAAA No. 4 Langston Hughes in overtime without New Orleans signee Damion Rosser available.

Rosser, who injured himself in a scrimmage against Eagle’s Landing, was on crutches as he watched George Mason signee Javon Greene will the Warhawks to victory. Greene went berserk, scoring 57 points – 37 in the second half – to steal a victory in a game which they never led in regulation.

Langston Hughes rushed out to a 12-2 lead behind Southeast Missouri State signee Khalil Cuffee’s 10 first quarter points. The Panthers were on the verge of blowing the game open on multiple occasions throughout, but Greene always had an answer.

He stroked the first of his seven threes at the 4:20 mark, but the Warhawks still trailed 17-6.

Cuffee drained a buzzer beater to give Langston Hughes a 27-16 lead after one quarter of play.

 

In the second quarter, it was Northeastern signee Derrick Cook and Landers Nolley, fresh off a 50-point game, turn to pepper the shorthanded Warhawks. Nolley finished the first half with 13 points while Cook contributed 10.

Henry County cut the lead to 40-30, but Cuffee buried a three off the dribble and Cook sank two hoops including a layup at the buzzer to make it 47-31 at the half.

Nolley continued to sizzle in the third quarter, scoring 10 of his team-high 35 points in the frame as it looked like the Panthers were going to finally run away with the game.

Kovi Tate came away with a big slam but Langston Hughes still held a commanding 62-41 lead with 2:57 to play in the period.

Tate’s put back, just his third point of the game, proved to be a springboard as the Warhawks entered the fourth down 64-50 with a shimmer of hope.

While Greene kept Henry County in the game, he started to receive help from Tate and Sadonte Lindley. Lindley pitched in five of his 18 points in the fourth quarter while Tate began to dominate inside. The undersized 6-foot-5 post crept the Warhawks closer and closer as he cleaned up the glass on misses. He scored nine of his 12 points in the fourth and collected 11 rebounds.

At the 2:57 mark, Henry County found itself down just two points, 70-68 after Greene dropped in another tough bucket.

 Nolley answered with a three at the 2:08 mark but Greene responded with another triple, cutting the Panther lead to 73-71 with 1:16 remaining.

The Warhawks finally drew even on another Tate follow up slam with 47.3 seconds to go.

Nolley was stripped heading to the hoop, giving the ball back to Henry County with 3.6 seconds left. Greene’s halfcourt heave went amiss, sending the game to overtime tied at 75-75, Henry County outscoring Langston Hughes 25-11 in the fourth.

In overtime, Greene took it to another level.

On fire, unconscious, in a zone; whatever you want to call it, Greene was it. He torched the Panthers for 15 in overtime with an array of buckets and his floater with 3:35 gave Henry County their first lead of the entire game at 77-75. As good as Greene was, Langston Hughes still had a final look after a missed free throw. The Panthers raced down and Nolley got a fairly good look at the horn but his three rimmed out.

 

My Take 

There’s not many words that will do this game justice. Javon Greene was insane hitting seven threes and 18 free throws. I thought the game was going to be a rout with how well Langston Hughes came out behind their trio of D-I standouts. With Damion Rosser sitting on the bench injured, it looked like it was just going to be a “What-If” game. What if Rosser was healthy? I wonder if the game would have been closer? Greene didn’t give us that opportunity as he showed he was more than enough to carry the Warhawks in one of the gutsiest efforts you’ll ever see. Sadonte Lindley pitched in 18 points in quiet yet steady fashion, but Kovi Tate’s intensity was what really helped Henry County out. Nine points in the fourth quarter in loud fashion had to have helped Greene’s psyche as his Atlanta All-Stars teammate began to make a difference.

Even in the loss, Langston Hughes looked flat out scary. Landers Nolley, Khalil Cuffee and Derrick Cook combined for 80 points. Cuffee is an absolute steal at SE Missouri State. He is a big time guard with a great stroke. Nolley has high level college ball written all over him and Cook does a little bit of everything on the floor. They looked like a different team from the Gainesville game but ran into a buzzsaw with Greene. There wasn’t much Coach Rory Welsh could do to slow down Greene. The Panthers will just need to shake this one off and trust that they are as good as any team in the state when they are clicking on all cylinders and not playing against Javon Greene.

 

Top Performers

Henry County
Javon Greene – 57 points (7 threes, 18 FTs), 3 rebounds, 3 steals
Sadonte Lindley – 18 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
Kovi Tate – 12 points, 11 rebounds, 1 block

Langston Hughes
Landers Nolley – 35 points (6 threes), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
Derrick Cook – 23 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal
Khalil Cuffee – 22 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Girls Recaps, Recaps

GHSA Statewide Recap 11-22

BOYS

Class AAAAAAA

No. 6 McEachern 46, 6ANo. 5 Allatoona 43: In a nail biter, McEachern turned a two-point Allatoona lead heading into the fourth quarter into a three-point Indian victory. Isaac Okoro had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Babatunde Akingbola was a difference maker inside with 9 points, 10 rebounds and 7 blocks. Tre Peoples added 8 points. Mike Johnson led all scorers with 20 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals for Allatoona. Trey Doomes finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. Jeremiah Sanabria gave good minutes with 3 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block.

Hillgrove 73, 6ANo. 9 Alexander 58: DeMierre Black pitched in 25 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals in an upset of Class 6A No. 9 Alexander. Antoine Jones added 9 points and 5 assists in the win. Damion Howell had 14 points and 5 rebounds to lead Alexander. Grant Howard pitched in 10 points and Raheem Fulling had 8.

Mill Creek 71, Stephenson 60: Christian Mancillas earned Cleveland Stroud All-Tournament honors and powered the Hawks to another win, scoring 26 points in the process.

South Gwinnett 76, Woodstock 70: D’onte Torrence filled it up, scoring 25 points and grabbing 8 rebounds to lead the Comets a win at the Parkview Thanksgiving Tournament and to a 3-1 mark. Brent Latham dropped in 18 points as well. Dylin Hardeman led Woodstock in scoring with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Tyreke Johnson was held to 13 points. Quentin Doby scored 12 and Cameron Crowe finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds.

Peachtree Ridge 58, Tucker 56: Fred Payton scored 12 points and grabbed 6 rebounds to help the Lions hang on against the Tigers at the Jared Cook Classic. Devin Vassell scored 11 and Shaz Molu, Hirum Maxey and Kris Collins all scored 9 in the win. Jevon Tatum scored a game-high 14 for Tucker while Joseph Collins added 9.

Grayson 60, Discovery 54: Grayson got some early season revenge, knocking off Discovery for the Lanier Thanksgiving Classic Championship. Travis Anderson had 25 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Nick Edwards finished with 10 points and 4 assists while Aaron Rowe did a little bit of everything with 6 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals. Discovery was led by Keshawn Overstreet’s 14 points and 7 rebounds. DJ Young scored 14 and Jaylen Bussey netted 11. Kalu Ezikpe finished with 11 point and 7 rebounds.

Parkview 87, North Springs 81 2OT: Starting a freshman, three sophomores and one junior, Parkview outlasted North Springs to win the Parkview Thanksgiving Tournament Championship. Sophomore Truitt Spencer scored 20, junior Cam Chavers had 17 and freshman Toneari Lane netted 16 to advance the Panthers to 4-0. North Springs junior Vinnie Viana dropped in 33.

South Forsyth 56, Marist 41: Evan Cole scored 19 points and Santhosh Saravanan had 18 to lift the War Eagles.

Marietta 91, Campbell 81 OT: Marietta rallied from down 31-9 at the end of one and down 47-34 at the half to score an improbable comeback victory. Tyree Crankfield, fresh off a school-record 45 points, dropped in 36 more for Campbell. The Blue Devils countered with Kharon Cameron (23) and Fionn Brown (20) to get back in the game. Ramel Keyton scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime for Marietta.

Etowah 65, North Gwinnett 49: Adrian Cohen burst out for 17 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals in the Eagles’ Jared Cook Classic victory. Julian Baldwin had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 1 block. Lewis Simonson hit five threes en route to 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

Class AAAAAA

No. 3 South Paulding 87, Paulding County 53: Georgia State signee Kane Williams displayed his all-around floor game, going for 21 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 steals in a rout. DJ Jackson tossed in 11 points and 5 assists. JaCori Wilson, one of the top unsigned forwards in the state standing at 6-foot-7, contributed 18 points and 5 rebounds.

No. 4 Langston Hughes 105, Northside-Columbus 65: Langston Hughes took out its frustrations on an unexpecting Northside-Columbus team after leading by just nine at the half. Landers Nolley exploded for 50 points (9 threes) and 7 rebounds while Khalil Cuffee had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Derrick Cook chipped in 18 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists.

No. 7 Dacula 70, Brookwood 64: Arusha Hunter went for 27 points and 12 rebounds as the Falcons dispatched of Brookwood at the Jared Cook Classic. Mekhail Bethea added 17 points and 7 assists while Shayne Buckingham did his work inside, posting 12 points and 8 rebounds. Brookwood was led by Bubba Parham’s 24 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds and Trae Higginbotham’s 21 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals. Amari Kelley scored 11 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.

No. 8 Alpharetta 70, Johns Creek 53: Jaycee Horn won Progressive Lighting Tournament MVP after pitching in 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals in Alpharetta’s championship game. Ryan Jenei had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Jalen Young chipped in 8 points and 4 steals. Sophomore Brandon Barron contributed 11 points and 6 assists.

Creekview 83, Northview 51: Creekview buried 13 threes to bomb Northview for a 32-point win. Weber Sandlin hit five threes while KJ Jenkins drained four as the backcourt members both netted 18 points. Chandler Wright had 12 points and four blocks.

Harrison 55, Stone Mountain 53: Coach Clay Crump rode a balanced offense to sneak past the Pirates. Tate Coston (14), Chris Brown (11), Justin Matthews (10) and Juwan Owens (8) carried the load offensively.

Apalachee 70, Hebron Christian 62: Derek Miller dominated the paint for Apalachee, finishing with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals and 7 blocks. Omer Ahmed added 12 points, 5 assists and 3 steals. Parker Miller had 8 points and 7 rebounds. Deron Collier scored 9 points and Ethan Morris tallied 5 points, 3 steals and 3 assists.

Winder-Barrow 60, Johnson-Gainesville 48: Marcus Jones scored 18 points and Dwayne Wilson had a 13-point 17-rebound double-double in a loss to the Bulldoggs.

Sprayberry 74, Chapel Hill 73: Rodney Pearson poured in 28 points and Eddie Figueroa finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals as the Yellow Jacket’s potent backcourt lifted them to a win at the Marietta Turkey Classic.

Class AAAAA

No. 1 Columbia 82, Druid Hills 38: Columbia got back in the win column by overpowering Druid Hills. Lorenzo McGhee had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Kevon Eskridge went for 11 points and 4 assists while AJ Bey pitched in 11 points, 5 assists and 3 steals.

No. 2 Cedar Shoals 69, Oconee County 34: Charleston Southern signee Phlan Fleming dropped in 21 points while running mate Snipe Hall added 13.

No. 3 Buford 75, Cambridge 51: Alex Jones orchestrated the Wolves to a 24-point victory. Jones finished with 19 points, 8 assists and 5 steals. Tobi Obasanya had 13 points and 5 rebounds. Donell Nixon added 11 points and Austin Panks chipped in 10. David Viti collected 9 points and 5 rebounds.

No. 9 Southwest DeKalb 65, 7ANo. 10 Collins Hill 61 OT: Four players scored in double figures for Collins Hill but the Eagles ran out of juice in the Cleveland Stroud Classic Championship down the stretch after knocking off 5A No. 1 Columbia the night before. Kenny Stanciel (15), Justin Lee, JD Ozoh (12) and Max Clark (11) paced the attack, Stanciel and Lee being selected to the All-Tournament Team. Mandarius Dickerson scored a game-high 17 for Southwest DeKalb as the Panthers used 10 threes to stay ahead of Collins Hill. Quincy Carter scored 13 points and Kadarius Johnson added 12. Tabias Long and Darius Hogan were named to the All-Tournament Team. Dickerson was named Tournament MVP.

No. 10 Riverwood 89, East Jackson 52: Elijah Jenkins scored 17 points and tallied 4 rebounds and 7 assists to power the Raiders. Josh Brown had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. Charnchai Chantha chipped in 9 points, 10 assists and 3 steals. Rudy Fitzgibbons added 13 points and Elijah Dudley 18 in the win.

Flowery Branch 85, Chestatee 32: The Falcons used a 42-5 run and a 24-0 third quarter to run Chestatee out of the gym. John Mills had 19 points and Myles Janess produced 15 points and 5 rebounds. Justin Quick and Patsheko Lutumba both scored 11 points apiece. Blake Coxworth chipped in 9 points.

Grady 84, Harris County 76: DJ Brittian ran wild, posting 28 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals. Kolby Morton added 23 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. In the loss, 6-foot-7 post Aquavious Fanning had 20 points and Tailique Williams netted 27.

Starr’s Mill 57, Lanier 55: Zach Pina scored a game-high 17 points to pace the Panthers. Nick Karli added 13 and Drew Hudson scored 10. Lanier’s Adrian Martin was held to 10 points.

Union Grove 52, Walnut Grove 37: Jailen Robinson scored 14 points in a loss.

Class AAAA

No. 5 Henry County 82, Banneker 72: Javon Greene poured in 23 points while Damion Rosser recovered from injury. Casey Armour (13), Josh Steele (10) and Sadonte Lindley (9) all pitched in. Lindley also recorded 7 rebounds, 12 assists and 5 steals. Tre’Von Pope scored 15 and Shamar Karangu had 11 to lead Banneker.

No. 6 LaGrange 75, Houston County 44: Amari Colbert posted 15 points and 8 rebounds in a loss for the Bears. Houston County was held to 30% shooting from the field. LaGrange was led by Quez Jackson’s 12 points and Kenan Gray’s 10.

No. 7 St. Pius 50, Dawson County 36: St. Pius leapt out to a 13-0 lead and led wire-to-wire against Dawson County. Zach Ranson finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Matt Gonzalo notched 6 assists for the Golden Lions. Cullen Reed scored a team-high 17 points for the Tigers.

White County 69, Franklin County 49: John Ward scored a team-high 21 points as White County rolled Franklin County. Clay Dockery netted 15 and Austin Harris scored 11. Jay Lepkoske (10) and Austin Rowland (9) also cracked the scoresheet.

Cartersville 61, Northwest Whitfield 45: Jaylon Pugh poured in 21 and Perignon Dyer netted 20 as the Hurricanes blew by the Bruins. Luke Shiflett powered Northwest with 16 points and 5 steals.

Gilmer 55, Pickens 54: Chase Simmons scored 16 points and pulled down 6 rebounds but the Dragons were defeated by their rival Bobcats. Joseph Gossett had 11 points and Seth Bishop finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds in the loss.

Class AAA

No. 7 Greater Atlanta Christian 69, Jefferson 37: Hunter McIntosh netted 17 points and Air Force signee Charlie O’Briant pitched in 16 as GAC earned third place in the Tabo Tip-Off Tournament held at Jefferson.

Fannin County 61, Hiwassee Dam, NC 42: Clay Ware scored 19 points and Logan Holt had 17 as the Rebels won the ETC Tournament.

North Hall 83, Providence Christian 62: Evan Easton was too much to handle for the Storm, scoring a game-high 30 points. Taylor Hanson (14), Noah Holman (11) and Justin Rabb (10) all cracked double figures as well. Parker Trump led Providence Christian with 18 points followed by Connor Allen’s 12 and Mitchell Miller’s 11.

Class AA

Spartanburg Christian, SC 60, No. 4 Monticello 59: Ashton Bonner went for 24 points and 4 assists in a loss at the Impact Sports Invitational. CJ Adams had 15 points and 6 rebounds.

Washington 59, Jackson County 54: Jackson County received 22 points from Christian Smith in a loss.

Class A-Private

No. 1 Greenforest 67, Mountain View 49: After Mountain View cut the Greenforest lead to 39-30 heading into the fourth quarter, Greenforest put its foot on the gas. Ikey Obiagu finished with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 8 blocks. Jandan Duggan netted 16 points to go along with his 5 assists. Mohammed Abdulsalem pitched in 12 points and 7 boards. Mike Evans got in on the action with 9 points and 4 assists. Mountain View was led by Spencer Rodgers’ 13 points. Miles Long and Brandon Green both scored 11 points.

No. 6 Lakeview Academy 95, East Hall 79: Lakeview Academy won the Piedmont College Hardwood Classic Championship in convincing fashion. Drew Cottrell was named Tournament MVP after pouring in 31 points in the title game. Tre Gober netted 24 and All-Tournament Team memeber Josh Randolph went for 20 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists. Carter Reeves chipped in 10 points.

                                                                                

GIRLS

 

Class AAAAAAA

North Forsyth 45, No. 7 Cherokee 39: North Forsyth won the Progressive Lighting Holiday Classic on their home floor as the Raiders dispatched of Cherokee. Cassie Markle finished with 16 points and 6 rebounds and Bella Caracciolo chipped in 6 points and 7 rebounds as North Forsyth moves to 6-0.

Class AAAAAA

No. 6 Northview 40, Creekview 27: Northview bounced back at the Progressive Lighting Holiday Classic and placed third with a win over Creekview. Ashlee Austin had 12 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Shannon Titus finished with 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 6 blocks. Asjah Innis went for 8 points and 5 assists.

Johns Creek 45, Alpharetta 33: Ashley Alexander led a balanced Gladiator attack with 13 points followed by Sydney Tanguilig and Markeima Lancaster’s 12 apiece to claim fifth place at the North Forsyth Thanksgiving Tournament.

Cambridge 31, Peachtree Ridge 24: Eliza Snyder scored 12 points and Sierra Sieracki had 8 while Raegan Dunwoodie paced the defense with 10 deflections to disrupt the Peachtree Ridge offense. Jalea Gray had 9 points and 8 rebounds in the loss.

Class AAAAA

No. 6 Warner Robins 53, Valdosta 50: Shynia Jackson posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, as did Le’Terria Mathis with 10 points and 11 rebounds as the Demonettes slipped past Valdosta. Kezia Holmes scored 13 points and Victoria Brown went 6-of-8 from the line in the final two minutes to secure a Warner Robins victory.

No. 9 Loganville 30, 6ANo. 1 Winder-Barrow 29: Loganville grinded away at Winder-Barrow and handed the No. 1 ranked 6A team in the state their second consecutive loss to a Class 5A school. Seniors Daijah Cousins and Destiny Flott  scored 9 apiece for the Red Devils while Imani Arnold and Aryanna Gerald both scored 5. Winder-Barrow star center Olivia Nelson-Ododa was held to just 6 points. Latrice Perkins led the Bulldoggs with 9 points. Jakayala Sullivan and Lexi Maddox both scored 5 in the loss.

Class AAAA

No. 3 North Oconee 50, Clarke Central 47: Emma Weynand scored 16 points and Camryn Williams added 15 as the dynamic duo helped the Lady Titans survive Clarke Central.

St. Pius 58, Dawson County 33: The Tigers fell to 0-4 on the season after a tough slate at the North Forsyth Thanksgiving Tournament. Abi Chatham led Dawson County with 11 points. St. Pius rushed out to a 27-9 lead after one and cruised the rest of the way. Melat Endashaw had 11 points while Macey Carson and Kathryn McKenzie scored 10 apiece and both Leah Middleton and Emma Drash chipped in 8.

Oconee County 39, Cedar Shoals 32: Freshman Sybille Foucart pumped in 21 points to lead the Warriors. Ansley Hart added 7.

Gilmer 64, Pickens 62: Mykenzie Weaver scored 24 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in a loss. Torie Williams pitched in 14 points and Taylor Wigington had 8 points and 5 assists.

Class AAA

No. 1 Johnson-Savannah 49, Brunswick 37: Jacksonville-signee Alexis Pierce carried the Atomsmashers with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals.

No. 4 Calhoun 55, Allatoona 51: Calhoun bounced back from a loss to Rome behind another big game from South Carolina softball signee Jana Johns. She poured in 22 points and 8 rebounds while Ashlyn Barnes netted 12 points. Cassie Henderson grabbed 14 rebounds.

Franklin County 82, White County 64: Ivey Ginn exploded for 32 points. Asia Jones netted 19 and Maddie Moorhead scored 14 in Coach Tony Watkins’ potent offense.

Class AA

Elbert County 36, Jackson County 31: Jackson County fell to Class AA Elbert County. Logan Cook led the Panthers with 11 points.

Class A-Private

No. 9 Lakeview Academy 67, 2ANo. 3 Rabun County 60: Rabun County trailed by 14 early and could never quite get over the hump, losing to Lakeview Academy in the Piedmont College Hardwood Classic Championship. Savanna Scott finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Brooke Henricks had 12 points and 4 rebounds while Georgia Stockton pitched in 10 points and 3 steals. Star guard Hanna Grogan carried the Lions with 18 points in the win. Christen Copeland had 14 and Ryann Moody added 12.

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.

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Week 1 Boys Rankings

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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.

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