Week 9 GHSA Boys Basketball State Rankings

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Class AAAAAAA

1. Milton (14-2)
2. Grayson (15-3)
3. Pebblebrook (15-2)
4. McEachern (16-4)
5. Berkmar (13-4)
6. Cherokee (15-3)
7. South Forsyth (15-3)
8. North Gwinnett (11-7)
9. Parkview (8-3)
10. Gainesville (12-6)

Class AAAAAA

1. Wheeler (13-3)
2. Kell (12-5)
3. Evans (13-1)
4. Chattahoochee (11-1)
5. Richmond Hill (14-0)
6. Lanier (13-3)
7. Shiloh (11-4)
8. North Atlanta (15-2)
9. Centennial (11-3)
10. Valdosta (14-2)

Class AAAAA

1. Tri-Cities (12-4)
2. Eagle’s Landing (16-1)
3. St. Pius X (13-2)
4. Veterans (12-0)
5. Forest Park (7-1)
6. Lithonia (7-2)
7. Cass (13-4)
8. Woodward Academy (9-4)
9. Blessed Trinity (12-4)
10. Chapel Hill (10-6)

Class AAAA

1. Spencer (6-0)
2. Baldwin (6-0)
3. Monroe (10-3)
4. Luella (15-3)
5. Westover (5-3)
6. Cedar Shoals (10-5)
7. Arabia Mountain (6-2)
8. Stephenson (4-2)
9. Miller Grove (5-4)
10. Jefferson (10-3)

Class AAA

1. Sandy Creek (13-4)
2. Hart County (11-3)
3. Windsor Forest (5-1)
4. Johnson-Savannah (9-1)
5. Salem (7-3)
6. LaFayette (9-0)
7. Cross Creek (9-3)
8. Carver-Atlanta (8-3)
9. Upson-Lee (10-4)
10. Sonoraville (13-0)

Class AA

1. Pace Academy (14-1)
2. Swainsboro (9-1)
3. Woodville-Tompkins (11-1)
4. Washington County (7-0)
5. Columbia (8-5)
6. Lovett (9-5)
7. Thomasville (10-1)
8. Westside-Augusta (8-3)
9. Banks County (12-6)
10. Chattooga (9-2)

Class A-Private

1. Greenforest (6-2)
2. Mt. Pisgah (10-5)
3. Providence Christian (16-3)
4. Galloway (9-1)
5. Trinity Christian (10-6)
6. St. Anne-Pacelli (6-3)
7. Christian Heritage (12-2)
8. St. Francis (1-7)
9. Holy Innocents’ (5-1)
10. Tallulah Falls (10-2)

Class A-Public

1. Drew Charter (14-0)
2. Dublin (15-1)
3. Lanier County (11-2)
4. Towns County (9-1)
5. Chattahoochee County (4-1)
6. Manchester (4-1)
7. Bowdon (14-2)
8. Warren County (6-1)
9. Irwin County (8-4)
10. Terrell County (1-0)

No. 1 Milton came away with a pair of wins in Class 7A, defeating Etowah 69-56 and winning at Roswell 78-58. Bruce Thornton suffered an elbow to the forehead, busting him open and causing him to miss time before returning to the floor. Kendall Campbell and Campbell-signee Broc Bidwell picked up the slack, Campbell posting 25 points and 7 rebounds while Bidwell went 7-7 from three to finish with 21 points. No. 4 McEachern is down a spot after a 2-1 week. The Indians won at Newnan 56-54 before losing to No. 3 Pebblebrook 75-72 and bouncing back with a 74-64 win over Class 5A No. 8 Woodward Academy at the Full Court Press Southern Showcase. Pebblebrook got 40 points from Georgia State-signee Danny Stubbs in the win over the Indians. McEachern has suffered a big blow however as it’s been rumored that three-star wing Randy Brady has jumped ship and transferred. No. 5 Berkmar rode Malique Ewin to 20 points and 14 rebounds in a 58-39 win at Archer. No. 8 North Gwinnett knocked off Collins Hill (8-5) 56-54 and got 28 points from Thomas Allard in their 65-60 win at last week’s Class 5A No. 1 St. Pius X. Collins Hill is out of the rankings after also losing 79-72 to Peachtree Ridge. Discovery (12-3) drops out following a 61-50 loss to Mountain View. Debuting in the poll is No. 9 Parkview. The Panthers held off Newton 64-62 behind the trio of Asher Woods (24 points), Avantae Harper (16 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Miles-commit Jason Edwards (15 points, 4 steals). Parkview finished their week with an 83-76 win in overtime over South Gwinnett as Edwards poured in 28 points, Harper collected 22 points and 9 rebounds and Woods tallied 11 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Back in the rankings is No. 10 Gainesville. The Red Elephants romped North Forsyth 74-46 and took care of Lambert 67-41.

The Class 6A showdown between No. 1 Wheeler and No. 2 Kell lived up to the hype as the Wildcats won 74-73 in overtime as Dayton-signee Kaleb Washington posted 17 points and 7 rebounds while AJ Burke netted 13 points. Florida Gulf Coast-signee Ja’hiem Hudson collected 12 points and 12 rebounds. Max Harris had 12 points. Khedric Oliver added 10 points and 6 rebounds while Isaiah Collier pitched in 10 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Kell was led by Scoot Henderson’s 21 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Jaylen Harris had 20 points and 5 rebounds. Najhae Colon tallied 9 points and 7 assists. No. 4 Chattahoochee went on the road and blasted No. 9 Centennial 87-67 as AJ White (23), Tomiwa Adetosoye (22), Jordan Brown (16) and Gil Matondo (12) all reached double figures. The Cougars then survived Creekview in overtime 78-70. No. 5 Richmond Hill continues to impress in Region 2, growing their lead in the competitive group. They have proven they can win in a variety of ways. The Wildcats won a shootout with 12-3 Brunswick 86-70 as Jaeden Marshall exploded for 29 points (4-7 3PT), 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Richmond Hill closed the week with a gritty 53-36 win over 11-4 Effingham County getting 13 points, 17 rebounds and 1 block from UGA baseball-commit Leighton Finley. No. 7 Shiloh rises a spot after beating Buford (12-3) 70-56 and knocking the Wolves from the Top 10. Seryl Slater tallied 16 points and 5 steals while Trevon Payton had 16 points and 5 rebounds. Devon Barnes finished with 14 points and 6 assists. Entering the poll for the first time is No. 10 Valdosta. The senior-laden group hammered Northside-Warner Robins 83-65 on the road behind Dorrien Douglas’ 23 points and then won at Lee County 63-49. Douglas, a 6-foot senior, is averaging 15.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.1 steals. 5-foot-9 senior Melvin Smith averages 9.9 points and 3.2 steals while junior Aaron Williams (9.1 ppg) and senior Stanley Haliburton (7 ppg, 3.2 apg) help balance the attack.

Red-hot No. 1 Tri-Cities ascends back to the top spot in Class 5A. Over their current five-game winning streak, the Bulldogs have beaten four teams that have spent time in the Top 10. Tri-Cities clobbered No.  5 Forest Park on the road 85-59 before winning at Jonesboro (11-3) 58-52, dropping the Cardinals from the rankings. Jonesboro also lost 66-65 at Mundy’s Mill. No. 3 St. Pius X slips two places following a 65-60 loss to Class 7A No. 8 North Gwinnett. No. 2 Eagle’s Landing holds tight in second-place with wins over Locust Grove (92-54), Woodland-Stockbridge and Jones County (83-69). No. 4 Veterans remained unbeaten with a 59-49 win over rival Warner Robins, getting 24 points from TJ Grant. DeAngelo Hines followed with 12 points while Tajh Williams scored 10. No. 6 Lithonia is in quarantine till January 23rd. No. 7 Cass rises two spots. The Colonels drilled rival Cartersville 77-41 before beating Hiram 77-59 and Cornerstone Prep 78-56 as CJ Pipkin poured in 26 points and Braxton Benham collected 18 points and 9 rebounds. No. 8 Woodward Academy won at Mundy’s Mill 69-61 before losing 74-64 to Class 7A No. 4 McEachern at the Full Court Press Southern Showcase, Belmont-signee Will Richard dumping in 30 points and 11 rebounds. Loganville (12-4) falls out with a 53-44 loss to Walnut Grove. No. 9 Blessed Trinity and No. 10 Chapel Hill resurface. The Titans won 73-67 in overtime against Cartersville and beat West Forsyth 67-55. Chapel Hill is back in the poll for the first time since Week 1 when they were ranked No. 7. The Panthers throttled Villa Rica 78-49 and Grady 69-47. Chapel Hill’s ceiling just raised tenfold as Second Team All-State 6-foot-4 senior point guard Micah Bell has recently transferred back to Douglasville after starting the year in Florida at Archbishop Carroll.  Bell rejoins 6-foot-5 senior KJ Doucet, 6-foot-5 junior Chi Shannon, 6-foot-7 senior Justin Hall, 6-foot-7 sophomore Kelvin Hunter and 6-foot-1 senior Jamisen Winters in a long and athletic lineup.

Class 4A continues to fluctuate like the stock market, more so bitcoin, a volatile up-and-down merry-go-round for the vast majority of teams. The top of the rankings has been safe so far however. No. 1 Spencer and No. 2 Baldwin both returned to action and showed no signs of rust. The Greenwave overwhelmed Jordan 68-47 before earning a nice 65-58 win over Langston Hughes; Jaquez Holt (18), Jhalil Parker (17) and Quran Hoskins (16) leading the charge. Baldwin blasted West Laurens 60-39 and Rutland 84-44. No. 3 Monroe is up two spots after defeating No. 5 Westover 44-39. The Patriots scored a 65-39 win over Bainbridge getting 23 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks from Isaac Abidde before losing to the Golden Tornadoes. A pair of wins against Mt. Zion-Jonesboro (65-41) and Riverdale (68-55) raise No. 4 Luella two positions back into the Top 5.  No. 6 Cedar Shoals defeated Chestatee 81-73 behind Roger Walker (20), Kashik Brown (18), Ashton Haynes (16) and Jerdavian Colbert (12). No. 7 Arabia Mountain jumps three spots and could have climbed even higher. They knocked off No. 8 Stephenson 64-48 to drop the Jaguars five spots as Lewis Covile scored 18 points and Kevin Amponsah added 10. The Rams however, lost 50-42 to Marist earlier in the week. Stephenson bounced back from their loss to Arabia Mountain with a 62-53 win at Marist, who quietly leads Region 6 at 5-1, although they are just 5-7 overall having played a difficult schedule. The War Eagles grind opponents into dust with their methodical defensive style. They already have swept Mays and have an important first meeting with No. 9 Miller Grove on Friday. The Wolverines return to the poll after a 3-0 week saw them defeat Hapeville Charter 54-43, Mays 62-44 and Grovetown 61-43. Dougherty (8-4) and North Oconee (13-3) fall out of the Top 10. Dougherty lost 48-46 to Bainbridge while the Titans were bounced by No. 10 Jefferson, who makes their first appearance in the rankings since finishing as Class 3A State Runner-Up a season ago. The Dragons beat North Oconee 59-56, hitting 11 threes in the process. Dalen Gales scored 16 points while Kam Robinson added 10. Jefferson has now won seven-straight and has gone 5-0 since their football players have returned from the gridiron.

No. 1 Sandy Creek flexed its muscle in Class 3A, scoring a convincing 75-53 win at No. 5 Salem. No. 4 Johnson-Savannah picked up a 60-54 win over a streaking New Hampstead team, Emondre Bowles leading the way with 24 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals. No. 7 Cross Creek got 18 points from Richard Visitacion in a 70-37 blowout of Morgan County before seeing Devin Pope erupt for 30 points in the Razorbacks’ 73-56 win at Burke County. No. 8 Carver-Atlanta defeated Redan 59-54 before going into COVID quarantine, having their game with Salem postponed. No. 9 Upson-Lee survived at Taylor County 59-56 as Milique Smith dumped in 25 points. Dawson County (12-6) flopped at White County, getting trounced 76-48. They are replaced by first-timer No. 10 Sonoraville. The Phoenix are undefeated at 13-0 but have benefited from a 7-0 mark in a weak Region 6.  They defeated Rockmart 52-38 and Coahulla Creek 54-32 this past week. Their best win came at the end of 2020 when they took care of Class A-Public No. 7 Bowdon 69-54. The veteran group is led by seniors Orry Darnell and Murray Somers who pace a balanced attack. They have a chance to prove their legitimacy as they host No. 6 LaFayette on Monday. The Ramblers have yet to play a game decided by single digits and picked up decisive wins over Murray County (70-51) and Rockmart (78-57) most recently.

Class 2A sees Laney (6-3) as the hard-luck team squeezed out of the poll after wins over Josey 65-62 and Butler 67-58. The Wildcats fall out to make room for No. 5 Columbia who surges back into the Top 10 with wins over Elite Scholars Academy 84-63, No. 6 Lovett 64-59 and Griffin 58-52. Kawasiki Ricks (21), Julius Lymon (17) and Mason Lockhart (16) propelled the Eagles past Region 6 foe Lovett, holding Georgetown-signee Ryan Mutombo to 15 points. No. 1 Pace Academy edged Columbia 67-56 to open the week before finishing with a 56-44 win over Class A-Private No. 4 Galloway, Florida State-signee Matthew Cleveland collecting 22 points and 11 rebounds. No. 2 Swainsboro trailed 31-25 at the half before securing a 64-53 win at Vidalia. The defending Class 2A State Champs travel to No. 3 Woodville-Tompkins on Tuesday. No. 4 Washington County netted three wins highlighted by a 68-61 victory against Northeast-Macon. JT Thomas finished with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists while Kejuan Bloodsaw (13), Jairus Brown (11) and Caleb Moore (10) all reached double figures.

More results have been changed in Class A-Private meaning the stalemate has finally been broke as there is movement in the Top 7 for the first time since Week 3. No. 8 St. Francis currently sits at 1-7 after more forfeits and plummets five spots. Alabama-signee Jusaun Holt (20.3 ppg, 8 rpg, 2.1 apg, 2.1 spg, 1.9 bpg) has seen his supporting cast disappear aside from Seth Hubbard (11.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.7 spg) and Kai Simmons (8.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.7 bpg). Jordan Brown transferred to Chattahoochee, freshman Jalen Lee left for Berkmar and Keith Robbins has lost eligibility since his move from GMC. No. 3 Providence Christian moves into the Top 3 after wins over Wesleyan 63-40 and Social Circle 56-48. Tony Carpio posted 17 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks in the win over the Redskins. No. 4 Galloway fell to Class 2A No. 1 Pace Academy 56-44. Anthony Arrington poured in a game-high 25 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. No. 6 St. Anne-Pacelli saw Vorhees-commit Keyshaun Fleetion score 20 points while Travis Harper II netted 18 in a 76-16 win against Brookstone. No. 7 Christian Heritage clawed out wins over Darlington (57-54) and Dalton (46-43).

Is there a chink in the armor of Class A-Public No. 1 Drew Charter? After annihilating BEST Academy 112-54 in their first meeting, the Eagles lost focus and had to scratch out an 84-81 win over BEST in their rematch. They will need to regain their championship vision as they visit No. 7 Bowdon on Tuesday. The Red Devils took care of Trion 70-54 before smoking Gordon Lee 78-48, Authur Johnson hitting 7 threes and piling in 31 points. No. 2 Dublin added a trio of blowouts to their resume. Tyquan Davis had 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in a 79-58 win against Montgomery County. No. 3 Lanier County held on at Brooks County 69-67 and then finished the week with a 74-70 win over Clinch County, nearly blowing an 18-point third quarter lead.  Out of the rankings are Calhoun County (1-1) and Turner County (8-5). Having played two games this season is almost as unfathomable as Hancock Central not even playing one already two months into the season. Calhoun County is gone due to inactivity. Turner County was boat raced by debutant No. 9 Irwin County 84-38 and then lost again to the Indians 50-42. Irwin County has returned their football players from another state title run and are starting to click on all cylinders behind California Miramar-commit 5-foot-9 John “Jugghead” Jones Jr. Returning to the poll is No. 10 Terrell County, who decided to awake from their slumber and post an 82-44 win at Seminole County in their season-opener. The Greenwave opened at No. 3 to start the season before failing to play a game over the first two months.

Game Night Recap 1-15

BOYS

Class AAAAAAA

No. 1 Milton 78, Roswell 58: Kendall Campbell finished with 25 points and 7 rebounds. Campbell-signee Broc Bidwell went 7-7 from three to score 21 points. LT Overton had 12 points and 8 rebounds while Bruce Thornton suffered an injury and finished with 6 points and 8 assists. Cam Walker scored 8 points. Roswell was led by Jase McCullough’s 21 points. Jackson Kemp scored 15 and Mason Kemp had 12.

No. 4 Pebblebrook 75, No. 3 McEachern 72: Georgia State-signee Danny Stubbs poured in 40 points.

No. 5 Berkmar 58, Archer 39: Malique Ewin posted 20 points and 14 rebounds. Dara Olonade finished with 12 points while Jermahri Hill netted 11.

Etowah 69, Woodstock 34: Jonah Hamilton scored 15 points followed by Brock Rechsteiner’s 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Dimitri Angelakos scored 9 points. Joshua Hughes, Mason Etter and Brandon Rechsteiner scored 8 points apiece. Dajaun Devonish recorded 7 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.

Parkview 83, South Gwinnett 76 OT: Jason Edwards poured in 28 points and Avantae Harper posted 22 points and 9 rebounds. Asher Woods had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists.

Gainesville 67, Lambert 41: In the loss, James Tyre netted 15 points.

Mill Creek 60, Mountain View 59 OT:  Josh Battle scored 23 points and Jonathan Taylor netted 20. Nate Finch scored 11. Zay Wilson led Mountain View with 17 points. Javon Jordan scored 14 and Jayden Edison added 9. Continue reading Game Night Recap 1-15

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