Class AAAAAAA
1. McEachern (22-0)
2. East Coweta (23-1)
3. Meadowcreek (19-4)
4. Discovery (20-3)
5. Grayson (20-3)
6. Norcross (17-7)
7. Newton (17-5)
8. Milton (16-7)
9. Shiloh (15-7)
10. Pebblebrook (15-8)
Class AAAAAA
1. Coffee (20-2)
2. Chattahoochee (20-3)
3. Douglas County (18-5)
4. Alexander (18-7)
5. Tri-Cities (18-6)
6. South Cobb (16-5)
7. Sprayberry (20-3)
8. Lakeside-Evans (20-3)
9. Lanier (16-6)
10. Tucker (20-4)
Class AAAAA
1. Buford (20-2)
2. Eagle’s Landing (18-3)
3. Fayette County (20-4)
4. Southwest DeKalb (17-6)
5. Woodland-Stockbridge (19-3)
6. Jonesboro (16-8)
7. Lithonia (16-8)
8. Kell (19-5)
9. Carrollton (14-8)
10. Harris County (15-7)
Class AAAA
1. Upson-Lee (21-1)
2. Sandy Creek (19-3)
3. St. Pius X (20-3)
4. Henry County (22-2)
5. Americus-Sumter (18-3)
6. Woodward Academy (15-8)
7. Carver-Columbus (18-5)
8. Marist (16-7)
9. Thomson (16-4)
10. Druid Hills (16-7)
Class AAA
1. GAC (19-4)
2. Morgan County (22-2)
3. Dawson County (19-4)
4. Hart County (17-6)
5. Pace Academy (16-7)
6. Johnson-Savannah (16-6)
7. Westside-Macon (18-5)
8. Central-Macon (18-5)
9. Monroe (16-6)
10. Windsor Forest (19-4)
Class AA
1. Woodville-Tompkins (23-0)
2. Therrell (19-6)
3. South Atlanta (18-5)
4. Vidalia (20-3)
5. Spencer (19-3)
6. Washington County (17-5)
7. Northeast-Macon (18-4)
8. Glenn Hills (20-3)
9. Early County (16-6)
10. Elbert County (20-3)
Class A-Private
1. St. Francis (19-4)
2. Greenforest (16-5)
3. ELCA (15-7)
4. Mt. Bethel (17-6)
5. Walker (16-6)
6. Holy Innocents’ (13-10)
7. Riverside Military (17-4)
8. Wesleyan (17-6)
9. Lakeview Academy (16-7)
10. Mt. Paran (13-8)
Class A-Public
1. Calhoun County (22-0)
2. Hancock Central (17-4)
3. Treutlen (21-1)
4. Terrell County (20-2)
5. Irwin County (18-2)
6. Wilcox County (18-2)
7. Wilkinson County (14-9)
8. Greene County (17-5)
9. Pelham (17-4)
10. Marion County (17-4)
In Class AAAAAAA, No. 1 McEachern finished their national schedule with a 66-55 win over Rancho Christian (CA) at the HoopHall Classic and returned home to beat Marietta 92-72 behind Sharife Cooper’s 45 points (17-19 FT), 6 assists and 4 steals. No. 5 Grayson knocked Berkmar (16-6) out of the Top 10 with a 67-53 win, but slips two spots after losing 76-67 on Senior Night to No. 9 Shiloh, who returns to the poll. No. 3 Meadowcreek rises a position following a 77-51 beatdown of Class A-Private No. 2 Greenforest. Wheeler (15-9) is hitting a slide at the wrong time, falling out of the rankings. The Wildcats have lost three-straight highlighted by losses to Westlake 80-74 and Gonzaga (DC) 86-69 last week. They are replaced by debutant No. 8 Milton, who is peaking. Since their 59-58 loss at Alpharetta, the Eagles have ripped off five-straight wins by an average of 19.8 points per game and have soared into first-place in Region 5 following a 73-52 win against Lambert, Malachi Martin scoring 25 points while Donaven Hairston tallied 19 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals.
The cannibalization of Region 5 in Class AAAAAA is nearly complete as No. 3 Douglas County and No. 4 Alexander are playing some of their best ball of the season. The Tigers took down last week’s Class 5A No. 9 Lithia Springs 65-48 and beat South Paulding 58-46 on the road, dropping the Spartans (15-9) from the Top 10. The Cougars buried South Paulding early with an 81-58 win in Douglasville and finished their regular season with a 75-67 win over No. 5 Tri-Cities, who falls two spots. No. 6 South Cobb edged Class 7A No. 10 Pebblebrook 63-57 while Region 6 foe No. 7 Sprayberry won at Allatoona 72-66 and at Pope 71-68. No. 8 Lakeside-Evans falls three spots after losing 68-65 to a mysterious Heritage-Conyers team who has played Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde all season. North Atlanta (16-7) had been playing mediocre basketball for a month and it finally caught up to them as the Warriors have tumbled all the way out of the Top 10. They lost 74-64 at Cambridge and a bad 55-49 loss to Centennial was the final straw. Returning to the poll is No. 9 Lanier and No. 10 Tucker. The Longhorns have won nine in-a-row and defeated Dacula 71-66 on the road behind brothers Sion James (21) and Jehloni James (17). The Tigers were the latest team to upset Class 5A No. 3 Fayette County 70-62 and now will have to avenge a 63-48 loss to Mundy’s Mill this Tuesday in Jonesboro to secure the top seed in Region 4.
No. 1 Buford dispatched of rival Cedar Shoals 78-63 in Class AAAAA play before defeating Ridge View (SC) 79-64. No. 2 Eagle’s Landing climbs over No. 3 Fayette County after beating a hobbled Class 4A No. 2 St. Pius X team 67-50 without Matt Gonzalo or Niko Broadway. The Eagles got 18 points from Rashad Elloie and 16 from Christopher Hood. No. 7 Lithonia is down three spots after losing 59-58 at Columbia. In Region 7, No. 8 Kell lost 80-70 at No. 9 Carrollton before rebounding with a 73-62 win over Rome. The Trojans lost 104-100 in OT at Rome before beating the Longhorns. Lithia Springs (16-7) departs after a bad week, losing 65-48 to Class 6A No. 3 Douglas County and to Carver-Atlanta 65-55 before surviving at Banneker 64-61. Making their first appearance in the Top 10 is No. 10 Harris County. The Tigers have won four-straight games and have been growing in confidence since beating the defending state champs Warner Robins 44-43 a week ago. Junior point guard Tailique Williams is the engine, posting 18.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 4.8 steals per game to go along with 6-foot-2 senior AJ Spencer’s 13.4 points and 6.5 rebounds. They visit a tough 25-4 Eufaula (AL) team on Tuesday who they beat 68-64 back on December 1st.
Long winning streaks were snapped in Class AAAA as No. 3 St. Pius X saw their 18-game stretch end 67-50 at Class 5A No. 2 Eagle’s Landing without Matt Gonzalo and Niko Broadway while No. 4 Henry County’s 17-game winning streak was shattered by debutant No. 10 Druid Hills 58-53. No. 7 Carver-Columbus sinks two spots after losing 63-56 to Warner Robins and at Westover 77-55. No. 5 Americus-Sumter rises one place after handling Class 3A No. 9 Monroe 66-43. No. 6 Woodward Academy is starting to play to their potential, scoring huge wins over Class A-Private No. 4 Mt. Bethel 54-39 and Salem 66-57, dropping the Seminoles (14-8) from the poll. Walker Kessler had 15 points, 16 rebounds and 8 blocks against Mt. Bethel and 20 points, 14 rebounds and 8 blocks against Salem. No. 9 Thomson replaces Baldwin (14-9) in the Top 10 and takes control of first-place in Region 3 after rallying from down 42-31 entering the fourth quarter to win 56-54 in Milledgeville. Fredrick Parker and Aubrey Ivery made huge plays down the stretch as the Bulldogs’ 2-2-1 press cracked the Braves late in the fourth. Ivery (16), Parker (11), Malcolm Daniels (10) and Zander Hamilton (10) combined for 47 points on the road.
Class AAA sees just one swap in the poll but it’s a big one as No. 1 GAC regains pole position after a huge week from Hunter McIntosh and Belmont-signee Ben Sheppard. The Spartans beat Class 7A No. 9 Shiloh on a last-second McIntosh layup before Sheppard drilled seven three-pointers in a 39-point outburst against Cherokee Bluff in a 96-68 rout. No. 2 Morgan County was stunned on MLK Day by 12-11 Langston Hughes, 50-42, once again highlighting how strong Region 5-AAAAAA is. The Bulldogs bounced back with a 68-59 win at Jefferson and held off No. 4 Hart County 66-55.
Class AA No. 2 Therrell led 35-18 at the half before settling for a 64-53 win against Class A-Private No. 3 ELCA. The Panthers battle No. 3 South Atlanta on the road this Friday. The Hornets shook off a slow start to buzz Campbell 63-52. No. 7 Northeast-Macon falls three spots after a costly 82-80 home loss to Dublin. The Raiders are now tied for first-place in Region 3 and have to travel to No. 6 Washington County on Tuesday, the Golden Hawks coming off an impressive 62-60 OT win over Class A-Public No. 2 Hancock Central. No. 5 Spencer creeps up two spots after bashing Callaway 110-74. No. 10 Elbert County plummets five places after a 63-51 loss to Banks County, Carl Cleveland torching the Blue Devils for 22 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks. No. 8 Glenn Hills has another chance to exercise their demons as they travel to Laney on Tuesday looking to split the season series after losing 72-63 in December. Defending state champion Thomasville (18-5) is out of the Top 10 following losses to Westover 63-60 and to first-timer No. 9 Early County 73-65. The Bobcats now hold sole possession of first-place in Region 1 heading into the final week of the regular season.
No. 1 St. Francis showed true championship mettle by regaining focus and putting together a 3-0 week in Class A-Private while No. 4 Mt. Bethel sinks two spots after back-to-back losses. The Knights defeated surprise entry No. 10 Mt. Paran 78-68 and won at Mt. Pisgah 83-67. Mt. Bethel lost 54-39 to Class 4A No. 6 Woodward Academy before getting shocked at Mt. Paran 45-40. Sitting at 13-8, Mt. Paran has been a microcosm of Class A-Private’s bipolar play. The Eagles are just 7-6 in Region 6 and have a handful of ugly losses, including getting 30-pieced by No. 5 Walker just a week ago, but their latest results against two of the classification’s best, plus a 46-33 win at Brookstone show signs that Mt. Paran might be figuring things out. Speaking of No. 5 Walker, they were beaten 52-49 at Mt. Pisgah. No. 6 Holy Innocents’ fell 67-50 to Westlake. There is a new frontrunner in Region 8 as No. 7 Riverside Military outmuscled No. 9 Lakeview Academy 75-66, Shad Dabney going for 28 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals while Isaac Teasley had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists and Kansas State football commit Khalid Duke powered in 16 points, 18 rebounds and 3 steals. Lakeview Academy defeated No. 8 Wesleyan 56-54 and was upset at Towns County 95-84 before losing to the Eagles.
In Class A-Public, No. 1 Calhoun County rocked Chattahoochee County 83-55. No. 2 Hancock Central suffered a 62-60 OT loss at Class 2A No. 6 Washington County. No. 5 Irwin County flips places with No. 6 Wilcox County after another perfect week. The Indians have won 15-straight now with wins over Berrien 80-67 and Lanier County 76-63 highlighting last week’s efforts. No. 7 Wilkinson County won again, winning their ninth straight, beating Mississippi State signee Devin Butts and Stratford Academy 57-43 while destroying Macon County again, 76-49. No. 10 Marion County holds onto the final spot after a 3-1 week saw the Eagles lose 74-70 to Dooly County. The Bobcats could have burst into the Top 10, but they were upset at Crisp County the following day 60-47.