Week 12 GHSA Boys Basketball State Rankings

Week 12 GHSA Boys Basketball State Rankings

Class AAAAAAA

1. Milton (21-2)
2. Grayson (17-3)
3. McEachern (20-4)
4. Pebblebrook (21-3)
5. Berkmar (18-5)
6. South Forsyth (19-3)
7. North Gwinnett (16-7)
8. Cherokee (18-6)
9. Norcross (17-6)
10. Etowah (17-7)

Class AAAAAA

1. Wheeler (19-4)
2. Kell (15-5)
3. Evans (18-2)
4. Shiloh (16-4)
5. Douglas County (18-5)
6. Centennial (15-3)
7. Chattahoochee (14-2)
8. Westlake (15-3)
9. Lanier (15-5)
10. Statesboro (17-2)

Class AAAAA

1. Tri-Cities (19-4)
2. Eagle’s Landing (22-1)
3. Veterans (17-0)
4. St. Pius X (20-2)
5. Lithonia (12-2)
6. Woodward Academy (15-6)
7. Jonesboro (16-4)
8. Dutchtown (18-7)
9. Clarke Central (15-6)
10. Cass (17-6)

Class AAAA

1. Baldwin (11-0)
2. Spencer (11-1)
3. Miller Grove (11-4)
4. Monroe (16-4)
5. Fayette County (14-11)
6. Stephenson (10-4)
7. Westover (10-5)
8. Jefferson (16-4)
9. Luella (17-6)
10. Cedar Shoals (15-7)

Class AAA

1. Sandy Creek (19-4)
2. Hart County (17-3)
3. Windsor Forest (8-2)
4. Johnson-Savannah (11-2)
5. Salem (14-4)
6. Cross Creek (16-4)
7. LaFayette (15-1)
8. White County (14-5)
9. Monroe Area (15-8)
10. Americus-Sumter (15-3)

Class AA

1. Pace Academy (21-1)
2. Swainsboro (14-1)
3. Columbia (15-5)
4. Chattooga (15-2)
5. Thomasville (15-1)
6. Lovett (14-6)
7. Washington County (11-1)
8. Westside-Augusta (12-4)
9. Banks County (17-7)
10. Laney (12-5)

Class A-Private

1. Providence Christian (18-3)
2. Galloway (13-1)
3. St. Anne-Pacelli (12-3)
4. Mt. Pisgah (17-6)
5. Trinity Christian (15-7)
6. Christian Heritage (18-2)
7. Greenforest (12-4)
8. First Presbyterian Day (15-1)
9. St. Francis (7-8)
10. Holy Innocents’ (8-3)

Class A-Public

1. Drew Charter (21-0)
2. Dublin (23-1)
3. Irwin County (16-4)
4. Towns County (16-3)
5. Bowdon (20-4)
6. Hancock Central (8-1)
7. Chattahoochee County (9-1)
8. Lanier County (14-5)
9. Social Circle (13-8)
10. Portal (16-6)

Region Brackets

Region tournaments are now among us…for some. As of February 7, here is who IS NOT holding a region tournament: 5-7A, 4-7A, 3-7A, 2-7A (only a 4/5 game), 4-6A, 3-6A, 3-5A, 5-5A, 6-5A, 5-4A, 4-4A, 4-2A, 3-2A, 1-2A, 4-1A Private and 7-1A Private. Some of these regions will begin their tournaments this week while others still have a week left of the regular season. Got all that? Good. The one thing we do know for sure is that the state tournament is scheduled to start on February 23rd and 24th. Remember, I will be here with you every step of the way to try and collect region brackets, scores and even All-Region teams as the information becomes available. Please help me help you by providing me region tournament brackets and scores on Twitter @KyleSandy355 and also by emailing me at [email protected]. Thank You!

Class 7A No. 1 Milton didn’t need overtime in their rematch to pound No. 8 Cherokee 72-50, dropping the Warriors two spots. Kanaan Carlyle, the hero from a week ago, poured in 24 points while LT Overton scored 16 and Campbell-signee Broc Bidwell had 15. No. 2 Grayson returned to action and finished their week by withstanding a 45-point outburst from former Ram Jason Edwards, a Miles-commit, in a 74-65 win at Parkview (10-4) who slips out of the Top 10. Charleston Southern-signee Taje Kelly had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks followed by Kaden McArthur’s 16 points, 11 assists and 3 steals. No. 3 McEachern rises a spot after tying the season series with No. 4 Pebblebrook, beating the Falcons 66-65 behind Arkansas-signee Chance Moore’s 32 points. Pebblebrook then had to use overtime to escape South Cobb with a road win 77-74, South Alabama-signee Tyler Shirley netting 30 points. No. 5 Berkmar had a gut-check week beating Discovery 55-44 behind Malique Ewin’s 16 points and 13 rebounds before holding off No. 9 Norcross 60-57, the Blue Devils returning to the poll for the first time since Week 5. Dara Olonade posted 18 points and 8 rebounds in the win over Norcross. No. 6 South Forsyth inches up a spot after continuing to make hay in Region 6, knocking out Gainesville (16-7) 67-51 as Devin McGlockton recorded 19 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks and getting revenge against Denmark 58-42. Creeping back into the rankings for the first time since Week 1 is No. 10 Etowah. The young Eagles have gotten better and better, winning seven-straight games highlighted by a 66-52 win at No. 8 Cherokee last week. The Eagles beat Towne Lake rival Woodstock 53-44 in their lone game this week.

Class 6A has broken open with plenty of moving parts. No. 1 Wheeler beat Allatoona 72-56 and now visits No. 2 Kell on Friday who they beat 74-73 in overtime in their first meeting. No. 3 Evans all but secured the one-seed in Region 3, beating Grovetown 58-50 behind Rashad King’s 18 points and Jay Stephens’ 13. No. 4 Shiloh made amends for a prior 48-46 loss by grinding out No. 9 Lanier 64-57 in overtime. Devon Barnes had 16 points and 5 assists. Trevon Payton tallied 14 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Nazir Griffin posted 14 points and 4 assists while Donterius Williams pitched in 10 points and 5 rebounds. No. 5 Douglas County jumps four spots with wins over Carrollton 66-53 and Alexander 72-50. Omari Fonteno had 26 points and 5 assists against the Trojans while Lander-commit Omarion Smith hung 17 points, 20 rebounds and 7 blocks. No. 7 Chattahoochee sinks four spots. The defending state champs struggled again against River Ridge before pulling out a 69-66 victory, but were drilled at Sequoyah 81-64. No. 8 Westlake captured the Region 4 title by beating Tucker 71-64 and Langston Hughes 70-64. It was a disaster ending to the week for Richmond Hill (17-2) who tumbles all the way out of the poll after sitting at No. 6 a week ago. The Wildcats had momentum after a 64-44 win over Brunswick but couldn’t throw it in the ocean in an ugly 40-38 loss to Glynn Academy. They are replaced by current Region 2 frontrunner No. 10 Statesboro. The Blue Devils finally break into the Top 10 and are winners of nine-straight. They sit at 10-1 in region play and hold a 54-49 win over Richmond Hill which came last week but while the Wildcats were without star guard Jaeden Marshall. This week the Blue Devils beat Glynn Academy 64-41 and edged Northside-Warner Robins 78-71. Statesboro has used a balanced scoring attack all season. Joe Kilcup netted 17 in the win over Glynn Academy while Tim Taylor (16) and Albert Mikell (13) did the damage against Northside-Warner Robins.

No. 1 Tri-Cities is atop the class in 5A. The Bulldogs tore up Forest Park (8-5) 97-52 sending the Panthers spiraling to their fourth straight loss, dropping them from the Top 10. Vanderbilt-signee Peyton Daniels ate up Forest Park’s youth, posting 27 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks while Davon and Simeon Cottle scored 12 apiece. No. 4 St. Pius X slips a spot after heading to overtime against Southwest DeKalb but pulling out a 48-47 win as Rollins College-signee Brookes Kahlert scored 14 points. Things don’t get any easier as they travel to No. 5 Lithonia on Tuesday, who they beat 59-52 in their first meeting. DeKalb County leading scorer Raheem Swain finally returned to action and poured in 30 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in the Bulldogs’ 68-58 win over ML King. No. 3 Veterans breaks into the Top 3 and are the lone unbeaten left in the classification. The Warhawks beat Northside-Warner Robins 68-49 as DeAngelo Hines (17), TJ Grant (16), Aaron Jones (15) and Tajh Williams (10) balanced the scoring. Veterans finished the week with a punishing 81-42 rout of Peach County. Hines scored 19 points while Grant collected 16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 steals and 1 block. No. 6 Woodward Academy hosts No. 7 Jonesboro on Monday, the Cardinals holding a 63-53 win over the War Eagles. Replacing Forest Park is No. 10 Cass, who continues to yo-yo in and out of the poll. The Colonels got 24 points from Zaylan Chaney in a 62-60 win over Hiram before extracting revenge against Calhoun 74-59.

Class 4A is heating up down the stretch. No. 2 Spencer is getting reinforcements as All-State guard and Ball State-signee Jaylin Sellers has returned to Columbus after moving to Alabama in the offseason and has been granted eligibility. He immediately becomes one of the best players in the entire state and provides the Greenwave with a dynamic three-level scorer. No. 3 Miller Grove is up a spot following wins over No. 6 Stephenson (42-41) and Mays (50-48). The Jaguars bounced back with a 49-42 win against Arabia Mountain to only drop one spot. No. 4 Monroe is also down a position following a 59-49 loss to Dougherty but are buoyed by Top 10 wins over Bainbridge (13-7) 56-52 and No. 7 Westover 53-51, both coming on the road. Domonik Henderson scored 21 and 20 points, respectively. Bainbridge is out of the poll after also losing to Dougherty 54-53 in overtime. Surging at the right time, just as we expected is No. 5 Fayette County who won the Region 5 Championship by avenging an earlier loss to No. 9 Luella 70-65, Kaleb Banks pumping in 28 points and 7 rebounds while Cardell Bailey added 18 points and 14 rebounds. Replacing Bainbridge in the Top 10 is No. 10 Cedar Shoals. The Jaguars got 24 points including the game-winner from Kashik Brown in their 60-59 win at Warner Robins.

Region 3-3A canceled the rest of their regular season, but luckily the Savannah area will at least have a region tournament…for now. COVID restrictions aren’t an issue elsewhere in the state. No. 1 Sandy Creek blasted Carver-Atlanta (11-6) 78-54 to drop the Panthers from the Top 10. Carver-Atlanta also lost 73-60 at GAC. Hephzibah (10-4) is out following losses to Thomson 80-68 and No. 6 Cross Creek 77-57, Miles College-commit Corey Trotter scoring 24 in the win. DeCameron Porter dumped in 31 points in No. 7 LaFayette’s 62-42 win over Coahulla Creek. Resurfacing in the Top 10 is No. 9 Monroe Area. The Hurricanes earned three wins this week highlighted by a 74-65 Senior Night victory against East Jackson as Zavius Williams scored 19 points and Derrick Brown had 17 while Damareon Whitner double-doubled with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Getting their first crack at the rankings is No. 10 Americus-Sumter. The Panthers have rolled off six wins in a row and are led by seniors Darion Mitchell, Keldrick Flemming and Jordan Wiley.

There is significant movement in Class 2A. No. 1 Pace Academy received 20 points and 5 assists from Josh Reed while Florida State-signee Matthew Cleveland piled on 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Knights defeated No. 6 Lovett 66-50, Georgetown-signee Ryan Mutombo finishing with 20 points in the loss. No. 7 Washington County plummets four spots after dropping their rematch with No. 10 Laney 59-58 in overtime, the Wildcats appearing in the poll for the first time since Week 4 after handing the Golden Hawks their first loss of the season. Laney has a key rematch with 14-4 Butler on Tuesday. The Bulldogs are currently in first-place in Region 4 at 11-1 with their lone loss coming at Laney 67-58 on January 15. No. 3 Columbia took care of Griffin 53-38 as Rashad Headges had 15 points and 4 rebounds while Kawasiki Ricks tallied 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Julius Lymon double-doubled with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Climbing three spots is No. 4 Chattooga, who continues to own Northwest Georgia. The Indians broke 18-5 Model’s heart again, this time outscoring the Blue Devils 16-4 over the final 5:16 as Model squandered a nine-point lead and lost 51-48 at home. 6-foot-7 Cash Allen scored 18 points to lead the Tribe while Jaylon Johnson tacked on 14 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Woodville-Tompkins (11-5) departs from the rankings after suffering their fourth consecutive loss, this time 52-47 at Jeff Davis.

In Class A-Private, No. 1 Providence Christian won on Senior Night against Fellowship Christian 57-51, Chance Thacker going for 28 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists while drilling 6 threes. No. 2 Galloway won a defensive struggle with No. 10 Holy Innocents’ 46-38, Anthony Arrington recording 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 steals. No. 3 St. Anne-Pacelli won their showdown at No. 5 Trinity Christian 51-48 to drop the Lions two spots. Auburn football-signee Ian Mathews had 18 points followed by Pierre Summers (14) and Travis Harper II (12). Sami Pissis netted 20 points and Isaac Brito had 18 in the loss. The two meet again this time in Columbus on Tuesday. Jordan Jones made a statement in No. 8 First Presbyterian Day’s 100-53 throttling of Strong Rock. Jones, who averaged over 25 points per game last year, has seen his scoring drop this season with the addition of Julius King Jr., but the prolific scorer showed he can still put the ball in the basket at an elite level as he set the FPD scoring record by pouring in 60 points on 13 three-pointers. Jones is one of the best scorers in the state that no one knows about and is still available as an unsigned senior.

The bottom of Class A-Public sees some changes. Near the top however, it’s been status quo. No. 3 Irwin County is up to 12-straight wins after beating No. 8 Lanier County 79-66. No. 4 Towns County survived Commerce 80-78 while No. 5 Bowdon did the same against Fulton Leadership Academy 69-68 as they were down to seven varsity players with five out for the game. The cavalry returned however to finish the week as leading scorer Authur Johnson netted 26 points in the Red Devils’ 85-42 win at Gordon Lee after missing time with a hairline fracture in his knee. No. 6 Hancock Central righted the ship with a 66-46 rematch victory against Wilkinson County and a tough 59-56 win in Roberta at Crawford County. No. 7 Chattahoochee County saw Dexter Holloman hit a buzzer-beater and finish with 18 points to stun Manchester (7-3) 51-50 and send the Blue Devils out of the Top 10. Manchester also lost 58-57 to Greenville as they watch Region 5 slip from their grasp. Warren County (7-3) is out due to inactivity. After dropping out in Week 5, No. 9 Social Circle has clawed their way back into the Top 10 with eight-straight wins. They swept Lincoln County 59-43 and 61-53 with a revenge 82-45 blowout of Washington-Wilkes sandwiched in-between, KJ Reid erupting for 31 points and Tyrhell Branch and Amarion Russell scoring 17 apiece. During their winning streak the Redskins knotted the season series up with No. 4 Towns County with a 74-64 win. Debuting is No. 10 Portal. The young Panthers passed the eye test and handed Claxton their first loss of the season, 55-50. The freshmen trio of Elijah Coleman, Amir Jackson and Joseph Thomas have a chance to contend for a state title come senior season. Coleman scored 12 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter to power Portal while 6-foot-7 Fred Spells collected 8 points, 7 rebounds and 9 blocks before fouling out.