Archive for the ‘3ABlog’ Category

Those planning to attend the Region 6-AAA basketball tournament at Decatur High School on Thursday should prepare for some delays because of a visit from President Obama.

Obama will visit the College Heights Learning Center in Decatur and the area is expected to locked down by security until at least 4 p.m.

The visit coincides with the first semifinal girls basketball game (Decatur vs. Woodward Academy at 4 p.m.) at Decatur High and could produce a traffic nightmare for those planning to attend.

The President had asked to use the theater facility at Decatur High, but was unable to do so because of the basketball tournament. The administration policy is to avoid disrupting any existing event already on the schedule.

Continue reading Obama visit may impact Region 6-AAA tournament »

Sophomore Quindarious “Tookie” Brown of Morgan County and Brooke Hubbard of North Oconee were named the Region 8-AAA Players of the Year.

Morgan County enters the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in Region 8-AAA. Also representing the Bulldogs on the all-region boys team was junior C.J. Thurman. Seniors Josh Sallette and Mike Williams were both named honorable mention.

Others voted on the first team unit were: junior Marc Moon, senior Ben Routh and junior Jay Jay Moon of Elbert County; seniors Tomonia McGlocking and Red Montgomery of Franklin County; senior Trae Gaines of Hart County; senior Nick Colvin of North Oconee; senior Connor White of Oconee County; and junior Casey Reed of East Jackson.

The North Oconee girls are also seeded No. 1. Ginny Channell and Hannah Durden were also named to the all-region team.

Also named to the all-region team were: Cyairra Hill and Bri Moon of Elbert County, Morgan Meglio of Oconee County; Laurequia Langston of Hart County; Victoria Fontana …

Continue reading Morgan’s Brown, North’s Hubbard named Region 8 Players of Year »

North Hall evened a lot of scores on Friday night when it beat Buford.

The No. 7 Trojans beat the No. 2 Wolves 68-63 in Buford on Friday night. It avenged a 52-45 loss to the Wolves on Jan. 15. It stopped a 14-game losing streak against the Wolves. It also pulled North Hall into a tie for first place in Region 7-AAA, necessitating a coin flip to determine the No. 1 seed for the tournament. North Hall won that, too.

The coin flip had little meaning. The top two seeds (Buford and North Hall) were already scheduled to host a first-round game and North Hall had already been chosen to host the region semifinals and finals.

Not all the news was great for North Hall (23-2), which won for the ninth straight time. Guard Ebo Smith, who scored 21 points, fell and hit his head in the fourth quarter; he did not return to the game.

North Hall was amazing at the line. They shot 34 free throws and made 28 of them. Griffin Olson, who scored 15, and Adam Kelly, who scored 13, each made seven …

Continue reading North Hall boys shake things up »

No one has touched the Buford boys since the holidays, but the No. 2-ranked Wolves aren’t in the clear just yet in Region 7-AAA.

Coach Allen Whitehart’s team faces a big challenge tonight in Buford against No. 7 North Hall. Buford (18-5) has won 14 straight since losing in the second round of a tournament and is undefeated in the league. One of those wins was a 52-45 victory over North Hall on Jan. 15.

North Hall (22-2) has won eight straight since its loss to Buford. The Trojans other setback came against Lakeview Academy on Dec. 4.

The game features two outstanding guards: Buford’s A.J. Davis and North Hall’s Ebo Smith.

Here’s a look at the boys races in other regions going into the final weekend:

Region 1: Looks like the regular season will end up with No. 3 Johnson and No 4 Savannah sharing the title. The two powers have lost only one region game – that to each other. They will be a handful for anyone in the playoffs.

Region 2: Henry County and Central Macon …

Continue reading Showdown in Region 7 highlights final weekend »

The regular-season girls title for Region 8-AAA will be determined tonight in Elberton, when No. 8 Elbert County hosts No. 4 North Oconee.

North Oconee (21-2) has won 11 straight games since losing to Creekview in the final of the Deep South Classic at Brookwood. That stretch includes a 61-47 win over Elbert County on Jan. 15 in Watkinsville.

That loss was the only one for Elbert County since Christmas. The Blue Devils (18-4) have won 11 of 12 games, including a tournament in South Carolina. Elbert is led by power forward Cyiarra Hill and shooting guard Bri Moon, a pair of seniors.

Here’s a look at how the other region’s girls teams stack up going into the last week of the season.

Region 1: No. 6-ranked Beach has been the best team all season. The Bulldogs (20-3) already have two wins over the two closest contenders – Tattnall County and Savannah. Tattnall County and Savannah have been battling for the No. 2 spot, with those two splitting a pair of games during the …

Continue reading Which region girls titles are on the line? »

The Buford boys and girls proved the results of their first meeting was no fluke with each scoring a double-digit win over Region 7-AAA rival Dawson County.

The No. 1 Buford girls overcame an early 10-3 deficit to post a 75-40 win over No. 8 Dawson County. The No. 4 Buford boys dominated early and rolled to a 52-38 victory over No. 10 Dawson. Buford’s boys won the first meeting by 17 and the girls won the previous meeting by 14.

The Buford boys (17-5, 11-0) didn’t seem to miss starter Brad Mapes, who missed the game after hitting the ground hard on Tuesday night. A.J. Davis, the Tennessee commitment, scored 16 to lead the Wolves, who clinched a share of the region championship. The title may be determined next Friday when Buford hosts North Hall. Dawson County (20-3, 9-3) failed to have anyone score in double figures.

The Buford girls (17-4, 11-0) got behind 10-3 in the first quarter, but wound up winning by 35. The Wolves were led by Mackenzie Darrah with 18 points and …

Continue reading Another big win for Buford boys, girls »

In a classification loaded with good teams, the Cartersville boys are the only ones to remain undefeated during the regular season.

Coach Mike Tobin’s team is 21-0 overall and 11-0 in Region 5 going into tonight’s game against Gordon Central, the Canes last home game during the regular season.

Tobin moved over from Woodland, where he was 26-3 last year, to take the Cartersville post this season. He brought along his son, Corey, and his defensive coordinator, Ed Riddle. Both have proved to be quite valuable.

Corey Tobin is a 6-5 junior shooting guard who averages 15.2 points and nearly five rebounds and five assists. Tobin is an excellent shooter; he’s hitting 39 percent of his 3-pointers and 82 percent from the line.

Riddle is the former head coach at Cass High who joined Tobin’s staff last year. Riddle, who won a state championship as an assistant at Marietta under the legendary Charlie Hood, is in charge of a defense that has allowed only three opponents to score …

Continue reading Cartersville boys only AAA undefeated team »

They’ve played twice and settled nothing. But Johnson and Savannah can both make a claim that it’s the best team in Class AAA.

In the second meeting of the season, Johnson prevailed 54-48 before 4,000 fans at the Savannah State University gym. That means the two squads are tied with one loss in Region 1. Should they finish that way, as expected, a coin flip would be used to determine first place and the site of the region tournament.

Johnson won this time thanks to the play of Tim Quarterman, who scored the game’s first points on an emphatic dunk and wound up with 23 points. Quarterman, who will play next season at LSU, missed the first meeting because of a suspension.

But the Atom Smashers (13-5) were not at full strength in this one, either. Saadiq Muhammad, considered Johnson’s second-best team, missed the game because of a suspension he was required to serve after being ejected from a game.

Savannah (15-3) was at full strength, as three players who had missed a …

Continue reading Johnson wins Round 2 vs. Savannah »

The No. 2 Washington County girls continued to roll, beating Jefferson County 87-31 on Friday. The Golden Hawks have now won 18 straight games and improved to 19-1 overall and 5-0 in Region 3.

Shon Kitchens continued her great season with a double-double: 27 points and 10 rebounds. Tierra Murray added 20 for the Hawks, who jumped out to a 27-7 first-quarter lead and never allowed Jefferson County to get started.

During the win streak Washington County has won its games by an average of 21 points. The streak includes a pair of one-point victories over Thomson and Northside Warner Robins.

Buford girls ready for big test

The No. 1 ranked Buford girls will get a true look at where they stand today when they host Class AA No. 1 Wesleyan.

The two powers have dominated basketball in their respective divisions. Buford won three state titles from 2009-2011 and lost in the final to Lovett in 2012. Wesleyan has won five straight titles and nine of the last 11 years.

Wesleyan beat Buford …

Continue reading It’s 18 straight for Washington County girls »

The North Oconee girls have completed the first lap around the Region 8-AAA schedule and emerged without a loss in the league. The No. 7-ranked Titans take a 16-2 record going into tonight’s game against Morgan County in Watkinsville.

“We are playing well,” said North Oconee coach Donnie Byrom. “We have the heart of the schedule to go.”

North Oconee continues to get outstanding play from Ginny Channell and Brooke Hubbard. Both showed up large in a win over No. 10-ranked Elbert County, as Channell had a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Hubbard had 21 against Elbert and 29 against Madison County. Channel is shooting 53 percent and Hubbard is shooting 52 percent from the floor and Hubbard is making 79 percent from the line.

An unsung hero has been point guard Hannah Harden, who had 12 points and 10 assists against East Jackson and nearly posted a triple-double against Elbert County and Oconee County.

Morgan boys unbeaten since holidays

The No. 2-ranked …

Continue reading North Oconee girls lap the field »

One of this season’s success stories has been the ascension of the Sonoraville girls to the top of Region 5 standings.

“It’s really hard to know what to expect going into a season,” said Sonoraville coach Stephanie Caudell. “I knew we had a really good group of kids and great team chemistry, but they have really surpassed my expectations.”

No. 5-ranked Sonoraville was 21-7 last year, but did not reach the state playoffs. This year the Phoenix is 18-1 and riding a nine-game winning streak going into tonight’s game against Cartersville. The Purple Hurricanes are in second place and will be trying to avenge a 54-39 loss to Sonoraville from Dec. 11.

“I attribute our success to a lot of hard work, great team leaders and the willingness of our players to buy into what we’re trying to accomplish,” Caudell said.

The team’s top two players have been Carrie Cheeks, a 6-foor-2 junior post who averages 15.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks, and Payton Smith, a 5-7 …

Continue reading Is Sonoraville ready to soar with elite? »

The opposition is having a tough time keeping things close against Cartersville.

The No. 1 Cartersville boys made it 19 straight without a loss on Friday with a 66-49 win over Ringgold. The 17-point win matched the closest margin of victory the Purple Hurricanes have had since Dec. 28.

Each of their eight wins in Region 5 have come by at least 17 points. Cartersville’s average margin of victory in its subregion games is 31 points. Coach Mike Tobin’s team tries again against Sonoraville on Tuesday.

Waco boys respond to loss

The No. 7 Washington County boys bounced back from Tuesday loss to Thomson with a 71-60 win over Dodge County. A.J. Gray scored 18 to lead the Golden Hawks (12-4) and McKel Miller scored 17 points, which included three 3-pointers, and Damian Sanders scored 12.

The No. 2 Washington County girls improved to 16-1 with a 50-33 victory over Dodge County, which improved the Golden Hawks to 4-0 in Region 3-AAA. Shon Kitchens made three 3-pointers and scored 16 …

Continue reading Can anyone stop Cartersville? »

Now that the Buford boys and girls have established themselves as the dominant teams in Region 7, they’ll try their luck outside the league.

The Buford boys take the weekend off from Region 7-AAA competition and travel to Dayton, Ohio, for the Good Samaritan Flyin’ to the Hoop Tournament. The Buford girls will stay closer to home and compete in the Girls Night Out Showcase on Saturday at Starr’s Mill.

The Buford boys have won seven straight games, all of them in the league, since the holiday break. Two weeks ago they trounced then-No. 1 Dawson County 53-36 and on Tuesday Buford turned back No. 6 North Hall 52-45.

Buford has not shied away from difficult competition all year. The No. 4-ranked Wolves played a non-region schedule loaded with upper division teams. They lost to some (Westlake, Eagle’s Landing, Tift County), but beat Class AAAAAA North Cobb.

This trip to Ohio includes a Saturday morning game against Xenia and a Monday morning game against Kettering …

Continue reading Buford takes it out of state »

It’s scary to think how good the Washington County girls would be if they hadn’t lost their all-state player to a preseason knee injury.

Playing without North Carolina commitment Alisha Gray, the Golden Hawks are 14-1 after Friday’s 64-40 thrashing of Swainsboro. They play at Thomson on Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

Washington County has an explosive offense leader in Shon Kitchens. Kitchens is an excellent shooter; she knocked down four 3-pointers against Swainsboro and scored 28 points. Nia Johnson is another big scoring threat, too. Tierra Murray works hard on the boards; she had 10 rebounds against Swainsboro.

Washington County is ranked No. 2 behind Buford. The team’s only loss is against Baldwin; the Hawks have won 13 straight since then, including a revenge win over Baldwin. It isn’t inconceivable that Waco could enter the postseason with a 23-1 record and ranked No. 1.

St. Pius girls extend AAA win streak

It’s been a while since the No. 3 St. Pius girls have lost …

Continue reading How good are the Waco girls? »

It’s been an emotional week for the Dawson County boys. The high came when the Tigers learned they had been ranked No. 1 in the state. The low came Friday after they were beaten for the second straight game, this time 56-42 by North Hall.

The No-8 ranked Trojans improved to 14-1 and 6-0 in Region 7, which sets up a showdown with No. 6 Buford on Tuesday night in Gainesville. Buford handed Dawson County its first loss of the season on Jan. 8.

North Hall’s scoring leaders against Dawson were Ebo Smith and Adam Kelly, who each had 19 points. The Trojans limited Dawson standout Tyler Dominy to three points.

Dawson County (14-2, 4-2) was hurt by the absence of Will Anglin, an excellent outside shooter, who missed his second straight game. Cameron Chester led the Tigers with 11 points and 11 rebounds

The No. 7 Dawson girls bounced back from their loss to Buford with a 55-51 win over North Hall. Carly Gilreath scored 16 and Sheyenne Seabolt scored 14 for the Tigers (14-2). Katie …

Continue reading North Hall knocks off No. 1 »