Archive for the ‘4ABlog’ Category

For South Atlanta, finishing first in 6-AAAA Division B has what would seem an obvious benefit: Avoiding a potential matchup with No. 1-ranked Columbia until the region final. But then the realization hits that No. 2 Marist is on the Hornets’ side of the bracket.

“It seems like we always wind up in these regions. This, I feel, is the strongest region in AAAA. Grady, Columbia, Marist and ourselves all are teams that if they play right on any night could beat anybody in the state,” said South Atlanta coach Michael Reddick. “So, avoiding someone? No. Marist beat us here, so, in this region we know we’re going to have to play every night.”

Still perfect: The last unbeaten in AAAA is the Cross Creek girls, who have played two games decided by less than 10 points all year. The Lady Razorbacks beat Hephzibah Friday to finish the regular season 24-0.

Still muddled in 5-AAAA: The Alexander boys secured the top seed for the 5-AAAA tournament by beating Fayette County Friday …

Continue reading AAAA basketball: No easy night in region 6 »

There figure to be fireworks in final week of the basketball regular season, particularly in Region 5-AAAA, where three boys teams are within a game of each other in the region standings.

First-place Shaw is 16-6 overall and 10-2 in region play, but the top seed is anything but assured. The Raiders have to visit third-place Fayette County (12-8, 8-3) tonight.

While Shaw has won 10 of 11, Fayette still has a chance to grab the top spot heading into next week’s region tournament, with games against both Shaw and second-place Alexander this week.

“We’re playing pretty well,” said Fayette coach Andre Flynn, who has a pair of 17-point scorers in C.J. Johnson and Dante Sterling. “It was a brand-new team. We only had one returning starter and just one senior that plays a lot. We’re scrapping and clawing. It’s a challenge, but I’m pleased with my team.”

Home-court wrap-up: The Eagle’s Landing boys close out their home schedule tonight against Woodland-Stockbridge in the final …

Continue reading Watch for fireworks in 5-AAAA »

The Stockbridge-Eagle’s Landing game at Eagle’s Landing Friday night took an ugly turn with Eagle’s Landing leading 65-33 in the final minute of the third quarter. There was a tied ball and a verbal exchange between the players involved developed into conflict that included players leaving the bench and coming onto the floor.

“It got physical and everybody just lost their minds,” Eagle’s Landing coach Clay Crump said.

Officials assessed technical fouls and a player from Stockbridge were ejected.

Stockbridge coach Rodney Latham initially said the game officials told him all but three players on his team were ejected. The Tigers had 15 players dressed for the game, he said. None of Eagle’s Landing’s players were ejected, and Latham opted to pull his team off the court and forfeit the game.

“The situation reminded me of the brawl with the Indiana Pacers, except no one went into the stands,” Latham said, referring to the 2004 brawl between the Pacers and the Detroit …

Continue reading Tensions high in Eagle’s Landing-Stockbridge game (updated) »

The Jonesboro boys haven’t put up eye-popping numbers. The Cardinals, who are 18-4 overall, have exceeded 70 points in just four of their 22 games, and just one Jonesboro player, Patrick Petty, averages in double-figure scoring.

Two of the Cardinals’ losses were in overtime and the other two were by a combined 12 points.

What they do well is play defense, spread the wealth of points and share the spotlight.

They’ve held 13 opponents to less than 50 points and only three foes have managed 70, thanks in part to post player Chkedubem Okeke, who averages 3.3 blocks and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Petty has a season high of 26 points (that was against Upson-Lee) and he has scored 20 points two other times, which may not seem like much, but with Jonesboro’s measured tempo, one player with 20 can be a big advantage.

Two other Cardinals have topped 20, and another pair of players on the team appears capable of a 20-point night.

Deantre Mack, who averages 7 points per game, has scored 20 …

Continue reading Class AAAA: Jonesboro boys share points, spotlight »

The Gilmer boys have the pretty overall record, but the Region 7-AAAA Division A race could get ugly down the stretch. The Bobcats (18-3, 3-1 in sub-region play), have games left against eveyrone in the sub-region. Their one sub-region loss was against Cass, whom they play Feb. 7. Before that, though, they face River Ridge (whom they beat 59-54 in the first meeting, and with whom the Bobcats are tied for first place in the sub-region) and Pickens (against whom the Bobcats also won 59-54 in the first meeting).

Two games separate the top four teams in the sub-region standings, though River Ridge, Cass and Pickens will all finish the regular season with losing records.

Top seed in sight: Mary Persons girls (16-2, 9-1) can clinch the top spot in 2-AAAA with wins this week over Howard and Baldwin, and as a bonus they can avenge one of their two losses by beating Howard, which took a 48-47 win over the Lady Bulldogs back on Dec. 14. They’ve also squared their other loss with a …

Continue reading Class AAAA: Tense race among 7A-AAAA boys »

The Columbia boys’ loss to South Atlanta Friday night was the Eagles’ first regular-season region loss since 2005, according to records on prepcountry.com, and it ended the Eagles’ 16-game winning streak.

Emotional night: Carrollton senior Riley Criswell, who suffered a major knee injury during a tournament game on Dec. 27 in Florida, went to Friday night’s game against Columbus in a wheelchair, according to the Carrollton Times-Georgian, serving as inspiration for the Trojans in their 66-51 win. Carrollton, which lost four of its first five games after Criswell’s injury, has now won three straight.

And then there were two: Class AAAA is down to two unbeaten teams, both on the girls side. While Cross Creek and South Effingham each improved to 20-0 this week, the Glenn Hills boys suffered their first loss at the hands of Augusta rival Butler.

Moving up in Region 1: The Dougherty girls’ dramatic win over Monroe Friday night – a last-second layup by Monroe’s Key Key Price was …

Continue reading AAAA blog: Columbia boys’ win streak ends »

The Class AAAA rankings continue to be Columbia’s world, with both the Eagles and the Lady Eagles nested at the top. And little has changed in the boys and girls rankings in recent weeks.

Still, there are a handful of unranked teams that could make some noise come tournament time. As a nod to the commenter who brought up Johnson-Gainesville earlier this week, here’s a look at possible tournament sleepers:

Girls

Mary Persons: The Lady Bulldogs are 13-3 and beat Perry Tuesday night and are tied atop the 2-AAAA standings. Two of their three losses are by two points or less, though an ugly 48-27 loss to Westside-Macon is cause to wonder if they can stay with the state’s elite.

Region 5: Fayette County, Carrollton and Sandy Creek are all ranked from this region. LaGrange and Columbus could be too. One player could make a huge difference in a tournament scenario, and Columbus’ Alexia Manning (18.6 ppg) is a difference maker.

Dalton: The Lady Catamounts lost to Heritage Tuesday night …

Continue reading Class AAAA blog: Potential tournament sleepers »

Observations on three of the best teams in Class AAAA (two girls teams, one boys team):

Chantay Frost’s voice is a normal voice.

Which is odd, since she’s a basketball coach, and her team – the Colubmia girls – is well over halfway through its season.

By now, many coaches sound like Froggy from the Little Rascals, the price paid for trying to outyell gyms full of people and guide the actions of teen-agers.

Not Frost. Her team is 14-2, so calm would seem to be the normal state of affairs.

“You learn that over time, you put in the screaming and the effort and all that during practice,” Frost said. “Push comes to shove, we sub you and we talk with you about correcting what you did wrong, then we get you back in there.”

The Lady Eagles, gunning for their third state title in four years, seem to be learning without all the raised voices, and though they lost five seniors from last year’s team, they had Miah Spencer and Shaundricka Mann back, and a lot of players who saw …

Continue reading AAAA blog: Three teams, three stories »

The Woodland girls won their 19th straight Friday night, winning 52-42 at Dutchdown, and the streak has been keyed with defense. Prior to Friday, the Lady Wolves (20-1) had held 10 their previous 11 opponents under 40 points, and they’ve only allowed 50 points in four of 21 games.

Still unbeaten: South Effingham survived a late challenge from visiting Statesboro Friday night to remain unbeaten at 18-0. Tianna Germain scored 31 points, her fourth 30-point game of the season. South Effingham is one of two unbeaten teams in AAAA – the other is Augusta’s Cross Creek.

Recovering nicely: The Dalton girls lost three straight in December but have won eight in a row since, including Friday’s win over Southeast Whitfield to take over sole possession of first place in 7-AAAA Division B.

Friday night comeback: The Rutland boys kept pace with Westside-Macon atop the 2-AAAA standings Friday, and they did it the hard way. Rutland trailed by 19 against Veterans to start the fourth quarter …

Continue reading Class AAAA: Woodland, S. Effingham girls continue streaks »

The Fayette County boys have been a mainstay in the state tournament for years – they’ve won at least 20 games in each of the last six seasons and have a couple of final four appearances in that time – so the fact that they’re leading Region 5-AAAA serves as little surprise.

Still, thanks to a stiff early schedule, they got off to a rocky start, going 2-4 in their first six games including a humiliating 67-26 loss to Miller Grove back on Nov. 19.

The Tigers have solved the woes that plagued them early in the season, having now won six in a row , keyed by the scoring of C.J. Johnson (14.3 ppg) and Dante’ Sterling (14.3 ppg). Friday, they face Shaw with first place on the line in 5-AAAA.

The Fayette girls are following a remarkably similar script. The Lady Tigers, now 8-4 overall and 4-0 in region play, started off 1-4 and have won seven straight.

Meanwhile, a little west of Fayetteville, Sandy Creek’s girls are also rolling. The Lady Patriots’ 48-41 win at Lagrange Tuesday …

Continue reading AAAA blog: Fayette County rolling after rough start »

To say that the Cross Creek girls’ hot start is unprecedented isn’t completely accurate. The Lady Razorbacks, who are 16-0 entering Tuesday’s Region 3-AAAA game against Butler, sprinted to a 10-0 start last year and finished 21-8, playing a lot of close games along the way.

So far this season, they’re putting teams away.

“They really have a refuse-to-lose attitude,” said coach Kim Schlein, who worked as an assistant at Hephzibah before taking over the Cross Creek program. “They’re putting everything on the line ever game.”

Leading the way are Ashleigh Outler (15.4 points per game, 9.2 rebounds) and Breanna Bryant (14.8 ppg).

Schlein knew the team would be good, what with the bulk of last year’s club returning. They tasted some success, though they stumbled at the end, dropping five of their last six games, including three in overtime.

Still, she didn’t see a 16-0 start coming.

They set the tone in the season opener, beating Alcovy (which won 27 games a year ago) in …

Continue reading Class AAAA blog: “Speed and guts” driving Cross Creek girls »

The Wayne County boys team on Friday played their first game without Shaquille Morgan, who was killed on Jan. 5, when he was struck by a train in Jesup.

According to the Jesup Press-Sentinel, the Yellow Jackets dedicated their season to Morgan. His death prompted the postponement of a scheduled game at Coffee on Jan. 5 and and Tuesday’s game against at Jeff Davis. Friday, a day after Morgan’s burial, they draped his jersey over a chair on the team bench for Friday’s game at Statesboro, which handed Wayne its first loss, 53-44.

Before playing Columbia Friday, the Redan girls were 11-0 and had won by an average of 27 points, but Columbia sprinted away in the second half for a 65-33 win and in the process solidified their status as the favorite in Class AAAA.

Game deferred:The LaGrange-Columbus games scheduled for Jan. 8 were rescheduled for Feb. 9 because work was being done on the floor at the Columbus gym, according to the LaGrange Daily News. The games couldn’t be played at …

Continue reading Wayne County ends difficult week with loss »

The 2-AAAA girls race is shaping up to be a free-for all, with the top five teams all within a game of each other in the standings.

West Laurens (12-2, 4-1) has won nine straight and is led by junior Tyeshia Smith (17.8 ppg). The Lady Raiders are tied atop the region standings with Howard (9-2, 4-1), while Mary Persons and Baldwin are each 3-1 in region play.

The Woodland girls completed their non-region slate with a 59-55 win over Class AAAAAA Luella on Saturday, the Wolfpack’s 16th straight win. They had held their previous eight opponents under 40 points.

Meanwhile in Region 3-AAAA, there are two undefeated girls teams – South Effingham and Cross Creek, who are each 14-0 – but they’re in opposite sides of a sub-divided region and aren’t scheduled to play in the regular season, so they won’t play each other until the region tournament.

The LaGrange girls are 11-1 overall and unbeaten against Georgia teams, and they’ve played just one game that ended closer than 10 …

Continue reading Class AAAA: Five teams duking it out in 2-AAAA girls race »

There are some undefeated boys teams in the Class AAAA, but the most interesting battles might be those shaping up in Region 6-AAAA, where Columbia is 12-1 and South Atlanta is 11-1 heading into the meat of their region schedules.

OK, so there’s a month left in the regular season, and in Class AAAA boys, it’s hard not to ask: Can anyone take down Columbia? (Yeah, it’d be fair to question why I’m bringing this up now. I got nothing on that).

Anyway, The Eagles are 12-1, their only loss by two points to North Gwinnett, and tonight they get an interesting measuring stick against Lithonia. The Bulldogs are 7-4, but they handed South Atlanta its only loss.

So after Columbia plays Lithonia, half-legitimate comparisons can be made.

Any thoughts this was a year of transition for Columbia – with key players having graduated and a new coach in Kerry Sandifer – can be wiped away. The Eagles, having won five state championships in the past seven years, would have to be considered the …

Continue reading Class AAAA: Lithonia an interesting test for Columbia boys »

Eagle’s Landing’s Region 4-AAAA cross-over game today at Jonesboro may be the top regular-season game in the classification. The Golden Eagles (10-5) and Cardinals (10-3) each features Division I talent all over the floor and winning pedigrees. Both made the boys state semifinals in each of the past two years – Eagle’s Landing in AAA and Jonesboro in AAAA – and this one figures to carry a state tournament-type atmosphere.

Germain at her best in close games: It appears the only thing holding down Tianna Germain’s scoring numbers is the fact that her South Effingham team routinely wins by blowout.

Germain leads the undefeated Lady Mustangs in scoring at 23.5 points per game, but only three of the team’s 13 wins have been by margins of less than 10 points. Friday, though, South Effingham found itself in a 71-64 win against Wayne County, and Germain stepped into the spotlight, scoring 30 points to go with 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. It was her third 30-point game of …

Continue reading It’s a southside battle royale between Eagle’s Landing, Jonesboro »