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Here are some of the top stories involving Georgia’s Class AAAAA teams:

*Region tournaments begin: The first Class AAAAA region tournament got under way on Friday, with the Woodland-Cartersville girls escaping with a 34-32 victory over North Paulding in 5-AAAAA. Woodland advances to Saturday’s 6 p.m. game against New Manchester, with the winner advancing to a quarterfinal matchup with subregion A champion Paulding County. Here’s the schedule of the region’s games on Saturday:

Boys (At Rome)

East Paulding vs. South Paulding, 6 p.m.

Villa Rica vs. Rome, 7:30 p.m.

Girls (At East Paulding)

Woodland-Cartersville vs. New Manchester, 6 p.m.

East Paulding vs. South Paulding, 7:30 p.m.

*Note: Scores and schedules from every region tournament in the state will be available on ajc.com beginning on Sunday.

*More on the way: Three more region tournaments begin on Saturday as 4-AAAAA, 6-AAAAA and 7-AAAAA have first-round games. Here’s the Saturday schedule for those …

Continue reading Woodland-Cartersville girls pick up first victory of region tournament season »

Region tournaments begin this weekend for four of the Class AAAAA regions, and all will be under way by this time next week. Here are five unranked girls teams that could make some noise in the postseason:

*Forest Park: The Panthers were ranked for three weeks in January until they were knocked out by a 65-33 loss to Southwest DeKalb. Still, Forest Park went undefeated in region play and will be a No. 1 seed in the 4-AAAAA tournament. The Panthers have played in five consecutive state tournaments and reached at least the quarterfinals in the past three. Forest Park (18-7) is No. 13 in Class AAAAA in the MaxPreps rankings and No. 11 in the computer Maxwell Ratings.

*Pope: Fifth-ranked Kell, No. 6 Creekview and No. 8 Osborne will be favored to take three of the four state playoff berths from Region 7-AAAAA, leaving at least one spot open for the taking. Pope figures to be in that mix, along with Sprayberry, Northview and Sequoyah. The Greyhounds have eight losses, but all came …

Continue reading Five unranked girls teams to watch in the postseason »

Here are some of the top stories involving Georgia’s Class AAAAA teams:

*Miller Grove defends its turf: Four players scored in double figures as the top-ranked Miller Grove boys team wrapped up the regular-season title in Region 6-AAAAA Division B with a 64-49 victory over No. 2 Mays on Friday. Earl Bryant scored 15 points to lead Miller Grove, which will be aiming for its fifth consecutive state championship. Alterique Gilbert scored 13 points, James Walker had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Kyre’ Hamer finished with 11 points. Miller Grove (21-3) has won 10 consecutive games since a 69-58 loss to Westchester of Los Angeles in the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in December.

*Tough night for top 10: Mays was just one of five ranked teams to lose on Friday. No. 5 Lithia Springs suffered its first Region 5-AAAAA loss of the season, falling 63-59 to Douglas County rival New Manchester. No. 7 Sequoyah fell to 18-5 overall and 11-2 in 7-AAAAA with a 63-62 loss to North Springs. …

Continue reading Miller Grove boys wrap up subregion’s top spot »

Here are some of the top Class AAAAA games to watch in the next-to-last full week of the regular season:

Boys

*Mays at Miller Grove (Friday): Last week, the No. 1 and No. 2 girls teams squared off in a Region 6-AAAAA game, with Tucker edging Stephenson 46-45. Now it’s the boys’ turn as top-ranked Miller Grove faces No. 2 Mays for the second time this season. Miller Grove won the first contest 68-58 on Dec. 11 and can clinch the subregion title with a victory. Miller Grove enters the week with an eight-game winning streak, while Mays has won six straight since an 80-78 loss to Lakeside-DeKalb on Jan. 8.

*Northside-Columbus at Bainbridge (Friday): The top two teams in Region 1-AAAAA will be meeting for the second time this season, with Northside looking to avenge a 68-59 loss to the Bearcats on Jan. 12. These teams have taken turns appearing in the state rankings over the past few weeks, and the winner of this game is a good bet to earn recognition in the updated rankings on …

Continue reading No. 1 Miller Grove, No. 2 Mays on collision course »

Here are some of the top stories involving Georgia’s Class AAAAA teams:

*Showcase: The top-ranked Miller Grove boys will be representing AAAAA at 2:30 p.m. Saturday when they face Memphis East at the Hilton Invitational at Norcross. East features forward Nick King, a McDonald’s All-American nominee and Memphis signee. Other games on the schedule include North Cobb vs. Carver (Ala.) at 1 p.m.; GAC vs. Olympic (N.C.) at 4; Eagle’s Landing vs. Flora MacDonald Academy (N.C.) at 5:30; Norcross vs. DeMatha (Md.) at 7; and Wheeler vs. Christ School (N.C.) at 8:30.

*Nominations: Jones County’s Jarquez Smith and Stephenson’s Kaliyah Mitchell were among the Georgia players announced recently as nominees for the McDonald’s All-American Games, to be played April 3 in Chicago. Smith, a 6-foot-9 power forward and center, averages 15.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.9 blocked shots for the Greyhounds. He has signed with Florida State. Mitchell, a 6-2 post, is among the top 10 DeKalb …

Continue reading Miller Grove boys to represent AAAAA at Hilton Invitational »

The Tucker girls team staked its claim to the No. 1 spot in Class AAAAA when the new girls basketball rankings are released on Sunday with a 46-45 victory over Stephenson on Tuesday.

Tori Robinson scored the game-winning layup with 1:08 to play. Erykah Davenport had 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Tigers, who are 17-3 overall and 11-0 in Region 6-AAAAA. Kaliyah Mitchell scored 14 points to lead Stephenson (18-3, 9-2), which missed four free throws in the final minute.

Tucker, ranked No. 2 this week, won both meetings against top-ranked Stephenson this season, beating the Jaguars 53-48 on Nov. 30 behind a 23-point, 10-rebound effort from Davenport. The Tigers also beat third-ranked Miller Grove 48-39 last weekend. Tucker was ranked No. 1 earlier this season before suffering consecutive losses to Miller Grove and Westlake in the Peach State Classic.

*Tight race: The No. 2-ranked Effingham County boys team (15-4, 8-1) suffered its first region loss and fell into a tie for …

Continue reading Tucker girls poised to reclaim No. 1 ranking »

First place in the subregion, the No. 1 ranking in Class AAAAA and the label of favorite for the state tournament will be at stake on Tuesday when the top-ranked Stephenson girls basketball team plays at No. 2 Tucker.

It will be the second meeting of the year between the DeKalb County powers. Tucker (16-3) won the first game 53-48 on Nov. 30 and comes into this matchup off a 48-39 victory over No. 3 Miller Grove on Friday. Stephenson (18-2) has lost just once since November, dropping a 74-70 decision to West Ashley, S.C., in a holiday tournament.

Tucker is 10-0 in Region 6-AAAAA and in first place in subregion A. Stephenson is 9-1 in the region.

Stephenson’s Kaliyah Mitchell, an all-state honorable mention player in the highest classification last season, is the second-leading scorer (19.6 points per game) and fourth-leading rebounder (10.1) in DeKalb, according to the most recent statistics released by the county. The senior surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career …

Continue reading Tucker, Stephenson girls to battle for No. 1 rankings »

Here’s a recap of some of the action on Friday involving Georgia’s Class AAAAA teams:

*DeKalb showdowns: The Miller Grove boys and Tucker girls came away with victories when the subregion leaders in 6-AAAAA met in a pair of battles between top 10 teams at Miller Grove. Kyre’ Hamer scored 30 points as the No. 1-ranked Miller Grove boys improved to 10-0 in the region with an 80-69 victory. Devonta Fitzgerald, a Texas A&M signee, had 27 points to lead No. 8 Tucker. In the girls game, Nuba Jackson scored 14 points to lead second-ranked Tucker to a 48-39 victory over No. 3 Miller Grove, which beat Tucker 37-32 in the Peach State Classic two weeks ago.

*Upset of the night: Aaron May made two free throws with 24 seconds remaining to lift the Lee County boys to a 71-70 victory over fifth-ranked Bainbridge in a Region 1-AAAAA game, according to the Albany Herald. It was the third consecutive victory for Lee County, which started the season 4-9. May finished with 22 points for the …

Continue reading Miller Grove boys, Tucker girls win DeKalb showdowns »

Class AAAAA teams will be involved in several high-profile games this weekend. Here’s a look at some of the top matchups:

*DeKalb showdown: The boys and girls teams from Tucker and Miller Grove are all ranked in the top 10 and leading their subregions in 6-AAAAA heading into Friday’s doubleheader at Miller Grove. The top-ranked Miller Grove boys, aiming to win their fifth consecutive state title, have won five straight games since losing to Westchester (Los Angeles) in the MaxPreps Holiday Classic. The No. 8 Tucker boys are trying to get back on track after suffering their first region loss last week, a 45-42 setback against sixth-ranked Mays. For the No. 2-ranked Tucker girls, it will be the beginning of a tough two-game stretch in which the Tigers will face No. 3 Miller Grove and No. 1 Stephenson (Tuesday at Tucker).

*7-AAAAA leaders meet: The two subregion leaders in 7-AAAAA girls play will meet for the only time during the regular season when No. 5 Osborne travels to …

Continue reading Tucker-Miller Grove showdowns headline weekend of high-profile games »

Here’s a recap of some of the action involving Georgia’s Class AAAAA teams:

*Top 10 upset: The Gainesville boys team pulled off the biggest surprise of the week when it knocked off seventh-ranked Clarke Central on Friday. It was just the second Region 8-AAAAA victory in eight tries for Gainesville, which has won five of seven games overall since a 1-6 start. Deiuntre Cox scored 28 points and Cameron Johnson had 11 to lead Clarke Central (12-3), which won the first meeting with Gainesville 64-55 on Nov. 27. Chase England and Luke Moore scored 12 points each for the Red Elephants.

*Raiders rebound: The sixth-ranked Mays boys team bounced back from a loss on Tuesday to beat fourth-ranked Tucker 45-42 in the only Class AAAAA matchup of top 10 teams on Friday. Mays, which lost to Lakeside 80-78 this week, is trying to keep pace with top-ranked Miller Grove in the Region 6-AAAAA Division B race. Tucker remains the subregion leader in Division A, but the Tigers have a slim lead …

Continue reading No. 7 Clarke Central upset; No. 6 Mays bounces back »

Kell’s Grant Bryant broke two school records when he scored 50 points and grabbed 35 rebounds in the Longhorns’ 94-93 overtime victory against Osborne in a Region 7-AAAAA game Tuesday night.

Bryant made 18 field goals and was 14-for-20 on free throws, according to a report in the Marietta Daily Journal. The 6-foot-6 junior forward has received a scholarship offer from Jacksonville University and interest from Florida State, Marquette, Ohio State, Stanford and Xavier, according to Rivals.com.

It was the second consecutive victory for Kell, which improved to 5-10 overall and 3-3 in 7-AAAAA. Osborne, which got 36 points from senior guard Gerry Weaver, fell to 8-10 overall and 2-4 in the region.

Here are some of the other top stories this week involving Class AAAAA teams:

*Osborne girls rolling: The eighth-ranked Osborne girls team took a commanding lead in 7-AAAAA Division B with a 56-46 victory over No. 3 Kell on Tuesday. Malea Maye, Zutorya Cook and Nikira Goings each …

Continue reading Bryant has record-breaking night for Kell »

Here’s a recap of some of the top holiday tournament action involving Georgia’s Class AAAAA basketball teams:

*Campbell Holiday Classic: The Kell girls team capped an impressive three-day run with a 58-43 victory over Westlake on Saturday to capture the championship. Naomi Stuger had 14 points, 10 rebounds and six steals for Kell in the championship game. Caliya Robinson was named the tournament MVP. Kell beat three Class AAAAAA teams – Marietta, Hillgrove and Westlake – on the way to the title. The Longhorns (9-1) have won seven consecutive games and face Osborne in a key 7-AAAAA game on Tuesday.

*Naples Holiday Shootout: The Tucker girls suffered their first loss of the season but finished 3-1 in Naples, Fla. The Tigers (11-1) lost to Whitney Young of Chicago 49-38 in the first round but rebounded with victories against Dreher (Columbia, S.C.), Easton (New Orleans) and McDonogh (Owings Mill, Md.) to claim ninth place in the 16-team tournament. Erykah Davenport …

Continue reading Kell girls have impressive run in Campbell tournament »

DeKalb County’s two boys and two girls state champions from last season will square off in a doubleheader at Miller Grove on Friday to cap the final week of play before teams head into the winter break.

The Columbia girls will face Miller Grove at 5:30 p.m., and the Columbia boys will take on the Wolverines at 7 p.m.

Columbia’s girls team, ranked No. 1 in Class AAAA in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s preseason poll, is 5-1 after losing to AAA No. 2 Buford on Saturday. Miah Spencer scores 19.5 points per game to lead Columbia, which won its second Class AAA title in three years last season. Miller Grove, ranked No. 1 in Class AAAAA, is 6-2 but has won four consecutive games. Klarissa Weaver averages 10.7 points and 9.3 rebounds to lead the Wolverines. Miller Grove won its first state championship last season.

The Miller Grove boys (9-1) have won four consecutive state titles and are coming off a 64-62 victory over Class AAAAAA Norcross. Earl Bryant (15 points per game) …

Continue reading Miller Grove-Columbia doubleheader will be battle of champions »

Here are some of the top stories from Class AAAAA basketball this week:

*Showcase: The Miller Grove boys team, which won the past four Class AAAA championships, will face Norcross at 4 p.m. Saturday in the GACS Showcase sponsored by Blue Collar Basketball at Greater Atlanta Christian. Norcross won four of the past seven titles in the highest classification. Other games include Henry County vs. South Cobb (11:30 a.m.), Glenn Hills at Central Gwinnett (1 p.m.), Columbia vs. Peachtree Ridge (2:30 p.m.), North Cobb vs. Buford (5:30 p.m.), Morgan County vs. GAC (7 p.m.) and Berkmar vs. Whitefield Academy (8:30 p.m.). Miller Grove entered Tuesday night’s game against Mays on a six-game winning streak after losing its opener 63-62 to McEachern.

*Winless in Memphis: The M.L. King boys team suffered a couple of close losses against Tennessee teams in the Memphis vs. Atlanta Roundball Classic in Memphis last weekend. M.L. King, the only Class AAAAA team from Georgia participating in …

Continue reading Showcases, tournaments fill DeKalb basketball schedules »

Here are five questions that will be answered in the Georgia Dome next week in the Class AAAAA final:

Which team will win its first title? Either Gainesville or Ware County will take home its first state championship when they meet at 8:30 p.m. Friday. This is the third trip to the championship game for Ware County, which lost to Northside-Warner Robins in 2007 and Carrollton in 1961. Gainesville will be making its seventh trip to the final and its first since losing to Peach County 13-12 in 2009. Neither coach – Ware County’s Ed Dudley nor Gainesville’s Bruce Miller – has ever won a state championship.

Can anyone stop Deshaun Watson? Gainesville’s quarterback continues to put up staggering numbers. He surpassed 5,000 combined yards passing and rushing for the season in a 28-14 victory over Whitewater on Friday with 227 yards passing and 94 rushing, according to the Gainesville Times. Those numbers increase his season totals to 3,707 yards passing and 1,356 passing, …

Continue reading One more step: First title within reach for Gainesville, Ware County »