Two Class AAAAAA regions have canceled first-round basketball tournament games today because of the weather and are hoping things clear up by Thursday so they can finish by Saturday, as planned.
Otherwise, they’ll be playing championship games on Monday. The GHSA is giving them an extra day to get ready for the state playoffs that now will start Feb. 19, a Wednesday. Snow is forecast for the next two days for much of North Georgia.
The Region 5-AAAAA tournament played at Etowah in Cherokee County will hold one girls game (Roswell vs. Milton) today at 4:30 p.m. The boys game between Wheeler and Woodstock has been postponed.
‘’Hopefully, we are back in school Thursday and we will start Thursday night and finish on Saturday,’’ said Etowah athletics director and Region 5 secretary Bob VanAlstyne. “If we come back to school Friday, we will start Friday night and finish on Monday. Really need the Roswell-Milton game to go off as scheduled tonight. Fingers crossed.’’
Region 4-AAAAAA has postponed four first-round games scheduled for Monday at McEachern. Tournament director Lisa Cottrell said contingency plans were being set. Snow is forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday.
‘’We do not know at this time what will happen,’’ Cottrell said. “This will be in GHSA hands.’’
Regions 7 and 8, made up almost entirely of Gwinnett County teams, will play their first-round games Monday as scheduled.
Region 7 has two play-in games scheduled for Habersham Central, the only non-Gwinnett school. The rest of the tournament will be at Collins Hill beginning Tuesday if weather allows.
Region 8 will play at Berkmar. Those games are Archer vs. Parkview (boys) and Berkmar vs. Brookwood (girls).
Berkmar boys coach and tournament host Greg Phillips said region officials will meet Monday between games to discuss scenarios. The region had no games scheduled for Thursday, which serves as a built-in makeup day. But if more than one day is missed, playing the finals on Monday is likely.
As a coach, Phillips prefers to avoid that.
‘’Obviously if you make state, having an extra day to rest and get film is crucial,’’ he said. ‘’As long as everybody is on the same playing field, nobody gains an advantage. Your issue is just if one region finishes earlier and is able to scout.’’
Region 2-AAAAAA didn't have Monday games but decided to move its schedule back a day and will start Wednesday.
‘’Even though we don’t want to, we might have to move (the final round) into Monday if we are out of school more than one day,’’ Reynolds said. “We have schools from DeKalb, Henry and Clayton and Newton counties, so even one system closure would impact the tournament.’’
About the Author
