Here’s a look back at some of the top stories from the week in Class AAAAA basketball:
*Perfection: The top-ranked Miller Grove boys team (20-5) beat Southwest DeKalb, Arabia Mountain and Mays during the final week of the regular season to finish undefeated against Class AAAAA teams for the second consecutive season. Miller Grove, the five-time defending state champion, lost this season to Class AAAAAA teams Wheeler and Norcross, Class AAAA Columbia and two out-of-state teams. The Wolverines went 14-0 in 6-AAAAA and begin region tournament play on Wednesday.
*Perfection II: The second-ranked Allatoona boys team (24-1 overall, 15-0 in 5-AAAAA) finished undefeated in region play for the third consecutive season after beating Paulding County 70-48 and Woodland-Cartersville 58-28 during the final week of the regular season. Allatoona's only loss this season was a 50-49 loss to Iroquois (Ky.) in a showcase in Louisville on Feb. 1. The Buccaneers, who begin play in the region tournament at home on Wednesday, are seeking their fourth consecutive trip to the state tournament.
*Battle for second: The Heritage-Conyers boys team earned the No. 2 seed in the Region 8-AAAAA tournament with an 85-73 victory over Apalachee on Friday. Apalachee sophomore Kamar Baldwin led all scorers with 30 points, but Heritage prevailed with a balanced offense led by Andre Harris with 13 points. Both teams will begin play in the region tournament on Wednesday. Fifth-ranked Clarke Central clinched the No. 1 seed, while Apalachee settles for third place.
*Subregion champions: The Greenbrier girls team beat Evans 57-56 on Friday to clinch the No. 1 seed from Region 2-AAAAA East. Taylore Baker hit the game-winning shot with six seconds remaining. Greenbrier finished in a tie for first place with Grovetown but beat the Warriors in two of three regular-season meetings, including a 45-42 victory on Feb. 1. Greenbrier, the host school for the region tournament, plays Jones County at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
*Tournament time: Region tournaments began Saturday in 4-AAAAA, 5-AAAAA and 7-AAAAA. The Region 6-AAAAA tournament begins Monday at Tucker, and 8-AAAAA begins Monday at Loganville. Regions 1-AAAAA, 2-AAAAA and 3-AAAAA in South Georgia get under way on Tuesday. Current members of 6-AAAAA have won eight of the past 10 boys state championships in the second-highest classification and five of the past six girls state titles.
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