Could we be headed toward another showdown between Buford and Washington County for a state championship?
The two Class AAA powers met in the state football championship in December, with Buford prevailing. Now it is possible that the two schools could meet to determine the state basketball championship for boys or girls – or both.
Each program sailed through its respective region schedules without a loss and will begin play in the region tournaments as the No. 1 seed. If Buford and Washington County win their region tournaments, they would wind up playing each other in the state semifinals.
Buford boys, girls finish unbeaten in league
Looks like the Buford basketball teams are taking a lot of momentum heading into the postseason playoffs. The boys and girls closed out their seasons with unbeaten league records and will enter the Region 7-AAA tournaments as the No. 1 seed.
The boys (20-5, 14-0) won their 14th straight game with a 70-37 romp over North Hall. D'Marcus Simonds tallied 21 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
The girls (23-2, 14-0) rolled to a 56-29 win over the Trojans. Camille Anderson and Bree Horrocks each scored 10 in the rout.
The boys open the playoffs against West Hall on Tuesday, while the girls meet Fannin County on Wednesday. The first round games for Region 7 are split between different sites, but Buford will host the semifinals on Friday and final on Saturday.
Waco boys, girls No. 1 entering playoffs
The boys and girls from Washington County will enter the postseason as the No. 1-ranked teams in the state.
The Washington County girls finished the regular season with a 22-0 record and 8-0 mark in Region 3. The Golden Hawks clobbered No. 6 Dodge County 62-41 in the season finale. Shon Kitchens (19.4 points) leads the high-scoring team.
The boys finished 21-1, its only blemish a loss to Fayette County in the Upward Classic tournament. The Hawks closed the season by beating Dodge 58-36, but essentially won the region when it beat No. 9 Thomson on Feb. 1. McKel Miller leads the team with 14.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
Cedar Grove boys win 6-AAA
The Cedar Grove boys can score an assist to St Pius for helping them enter the playoffs as the No. 1 seed. The Saints secured first place in Region 6-AAA when St. Pius defeated Blessed Trinity in the season finale.
Cedar Grove and Blessed Trinity were tied with two region losses entering the last game. Blessed Trinity owned the tiebreaker based on its two regular-season wins against the Saints. But while Cedar Grove won its final game against Cross Keys, Blessed Trinity was beaten 63-61 by St. Pius, leaving the Saints alone in first.
The Region 6-AAA playoffs will start Monday at St. Pius.
Douglass boys first in 4-AAA
Douglass nailed down first place in Region 4-AAA by sweeping its final two games of the season. The Astros beat Maynard Jackson 65-63 and whipped Haralson County 78-40 to clinch the No. 1 seed for the region. Douglass (17-5, 11-2) has won five of its last six games.
Central boys secure 2-AAA title
Dontrell Jackson scored 15 points, all on 3-pointers, and led Central Macon to a 75-55 win over Peach County, which secured the top seed in the Region 2-AAA tournament for the Chargers. Central (19-6, 10-2) finishes a game ahead of Carver Columbus.
All the playoff schedules for the state championships will be posted on AJC.com. Check back for updated schedules and scores.
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