Class AAA blog: GAC boys carry momentum to Region 7 game at North Hall

Greater Atlanta Christian's boys team is rolling. The Spartans are ranked second in the class, are 14-4 overall, 7-0 in region play, and will carry a lot of momentum on the road Friday night for a Region 7 game against North Hall.

Since losing 81-57 to Newton in the Tournament of Champions at Wheeler, GAC has won six consecutive games, including an 82-54 victory against East Hall, an 82-29 victory against Fannin County and a 64-51 victory at Marist. GAC's most recent victory came Tuesday at home against No. 3 Dawson County, 72-60.

GAC's opponent also is riding momentum. North Hall has won five consecutive games since losing to Lakeview Academy on Dec. 29. Its run of victories includes a 49-35 decision against Lumpkin County, a 60-46 victory against Cherokee Bluff, a slim 59-56 victory against East Hall and a 53-46 victory against Chestatee. On Tuesday, North Hall defeated Fannin County 44-23.

GAC has returned many of its top players from last year's title team, and for the most part, they've continued their success. Hunter McIntosh, a 6-foot-2 senior point guard, is averaging 21.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game with 68 3-pointers in 18 games. He's averaging 3.4 assists. Ben Sheppard, a 6-6 senior guard, adds 16.6 points, five rebounds and five assists per game. Chris Hinton a 6-4 power forward, has grabbed six rebounds with three assists per game. Roy Dixon, a 6-foot senior guard, adds 12 points and 3.2 assists per game.

Here are some other top boys games this weekend:

-- No. 1 Morgan County (17-1, 7-0) is at East Jackson in a Region 8 game. Morgan then will travel to Class AAAAAAA No. 7 Newton on Saturday.

-- No. 3 Dawson County (16-4, 6-2) will travel to Class AAAA Denmark (15-5, 5-3) on Friday. Dawson is coming off a 72-60 loss to GAC on Tuesday.

Here are some top girls games this weekend:

-- Top-ranked Beach (17-4, 10-1) will travel to Savannah for a Region 3 game Friday. Beach has lost four games this season, all in a row, from Dec. 22 to Jan. 8. Since that stretch, the Bulldogs have beaten Southeast Bulloch, 66-13, Groves, 75-25, and Windsor Forest, 97-21.

-- No. 2 Jefferson (17-2, 6-1) will hit the road for a Region 8 game against Franklin County on Friday. Jefferson has only lost to one team from Georgia – Morgan County, 60-52, on Dec. 14. Its other loss was against Boyd County from Kentucky on Dec. 29. Since then, Jefferson has won four games.