The depth of Region 1-AAAA went on full display last weekend as Carver-Columbus held off Americus-Sumter in a 55-54 thriller to take a top seed into the state tournament. Dougherty earned the No. 3 seed with a solid 20-8 overall record and Westover is taking the No. 4 seed into the playoffs at 16-11 overall. Region 1 will be paired up with Region 4-AAAA in Friday’s opening round. Woodward Academy owns the top seed out of Region 4 and secured it with an impressive 67-51 win over a talented Henry County team in Saturday’s region championship. The War Eagles survived a 68-66 contest with Salem in the region semis and Salem will face off with Americus-Sumter in the first round as a dangerous No. 3 seed.
Two-time defending state champion Upson-Lee cruised past Mary Persons 63-48 in the Region 2-AAAA final and extended its winning-streak to 12 games. Upson-Lee will meet with Region 3-AAAA No. 4 seed Richmond Academy in the first round. The Musketeers closed out the regular season with a 56-55 win over Thomson, but then dropped a 39-35 meeting with the Bulldogs in the region tournament opener—resulting in their No. 4 seed. Thomson went on to defeat Cross Creek 53-50 for the top seed and Baldwin grabbed the No. 3.
Region 7-AAAA and Region 6-AAAA are on a first round collision course. First-year program Denmark earned the top seed out of Region 7 with a 57-45 victory. In Region 6, Southeast Whitfield took the top seed with a 47-41 win over Heritage-Catoosa. The Generals will face No. 3 Blessed Trinity as a No. 2 seed and Marist will host LaFayette. Denmark awaits visiting Ridgeland in its program’s first-ever playoff game.
Sandy Creek emerged from Region 5-AAAA as the top seed and is one of the hottest contenders for this year’s state crown. TJ Bickerstaff had another dominant performance to pace the Patriots past Cartersville 78-64 in last weekend’s region final. Bickerstaff posted a game-high 28 points to go with six assists. Sophomore DeShon Proctor stepped up with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Jabari Smith added an 18-point effort and Julian Alexander finished with 11 points. Sandy Creek will face fourth-seeded North Oconee in the first round, which was defeated 82-40 by eventual Region 8 champion St. Pius.
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