Here’s a look back at some of the top stories from the week in Class AAAAA basketball:
*Still rolling: The top-ranked Miller Grove boys team (15-4) extended its winning streak against Georgia teams in its classification to almost two years (officially, the two-year mark comes Monday) with a 70-60 victory in front of a packed gymnasium at third-ranked Tucker. Star guards Keith Pinckney (20 points) and Alterique Gilbert (19 points) led the way for the Wolverines, who also got 14 points from James Walker. Tucker's Jon Dunmyer, the team's leading scorer at 17.9 points, was held to nine. Miller Grove will be in Ohio on Monday to face Roselle Catholic (N.J.) in the Flyin' To The Hoops Invitational.
*Upsets: Tucker wasn't the only top 10 boys team to lose on Friday. No. 2 Jenkins lost for just the second time this season, falling 80-73 at Ware County, which got 29 points from Sharieff Medlock and 19 from Jeremy Gibson. Jenkins will play at No. 6 Effingham County on Tuesday with sole possession of first place in Region 3-AAAAA on the line. No. 8 Villa Rica lost 62-54 to New Manchester to fall to 16-4 overall and 8-2 in Region 5. New Manchester beat Lithia Springs 71-58 earlier in the week and is 7-8 overall and 5-4 in the region.
*Starting over: The Miller Grove girls team, which won the state championship two years ago and was runner-up last season, is in a rebuilding mode after losing a talented senior class that included Tashi Thompson, Klarissa Weaver and Katie Hunt. The Wolverines' starting lineup Friday in a 61-39 loss to top-ranked Tucker included one senior (Catika Brown), one junior (Sarai Blissett) and three sophomores (Imani Richardson, Takeshia Williams and Chrystal Ezechukwu). The sophomores were the three top scorers, led by Richardson with 10 points, in the loss. Miller Grove had a three-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 7-5.
*Showcase: Nikira Goings scored 20 points and added six assists and Zutorya Cook had 18 points and seven assists to lead the Osborne girls team to a 58-54 victory over Mary Louis (N.Y.) in their first game of the Rose Classic at Brooklyn's Nazareth Regional, according to the game report in the Marietta Daily Journal. Osborne has won 12 of 13 games since a 1-4 start, and its only losses this season have come against Class AAAAAA teams in Georgia. The Cardinals will face Archbishop Malloy (N.Y.) on Saturday.
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