The top teams are looking forward to the region tournaments next week, but they are not discounting the importance of the final games of the regular season.
The top-ranked Westside-Macon boys team knows all too well how important it is to remain focused down the stretch. The goal for Westside is to lock up a No. 1 seed for the region tournament, but more importantly, to play like one.
"We like where we are at right now, and we are starting to play a lot better," said Westside coach Josh Grube. "I think the last time we spoke, I told you some of our guys were not playing at the best of their ability, and they turned it around, so that's a good sign.
"We have to go to Rutland tonight , and that will be a tough game over there. And then we have to go to Jackson tomorrow , and those are two teams that play really, really hard. So we are focused on the quick turnaround this weekend. Hopefully we can take care of business tonight and tomorrow so we can lock up that No. 1 seed."
Here are the top boys games to watch this weekend:
No. 1 Westside-Macon (19-3, 9-1) vs. Rutland (10-10, 6-5)
Location: Rutland High School
Notable: Westside is on top of the Region 4 standings heading into next week's region tournament. Central-Macon is expected to offer the most competition.
No. 2 Pace Academy (15-8, 12-1) vs. Stone Mountain (12-17, 8-10)
Location: Pace Academy
Notable: The Knights are on an eight-game winning streak and are second in the Region 5 standings behind No. 8 Cedar Grove.
No. 3 Morgan County (18-5, 9-0) vs. Monroe Area (11-12, 5-3)
Location: Monroe Area
Notable: Morgan County has a commanding lead in the Region 8 standings with a 9-0 record. Hart County, 6-3, is in second place.
No. 4 Liberty County (16-5, 8-1) vs. Tattnall County (13-11, 6-3)
Location: Tattnall County
Notable: The Panthers are leading the Region 2 race with an 8-1 record. Tattnall is second at 6-3.
Class AAA boys rankings
1. Westside-Macon
2. Pace Academy
3. Morgan County
4. Liberty County
5. Jenkins
6. Greater Atlanta Christian
7. Islands
8. Cedar Grove
9. Johnson-Savannah
10. East Hall
Girls
Here are the top girls games to watch this weekend:
No. 1 Beach (20-1,12-1) vs. Islands (5-19, 2-11)
Location: Beach High School
Notable: Beach and No. 2 Johnson are tied for the Region 3 top spot with 12-1 records.
No 2 Johnson-Savannah (20-2, 12-1) vs. Savannah (9-15,7-6)
Notable: Johnson is tied with No. 1 Beach for the Region 3 top spot.
No. 3 Greater Atlanta Christian (16-7, 10-2) vs. Gainesville (15-7, 6-3)
Location: GAC ( Saturday )
Notable: The Lady Spartans are one game behind East Hall in the Region 7 race.
East Hall (15-8, 10-1) vs. Fannin County (8-15, 2-9)
Location: Fannin County
Notable: East Hall leads No. 3 GAC in the Region 7 race.
Class AAA girls rankings
1. Beach
2. Johnson-Savannah
3. Greater Atlanta Christian
4. Franklin County
5. Ringgold
6. Peach County
7. Hart County
8. Monroe
9. Calhoun
10. Haralson County
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