The 2018-19 basketball season, only a few weeks old, is already producing playoff-caliber performances from boys and girls teams.
Let's play catch-up:
Boys Rankings
1. Greater Atlanta Christian
2. Morgan County
3. Johnson-Savannah
4. Cedar Grove
5. Pace Academy
6. Dawson County
7. Hart County
8. Westside-Macon
9. Central-Macon
10. Liberty County
The top-ranked and defending-champion GAC boys suffered three losses in its first three games – Peachtree Ridge (73-65), Sandy Creek (70-66) and Wheeler (76-66) – before righting the ship and running off eight consecutive victories. The streak is similar to last season when GAC lost three of its first 10 games and then didn't lose again, beating Jenkins (67-53) in the title game at the Centreplex in Macon.
Hunter McIntosh, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, led GAC through the Hawks-Naismith Holiday Classic game against North Atlanta with a game-high 26 points and eight rebounds. Ben Sheppard, a 6-6 senior guard, scored 15 points and had five assists with two steals. McIntosh, Sheppard and teammate Chris Hinton all are experienced leaders who know how to win a state title. Hinton, the Spartans power-forward, was key in the victory against Jenkins last year.
GAC is set to play in the Tournament of Champions at Wheeler High School on Dec. 27 against Newton.
Second-ranked Morgan County, a semifinalist last year, continues its assertion that it's one of the best teams in the classification by winning against highly-touted opponents already this season. Morgan County opened with four straight victories – Pebblebrook (70-64), St. Francis (82-67), Gainesville (62-46) and Franklin County (62-46) – before losing to Wenonah, Ala., 56-53. The Bulldogs return experienced seniors Stevin Green, Tyrin Lawrence, Nolan Causwell, Jordan Huff, Alec Woodard and K.J. Wyatt.
The Bulldogs will play in the Palmetto Winter Classic in South Carolina before hosting the Sweet South Classic during the holidays.
Third-ranked Johnson-Savannah has cruised to a 6-2 start and is a perfect 6-0 through its region games. The Atomsmashers have three players – Emondre Bowles (15.3 ppg.), Shamar Jones (15.6 ppg.) and Brandon Harris (12.0 ppg.) averaging double figures, according to MaxPreps. Jones, a 6-1 senior guard, is listed to have only played in five games.
Johnson dropped its opener to Lanier, Ala. (65-53) but responded with four consecutive victories – Beach, Savannah, Benedictine and Jenkins – before losing to Statesboro on Dec. 8. Since then, it has beaten Southeast Bulloch and Groves in preparation for the Memorial Holiday Classic in Savannah which begins Thursday.
Girls Rankings
1. Beach
2. Johnson-Savannah
3. Jefferson
4. Peach County
5. Hart County
6. Dawson County
7. Lovett
8. Greater Atlanta Christian
9. Morgan County
10. Tattnall County
The storied rivalry between top-ranked Beach and No. 2 Johnson-Savannah is again the centerpiece on the girls side of Class AAA. The two Savannah programs topped the rankings nearly all of last season, but Johnson came out on top with the AAA title following its 62-50 victory against GAC. Beach lost to GAC in the quarterfinals.
But 2018-19 just may be Beach's year. The Lady Bulldogs are in the driver's seat and have been flawless through 12 games, 7-0 in region games. Through 11 games, Beach has three players – Jaida Burgess (19.3 ppg.), Madison Evans (16.4 ppg.) and Kaila Rougier (14.1 ppg.) – averaging double figures.
The Lady Bulldogs defeated Johnson 55-53 in overtime on Nov. 27 to win the first two games scheduled for the regular season. The teams will play again on Jan. 8.
The GAC girls are ranked No. 8 with a 6-6 record. With the exception of an 84-54 loss to St. Francis in the season opener, most of the losses have been close against quality opponents. The Lady Spartans had losses against Stephenson (60-56), Wesleyan (65-55), Gainesville (76-73), Dawson County (75-67) and Spalding (47-45). GAC will join the field at the Deep South Classic at Brookwood High School on Dec. 27.
Jefferson, a new-comer to AAA after moving down from AAAA, is 8-1 with its loss coming to ninth-ranked Morgan County on Dec. 14. The season has been highlighted by victories against Cambridge (65-30), Hart County (64-54), Habersham Central (47-26) and East Hall (70-34). It has three games – East Jackson on Tuesday, West Hall on Saturday and Habersham Central on Dec. 22 -- before taking on the field at the Pensacola Christmas Tournament on Dec. 27.
Fourth-ranked Peach County is led by three seniors – Da'Nasia Shaw, a 5-10 point guard, Maiyah Willis, a 5-3 guard, and Nadia Ford, a 5-11 center. Peach has victories against Perry (47-44), Central-Macon (50-36), Kendrick (53-41) and Westside-Macon (50-48). Perry defeated Peach 33-27 on Dec. 8. Peach has games against Howard (Tuesday) and Warner Robins (Thursday) -- before taking part in the Ronalda Pierce Christmas Classic on Dec. 29.
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