Here are some of the top stories this week involving Class AAAAA basketball teams:
*Tigers look to stay hot: The third-ranked Tucker boys team is riding high as it enters the second half of the season. The Tigers, who play Friday at Region 6 rival Mays, are coming off an impressive championship in the Chick-fil-A Invitational Classic at Tucker in December, beating Class AAAA No. 1 Columbia 74-59 in the final. The Tigers knocked off Gainesville (Fla.) 76-51, M.L. King 67-63 and fourth-ranked Jenkins 66-63 in the earlier rounds. The Tigers have a big showdown looming next weekend against top-ranked Miller Grove.
*Double success: Tucker, whose girls are ranked No. 1, is one of three schools with its boys and girls teams in the top 10 this week. Effingham County has the No. 6-ranked boys team and No. 3-ranked girls. Effingham County's girls (14-1) began the week with an 81-36 victory over Groves, while the boys team (9-6) completed the sweep with an 81-46 win. The Rebels will play at Richmond Hill in a doubleheader on Friday. Stephenson's boys are No. 8 and girls are No. 5 and will play at M.L. King on Friday.
*Longhorns score big: The Kell boys team (6-9) looks to build on perhaps its biggest victory of the season when it faces Region 7 rival Forsyth Central on Friday and Class AAAAAA North Cobb on Saturday. The Longhorns opened the week with a 98-78 victory over a good Osborne team on Wednesday, setting a school record for points in a game, according to the Marietta Daily Journal. Grant Bryant, an East Carolina signee, had 27 points and 14 rebounds. In a 94-93 overtime win against Osborne last season, Bryant scored 50 points and grabbed 35 rebounds.
*To be played later: Two top girls games that were postponed Tuesday because of the cold weather were the Stephenson-Southwest DeKalb and Salem-Gainesville matchups. Southwest DeKalb is ranked No. 2 and Stephenson is No. 5, and the schools are battling with top-ranked Tucker for top billing in tough Region 6. Fourth-ranked Salem is the leader in Region 8, but Gainesville is just one game back and would have had a chance to pull even in the standings. The Southwest DeKalb-Stephenson game will be made up on Feb. 1 at Stephenson. No makeup date has been announced for the Salem-Gainesville game.
*On the brink: Greenbrier's girls team put itself in position to move into the top 10 next week with a 55-44 victory over No. 8 Evans on Tuesday, but the Wolfpack (12-3) will need a strong finish to a tough week to get there. Greenbrier hosts Region 2 title contender Grovetown (11-4) on Friday before closing out the week Saturday at Class AAAA No. 10 Burke County. Jennifer McMahan, the Wolfpack's leading scorer at 19.5 points per game, scored 24 in the win over Evans.
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