The No. 1-ranked Wheeler boys (14-4, 8-0) are alone atop Region 5 after a 76-73 victory over eighth-ranked Walton (14-2, 6-2) on Tuesday and a 61-55 victory over ninth-ranked Milton (11-6, 6-1), on Friday.
Point guard Avery Patterson had 24 and 21 points in the two victories.
Credit: Todd Holcomb
Credit: Todd Holcomb
Jaylen Brown (left), the consensus No. 2 junior small forward in the country, had 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists against Walton. He then scored 17 against Milton and 25 against Lassiter in a 77-37 victory Friday. Daniel Giddens, the 6-10 five-star junior center, had a 14-rebound, six-block night against Walton.
Here are other key moments in Class AAAAAA this week -
McEachern, the No. 1 girls team in AAAAAA, defeated Nazareth, the No. 1-ranked team in New York, 83-79, on Nazareth’s home court in Brooklyn on Friday. McEachern then beat Capitol Christian Academy of Landover, Md., 73-59 on Saturday. According to Total Sports Coverage, McCeachern's Taylor Gordon, a Wake Forest signee, averaged 22 points in the two games. Caliya Robinson 18 points, 12 rebounds and nine blocks and had a triple double against Nazareth. Te'a Cooper, a junior committed to North Carolina, averaged 19 points and 4.5 steals.
Hillgrove’s Mackenzie Engram, rated the top senior prospect in Georgia, scored a career-high 32 points in Friday’s 59-45 victory over North Cobb. She had 11 rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals and was 11-for-11 at the free-throw line. The kept Hillgrove (17-2, 10-1) on McEachern’s tail in the Region 4 standings. Engram has signed with Georgia.
McEachern’s boys (13-2, 7-1), ranked No. 5, stayed in first place in Region 4 this week thanks largely to a 56-54 triple-overtime victory over Marietta (15-3, 7-3) on Tuesday. McEachern guard Logan McIntosh scored 27 points and made six 3-pointers. McEachern plays at home against Hillgrove on Friday. Hillgrove delivered McEachern’s only region loss this season on Dec. 10 by a 51-47 count.
Speaking of Marietta, the Blue Devils played another three-overtime game on Friday – the Blue Devils’ third straight 3OT – in beating Kennesaw Mountain 94-76. Marietta scored 24 points in the final overtime period. Raynere Thornton, a 6-6 senior power forward averaging 13.5 points and 11.4 rebounds, scored 22 for the Blue Devils, who beat East Paulding 67-65 in three overtimes on Jan. 11.
The first time that second-ranked North Gwinnett’s boys played Norcross, on Dec. 5, Norcross was missing key players A.J. Bush, Lorenzo Carter and Myles Autrey to football. North Gwinnett won 49-47. Norcross (13-5, 8-2) won the rematch this week 59-48. A.J. Farrar, a transfer from a GISA school, scored 14 points and had eight rebounds. But North (16-3, 10-1) was missing its best player, guard T.J. Howard. Maybe there will be a rubber game. The Gwinnett County rivals are the top two contenders in Region 7. Howard did return Friday to score 17 points in North’s 63-57 victory over Palmetto in the Wally Keller Classic in Punta Gorda, Fla. Palmetto is ranked No. 7 in Florida’s Class 7A. North’s opponent on Saturday, Gibbs, ranked No. 5 in 5A.
Westlake's boys, ranked No. 4, beat Newnan 64-62 on Dominic Joseph's layup at the buzzer Friday night in a game between teams that had not lost in Region 3. Joseph, who averages 11.5 points and 5.3 rebounds, is Westlake's best leaper and averages about three dunks per game. Raymond Saunders (16.8 ppg) scored 23 points. Tyler Williams (17.1 ppg) scored 20. Newnan's Doniel Dean scored 23 points – 22 after halftime. Westlake is 17-1 overall (unbeaten in Georgia), 4-0 in the region. Newnan – which scored a nice win on Tuesday against 10th-ranked Douglas County – is 14-3, 2-1.
And finally, in a repeat of Thursday’s blog (aka cut & paste), remember these games that are taking place today (Saturday) –
BOYS
Tift County (15-2, 4-0) at Coffee (14-4, 4-1) – Third-ranked Tift beat Coffee 64-61 in overtime on Friday. Another Tift victory would make Tift hard to catch in Region 1. Tadric Jackson, Tift's Georgia Tech-bound all-state guard, didn't score in the first half of last week's game but finished with 22 points.
GIRLS
Saturday
Southwest DeKalb (15-2) at Norcross (14-3) – This matchup of the reigning state champions of AAAAAA (Norcross) and AAAAA (SWD) is the 2:30 p.m. game of the Girls Night Out showcase event at Brookwood. Norcross, still very good but naturally not the same without North Carolina freshman Diamond DeShields, is No. 8 in AAAAAA. Southwest DeKalb is No. 2 in AAAAA behind Tucker, the only Georgia team that has beaten SWD this season. These schools have won seven of the past 10 state titles in the highest two classifications.
Archer (16-1) at Shades Valley, Ala. (12-3) – This is the 7 p.m. game of the Girls Night Out showcase. Archer is ranked No. 2 in AAAAAA. Shades Valley is No. 8 in Class 6A, the highest class in Alabama. Shades Valley point guard Morgan William has signed with Mississippi State. Archer has one of Georgia's top point guards, Madison Newby.
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