The outcome of Saturday’s game between the No. 4 Morgan County and No. 5 Elbert County boys will have a big impact on the Region 8-AAA standings. Morgan County will try to defend its home court and avenge its 78-73 loss from Dec. 6.
Morgan (15-4, 8-1) is led by junior guard Tookie Brown, who averages 25.9 points , 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Sophomore Jailyn Ingram averages 15.8 points and 7.1 rebounds and senior forward C.J. Thurman averages 11.9 points and 10.4 rebounds. Thurman also has 77 blocked shots. The Bulldogs have won six straight.
Elbert (16-2, 8-1) has won four straight since its loss to Hart County. Two of those wins came without the Moon Brothers, Marc and Jay. Marc is an all-state forward who averages 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Douglass, Callaway clash for Region 4 position
Way back in December it didn’t appear that the Douglass boys had much of a future when they lost three of their first five games. But it was that tough early schedule that may have set the pace for the Astros to have a successful season.
Douglass takes a 13-4 overall record into tonight’s Region 4-AAA showdown against Callaway. The Astros are 7-1 and currently tied with Callway and B.E.S.T. Academy for first place in the league.
Douglass lost twice in the North Forsyth Tournament to schools from larger classifications but beat Class AAAAAA Northview. The other loss came at Class AAAAA Riverdale by one point.
Since then coach Tilford Ellerbee’s team has won 10 of 11 and beaten such quality opponents as Gainesville, Chattahoochee and Central Gwinnett. The only bump in the road was a two-point loss at Chapel Hill a week ago.
This will be the first meeting between Callaway and Douglass this season. Callaway is 12-3 overall and 7-1 in the region. The Cavaliers were also beaten by Chapel Hill in their last game when they made only 4 of 18 free throws in an eight-point loss.
5-AAA girls showdown features Cartersville, Adairsville
First place in Region 5-AAA Div. A will be at stake Friday when Adairsville visits Cartersville in a clash between the two old rivals.
Cartersville is 16-3 and 9-0 in the league and riding a three-game winning streak. Adairsville is 10-7 and 8-1 in the region, with a five-game winning streak on the line. Cartersville scored a decisive 67-51 win over Adairsville back on Dec. 13.
Cartersville is coming off a 66-64 win over Sonoraville, the league’s third-place team. Kimora McClinic made two free throws in the last seconds to help the Hurricanes survive Sonoraville’s furious comeback effort.
Cartersville is led by Kaelyn Irby, Hallie Wachsmith and McClinic. Adairsville is led by Stephanie Kuhrt, who had the winning free throws in last week’s 41-37 win over Gordon Central, and Mallory Collum.
Johnson wins rematch with Savannah
Looks like a repeat of last year in Region 1, where state powers Johnson and Savannah met for the second time this season. This time it was No. 7 Johnson handing No. 1 Savannah a 51-47 defeat.
Johnson improved to 14-4 and Savannah dropped to 14-3. They are essentially tied for the 1-AAA lead with one region loss.
Johnson’s Rico Bonds scored 14 points, 11 in the fourth quarter. Hakeem Coney had eight assists for the Atom Smashers. Savannah was led by Jamal Normal with 13 and Branielus Ross with 12.
A year ago the two titans split during the regular season. Savannah prevailed in the region championship game, but Johnson won the state championship. No one would be surprised to see the two Savannah schools play for the title again.
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