Class AAAAAA
Walton’s boys are ranked No. 6 in AAAAAA despite being the classification’s only unbeaten team. The Raiders (12-0, 5-0) got some validation Wednesday with a 67-53 victory against Cherokee (13-2, 4-1) in a Region 5 game. The next challenge comes Friday at home against Milton (9-5, 4-0).
Elijah Weems, a 6-foot-4 forward, scored 19 points and had 12 rebounds in the Cherokee game. Jay Bowyer, a 5-9 point guard, had 17 points. Walton has no major-college prospects.
Milton, under new coach Matt Kramer, has lost to two out-of-state opponents and two ranked teams from lower classifications, including No. 1-ranked Greater Atlanta Christian (AA).
Milton will present problems with its size. Brothers Mo Lewis IV, a 6-5 senior, and Chris Lewis, a 6-6 sophomore, each averages about 12 points and six rebounds. Milton has another Division I recruit, 6-8 forward Shawn O’Connell.
Here are other things to look for this weekend in AAAAAA and the other classifications:
- There is a third team that hasn't lost in Region 5 games — No. 1-ranked Wheeler (10-4, 4-0), which faces Cherokee on Friday. Wheeler's game this week against Milton was postponed because of cold weather and rescheduled for Jan. 16.
- Lovejoy's boys missed the state playoffs last season after quarterfinal finishes in AAAA in 2011 and 2012. Now, the Wildcats lead Region 2 with a 9-2 record, 4-0 in region play. Lovejoy is at home Friday against Luella (6-7, 3-0). But don't let Luella's record fool anybody. All seven losses have come to ranked or out-of-state teams, including AAAAA No. 1 Miller Grove and AA No. 1 GAC. TeMarcus Blanton, a 6-5 guard, is committed to South Carolina. Center Doral Moore (6-11) is a top-50 recruit nationally for the class of 2015.
Class AAAAA
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 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.
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.
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 AAAAAA North Cobb on Saturday. The Longhorns opened the week with a 98-78 victory over a good Osborne team Wednesday. Grant Bryant, an East Carolina signee, had 27 points and 14 rebounds. In a 94-93 overtime win against Osborne last season, Bryant had 50 points and 35 rebounds.
Class AAAA
- A battle between the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked girls teams highlights Friday night's AAAA schedule. Undefeated and top-ranked Redan hosts No. 2 Columbia in Region 6 game at 5:30 p.m. Redan is the only unbeaten team in AAAA, and the Raiders have been dominant. They beat Southern High School of Louisville, Ky., 105-19 in a holiday tournament in Daytona Beach, Fla., and drubbed Cedar Grove 77-2 early in the season. Redan features four senior starters, who have seen extensive playing time the past four years. Point guard Brea Elmore has signed with Memphis, and Jada Byrd has signed with Xavier. Coach Jerry Jackson also expects senior guards Destini McClary and Jamesa Abney to play collegiately.
- Eagle's Landing's boys, the defending AAAA state champions, have benefited from balanced scoring with four players — Jordan Session, Nicholas Hargrove, Darius Howard and Bradley Newberry — each has averaged more than nine points per game for the Eagles. No. 4 Eagle's Landing hosts Dutchtown on Friday.
- Columbus' girls are 11-1 and are anchored by three players who have averaged double figures. Freshman Tatyana Wyatt leads the team in scoring at 12.6, followed by Jacqueria Gunter (12.3) and Alexia Manning (10.8). The Blue Devils host Fayette County Friday night in a Region 5-AAAA battle.
- Columbia's top-ranked boys team will travel to Marist for a Saturday game. The Eagles had their run of three consecutive championships snapped last season, but are off to another strong start under coach Kerry Sandifer.
Class AAA
- The No. 7 Buford boys jumped a big hurdle Wednesday with an important victory against Dawson County. The Wolves (9-5, 5-0) turned away the team trailing them most closely in the Region 7 standings. The game was scheduled for Tuesday, but was postponed a day when the cold weather shuttered both schools. They play again Jan. 31 in Dawsonville. Buford's duo of Rakim Lubin and D'Marcus Simonds were almost unstoppable against Dawson County. Lubin, who committed to Connecticut, scored 29 points, and Simonds scored 23.
- The No. 1-ranked Buford girls improved to 12-1 on Wednesday when they beat Dawson County 64-43. Buford is 5-0 in Region 7. Dawson dropped to 12-4 and 3-2. Camille Anderson scored 20 points, 13 of them in the first half to spark a 23-point halftime lead. Corey Staples scored 13 for the Wolves. Sheyenne Seabolt had 14 points and eight rebounds for Dawson County.
- After last season's early playoff exit, the Cartersville boys stated the goal to win the Region 5 championship and get the valued No. 1 seed for the playoffs. The No. 3-ranked Hurricanes are 12-2, 5-0 in region play.
Class AA
- Greater Atlanta Christian, the AJC's No. 1-ranked team, continues to delve into the Region 6 schedule, traveling to Wesleyan on Friday. GAC's region opener against No. 14 Hapeville Charter was scheduled for Jan. 7, but weather conditions pushed that matchup to Jan. 9. GAC will seek its seventh consecutive region title and, entering the Hapeville Charter game, hasn't lost a region game during that run, going 71-0 since the '08-09 season.
- No. 2-ranked Vidalia is 14-0, including a 3-0 stretch during the holidays in the Brewton Parker Holiday Classic (Mt. Vernon) and McDonald's Invitational (Tifton). Vidalia is 4-0 in Region 2 play and will host Bryan County (0-5, 0-2 Region 2) on Friday before traveling to 3-AAAAAA's Richmond Hill on Saturday.
- The Wesleyan Lady Wolves, ranked No. 1, will square off with the No. 3-ranked Greater Atlanta Christian Lady Spartans in a pivotal Region 6 matchup. The Lady Wolves (13-2) are 1-0 in the region, while the Lady Spartans (9-4) have yet to play a region game. Similar to the GAC boys, the Lady Wolves are undefeated (59-0) in region play during a run of consecutive region titles as they try for eight in a row.
Class A
- No. 3 North Cobb Christian at Fellowship Christian boys (Saturday): The Eagles (11-3), No. 4 in the Georgia High School Association/MaxPreps power ratings, are trying to shake their reputation for winning big during the regular season but falling short in the playoffs. Fellowship Christian (10-5), led by senior guard Roger Rickman (15 points, five rebounds), looks to break into the conversation of state-title contenders. North Cobb Christian is paced by senior guard Stephon Jelks (15 points, eight rebounds) and 6-10 junior center Trey Kalina.
- No. 6 Darlington at No. 3 Southwest Atlanta Christian girls (Friday): This is the first of a three-game gauntlet for SACA. After hosting the Tigers, the first team from Georgia to defeat the Warriors midway through last season, SACA will host No. 9 Gordon Lee, the defending public-school champions, Saturday. Then next Friday, SACA will travel to Alpharetta to face defending private-school champion St. Francis, ranked No. 1.
- Paideia at No. 2 Holy Innocents' girls (Saturday): The Bears will look to continue their march toward a private-school state title when they host Paideia, No. 9 in the power ratings. Holy Innocents' is undefeated (12-0), with one of its victories against Wesleyan (74-57), the defending AA champs, ranked No. 1. The Bears are led by dynamic freshman Khayla Pointer, who leads the team in scoring, assists and steals.
