Class 4A Blog: Holiday tournaments get underway, No. 2 McDonough tops No. 1 Baldwin

The High School basketball season has reached the Holidays and the slate is packed with tournaments that will give teams an opportunity to participate in showcases and tournaments that are pivotal to preparing programs for the upcoming playoffs and are also great opportunities to give players a platform to boost their recruiting status. Holiday tournaments began this weekend and will really pick up next week with events scheduled before and after Christmas weekend. This Saturday, Fayette County hosted the Peach State Classic that included three Class 4A programs, two Alabama powerhouses and five other Georgia teams in a star-studded five-game boys lineup. Host Fayette County closed out the event against Westlake and came up just short in a 60-59 thriller. The other Class 4A contest staged No. 1 ranked Baldwin against No. 2 ranked McDonough. The game ended up being a defensive battle; McDonough led 13-11 at the half and won 34-29. Junior Amon McDowell led the Warhawks with a game-high 13 points.

McDonough’s victory will propel them to the top of next week’s poll and the Warhawks will return to the court for the Morris Bank Christmas Tournament Dec. 20-22 and will host the Chuck Miller Classic Basketball Tournament on Dec. 27-29. McDonough will face Redan in the first round on Dec. 27.

Madison County made noise this week by opening region play with a 59-55 win over No. 9 ranked North Oconee. Grant Smith (15), Jamarcus Carruth (13), Christ Rhodes (11) and Peyton South (10) all scored double-figures and the Red Raiders improved to 8-1 on the year. Madison County will host the Red Raider Christmas Classic on Dec. 21-22 and will open the tournament against Jasper County. Madison County’s girl team will square off with West Hall in the opening round. Jefferson is currently the No. 1 ranked girls team in Class 4A and defeated Madison County 61-46 last Friday. The Dragons will participate in a tournament from Dec. 28-30 and open against Johns Creek and will return to the region schedule on Jan. 4 against No. 5 ranked Chestatee.