The boys and girls basketball teams are coming down the home stretch. Most of the time that means determining the seeds for the region tournaments. But three regions in Class 5A have opted to skip the region tournaments and send the top four teams from the regular season to the state playoffs.
Region 3, Region 5 and Region 6 are all taking the top four teams from the regular season. That puts the heat on teams that are fifth or sixth in the league, since those schools have a better chance to win a game in the region playoffs and get in the state tournament.
The other region playoff sites have been set. They are Region 1 at Warner Robins (if the Warner Robins girls hold on and win the regular season title), Region 2 at Whitewater, Region 4 at Dutchtown, Region 7 at Cartersville, and Region 8 at Walnut Grove.
Region 1
Girls: Warner Robins (14-3, 5-0) and Coffee (13-5, 4-1) are one-two in this five-team league. Warner Robins won the first head-to-head meeting 51-46 on Jan. 19 and the rematch is Jan. 2 in Douglas. The girls regular-season winner gets to host the region semifinals and finals.
Boys: No. 4 Veterans (12-0, 3-0) is close to nailing down the regular-season title. The Warhawks are coming off a COVID shutdown and return this weekend with games against Ware County and Warner Robins, the region’s second-place team. Veterans beat Warner Robins 59-49 on Jan. 16.
Region 2
Girls: Griffin (12-6, 9-1) remains the front-runner, with McIntosh (14-4, 6-2) and Harris County (12-4, 5-2) within striking distance. The young Bears, whose top three scorers are sophomores, could sew up the regular season title on Friday with a win over McIntosh. Griffin split with Harris County and beat McIntosh by nine on Jan. 8.
Boys: Griffin (12-4, 8-2), Harris County (9-6, 6-2), Whitewater (13-7, 5-3) and McIntosh (8-8, 5-3) hold down the top four spots. Griffin split its season series with Harris County and Whitewater and hosts McIntosh on Friday. Harris County beat Whitewater in overtime in December and play again on Jan. 30.
Region 3
Girls: No. 1 Woodward Academy (9-1, 6-0) and No. 2 Forest Park (13-4, 6-1) are two of the state’s best. Woodward won the first meeting 55-51 on Jan. 22 and the two clubs face each other again on the final night of the regular season at Woodward. The War Eagles bring a dynamite one-two punch in junior Sydney Bowles, who averages 22.9 points and 9.7 rebounds, and sophomore Sara Lewis, who comes in with 19.4 points and 7.6 rebounds.
Boys: No. 3 Tri-Cities (14-4, 9-0) has won seven in a row and taken command of first place. No. 5 Forest Park (8-2, 5-2), No. 9 Jonesboro (15-3, 7-3), No. 6 Woodward Academy (10-6, 5-3) round out the top four places in what might be the top league in the state. Jonesboro brings a four-game winning streak into Friday’s game at Tri-Cities.
Region 4
Girls: Dutchtown (16-5, 10-1) comes down the stretch with a two-game lead over Jones County (9-8, 8-3) and Union Grove (14-7, 8-3). Dutchtown’s only loss has come against Eagle’s Landing, with the rematch coming Friday at Eagle’s Landing. The Bulldogs close the season with games against Union Grove and at Jones County. Senior Page Lyons leads Dutchtown with 18.4 points and 4.2 steals.
Boys: No. 2 Eagle’s Landing (19-1, 11-0) and defending state champion and No. 10-ranked Dutchtown (16-6, 10-1) are the powers in the league. Both have won eight straight. The two teams have a rematch on Friday at Eagle’s Landing. The teams played on Dec. 18, with Eagle’s Landing winning 61-56.
Region 5
Girls: No. 5 Southwest DeKalb (12-3, 8-0), No. 6 St. Pius (13-1, 7-1), Decatur (4-1, 4-1) and King (11-3, 7-2) are four good teams that will represent the region at the state tournament. Decatur is the wild card in this race, since the Bulldogs opted out of non-region games and have only played five games. The Bulldogs, who have lost to King, play Southwest on Thursday. The rematch between SWD and St. Pius, Feb. 5 at SWD, will likely determine the top two spots.
Boys: No. 1 St. Pius (16-2, 8-0) has been the best team in the league all year, but still have games remaining with No. 7 Lithonia and Southwest DeKalb. Lithonia (10-2, 6-1) gets its second shot at the Golden Lions on Feb. 9.
Region 6
Girls: No. 4 Maynard Jackson (11-2, 4-0) and No. 10 New Manchester (16-3, 6-1) hold the two top spots in the standings. Jackson won the first meeting 77-66 on Dec. 15 in Douglasville, but the second game was postponed because of COVID. Jackson is led by Unique Miller, considered one of the top players in the state, and New Manchester is led by Kharyssa Richardson, who averages 18.5 points and 10.3 rebounds.
Boys: Chapel Hill (13-6, 7-1) has won five straight games and moved past New Manchester (10-7, 6-1) and into first place. K.J. Doucet averages 17.4 points for Chapel Hill, which has a rematch with New Manchester on Saturday. New Manchester beat Chapel Hill 57-52 on Jan. 12. Freshman Chase James-Robinson (10.1 points) and Jordan Edmonds (10 points) lead the Jaguars.
Region 7
Girls: No. 4 Cass (18-0, 5-0) has a rematch against Hiram (14-7, 3-1) on Tuesday that could determine the regular-season title. Cass beat Hiram 55-48 on Jan. 15.
Boys: No. 8 Cass (15-5, 5-1), Hiram (9-7, 4-1) and Calhoun (9-8, 3-2) have emerged as the top three teams. Cass and Hiram play again on Tuesday. Cass won the first meeting 77-59 on Jan. 15 at Cass.
Region 8
Girls: Greenbrier (15-2, 10-1) has been one of the hottest teams in the state. The Wolfpack have won 13 straight, among them a victory over No. 9 Loganville (18-3, 9.1). Greenbrier is a balanced team led by juniors Brooklyn Begley and Jordan Tanksley. Greenbrier beat Loganville 64-62 in overtime on Jan. 19, which avenged a 29-point whipping in December. Walnut Grove (10-8, 7-2) remains in the title picture and still has games against Greenbrier on Tuesday and Loganville on Feb. 11.
Boys: Clarke Central is closing in on the regular-season championship. The Gladiators (10-6, 9-1) have won seven in a row and have a two-game lead over Eastside (10-6, 8-3), which has won five in a row. The two play again on Jan. 2 in Covington; Clarke won the first meeting by 17. Clarke Central hosts Greenbrier (11-8, 7-4) on Friday.
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