First place is still up for grabs in six of the eight Class 6A boys basketball regions heading into the final nine days of the regular season.
Only Lee County of Region 1 and Jonesboro of Region 3 have clinched No 1 seeds for the upcoming region tournaments. Those tournaments determine the four teams from each region that will advance to the state playoffs, which begin Feb. 21.
These are the complete boys standings going into this weekend’s games. Note that the records are taken from MaxPreps, the official record-keeper for the Georgia High School Association, and that some of those records may not have been fully updated.
Region 1: Lee County clinched first place with a 44-38 victory over Houston County on Tuesday, making its regular-season finale Saturday against second-place Tift County meaningless, at least as far as Lee County’s region-tournament seeding goes. It’s a more important game for Tift County, which still has three region games remaining and is trying to hold on to a 1.5-game lead over Houston County and Veterans in the race for second place.
Region 2: Defending state champion Grovetown was 4-8 against a brutal schedule heading into region play, but the Warriors are 10-0 in league play and can clinch first place outright with a victory in either of its two remaining games, Friday at second-place Brunswick or Saturday at Glynn Academy. Grovetown defeated Brunswick by 21 points and Glynn Academy by 31 in their first meetings.
Region 3: Jonesboro clinched first place with victories against Forest Park and Rockdale County this week. The Cardinals reached the semifinals in Class 5A last season. Woodward Academy and Lovejoy have clinched the No. 2 and No. 3 spots in the region tournament. Behind them are four teams within a game of each other – Mundy’s Mill, Alcovy, Rockdale County and Forest Park.
Region 4: Marist can clinch first place with a victory over rival St. Pius in a battle of top-three teams Friday at St. Pius. Marist won at home 49-48 when the teams met on Jan. 10. A St. Pius victory would create a first-place tie, with each team having two games remaining. Riverwood, South Cobb and Dunwoody are in a race for the third through fifth seeds in the region tournament.
Region 5: Alexander holds a half-game lead over Hughes and has three games remaining. The two top-10 teams will meet Tuesday at Alexander in the regular-season finale, most likely with first place at stake. Alexander won the first meeting at Hughes 64-48 on Jan. 13. South Paulding plays at Newnan on Tuesday in a game that probably settles third place.
Region 6: Etowah holds a one-game lead over River Ridge and a two-game lead over Sequoyah and can clinch first place outright with victories in its final two games. The key game will be Friday at home against Sequoyah, which lost to the Eagles 74-55 in the first meeting. Etowah suffered its first region loss Tuesday at River Ridge, 63-60. Those three teams and fourth-place Rome will be the top four seeds in the region tournament.
Region 7: Blessed Trinity can clinch sole possession of first place with a victory Tuesday at second-place Pope, which trails the Titans by one game in the loss column. Blessed Trinity won at home against the Greyhounds 55-46 on Jan. 13. Pope would need to win at home Friday against Roswell and beat Blessed Trinity to finish in a tie for first. Alpharetta is likely to finish in third place.
Region 8: Lanier is in the driver’s seat and can clinch first place with a victory in any of its three remaining games – Friday at Gainesville, Tuesday at Habersham Central or Feb. 10 at home against Apalachee. The Longhorns have won 13 consecutive games since starting the season 5-4. Shiloh, North Forsyth and Gainesville remain in contention for the No. 2 seed.
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