The River Ridge girls team and the Alexander boys sit at the top of the Class 6A basketball rankings after the first week of play in 2023 despite losing games last week.
River Ridge fell to 11-5 overall with a 50-48 loss to Hazel Green, Ala., Saturday at the She Got Game Classic in Suwanee. It was the closest game of the season by far for Hazel Green, which is 20-0 and ranked No. 14 nationally by MaxPreps. River Ridge went 1-5 in its past six games, with all of the losses coming against out-of-state opponents. The Knight are 10-0 against Georgia teams, including a 70-59 victory over Class 7A No. 1 Brookwood on Dec. 2.
River Ridge, 4-0 in Region 6, has big region contests this week against one-region-loss teams Woodstock (Tuesday) and Rome (Friday) before facing off with Class 7A No. 3 Buford on the road Saturday.
Alexander’s boys fell to 11-3 with a 62-60 loss to North Florida Educational Institute in a tournament Saturday. NFEI is coached by former Georgia Tech and Kentucky player Stacey Poole Jr. The Cougars had beaten Sagemont, Fla., 67-59 the previous night. Junior forward Braedan Lue averaged 21 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 blocked shots in the two games.
Alexander’s other two losses this season have come against Class 7A No. 3 Grayson and a team from Kentucky. The Cougars are 4-0 in Region 5, tied for first place with fifth-ranked Hughes, heading into Tuesday night’s game against East Paulding. Alexander will travel to Hughes on Friday.
*Back on track: Defending boys state champion Grovetown, which struggled to a 4-8 start against the most difficult schedule in Class 6A, according to MaxPreps, got off to a strong start in Region 2 Saturday night with an 80-44 victory over South Effingham. The Warriors (5-8, 1-0) travel to Evans (9-4, 1-1) Tuesday night before heading into weekend showdowns against the region’s other two undefeated teams, Effingham County (11-3, 1-0) and Brunswick (12-2, 4-0).
*Still perfect: Gainesville’s girls team improved to 12-0 overall when it defeated Habersham Central 48-42 Friday night in the teams’ Region 8 opener. Julia Payne made six 3-pointers and finished with 18 points. Gainesville is the only Class 6A team, boys or girls, that has not lost a game this season. The Red Elephants continue region play Tuesday against Apalachee before an important content Friday night at region leader North Forsyth (9-5, 2-0).
*Tuesdays top matchups: Three games between top-10 teams highlight the Tuesday night schedule. Perhaps the best is the Region 4 boys content between No. 2 Marist (10-5, 3-0) and No. 3 St. Pius (11-4, 3-0). The winner will take sole possession of first place. The winner of the boys game between No. 6 Jonesboro (11-3, 5-0) and No. 8 Woodward Academy (13-2, 6-0) will be alone in first place in Region 3. The top girls game matches No. 2 Forest Park (11-3, 6-0) against No. 5 Rockdale County (12-3). Forest Park holds a one-game lead over Rockdale County in a region that also includes third-ranked Lovejoy (12-4, 4-2) and No. 4 Woodward Academy (10-5, 4-2).
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