Class 7A blog: Boys basketball standings, news

Here are Class 7A standings for boys basketball with commentary on where things might be headed in each region as of Feb. 1, less than two weeks before region tournaments.

In recent news, Westlake is making a move in Region 2. The Lions, who were 7-12 at one point, beat Carrollton 58-51 on Tuesday and can win the regular-season region title by winning out. That would entail beating No. 6 Pebblebrook for a second time.

It’s also looking like Denmark or Lambert will finish first in Region 6, the big news being that it’s almost certainly not going to be preseason favorite Milton, which lost tight games to the Forsyth County pair last week.

And Peachtree Ridge got a nice win Tuesday, beating No. 4 Norcross, though Norcross still figures to finish on top in Region 7.

Region tournaments determine seeds for the state tournament, which begins Feb. 21. The GHSA brackets show that the first round will pair regions 1 vs. 2, 3 vs. 4, 5 vs. 6 and 7 vs 8.

Region 1: The best race in Class 7A lives here as three teams have two regions losses. Lowndes upset Valdosta 60-50 at Valdosta on Saturday (upset simply because it was on the road and Valdosta had won the first meeting a week earlier). Now, Lowndes plays at home Friday against Camden County. Valdosta plays (and is almost certain to defeat) last-place Colquitt County on Monday. So the Lowndes-Camden winner is expected to finish tied with Valdosta. Valdosta has split with both teams. The tiebreaker might come down to points allowed in region games. The No. 1 seed will host the region tournament. Lowndes and Valdosta, both better known for their football programs, each won basketball region titles last season - Lowndes in 7A, Valdosta in 6A. Camden won a basketball region title in 2020.

Team	Region W	Region L	Overall W	Overall L
Valdosta	5	2	13	9
Lowndes	5	2	14	10
Camden County	4	2	12	10
Richmond Hill	1	5	6	15
Colquitt County	1	5	1	15

Region 2: Pebblebrook would have this region in the bag except for surging Westlake’s upset of the Falcons on Jan. 24. The Falcons, who have made the state semifinals the past two seasons, were coming off a huge win over Norcross but failed to take care of region business in their home gym. Pebblebrook is off the rest of this week but plays at home Tuesday against Carrollton, which has been ranked most of this season, and goes to Westlake on Feb. 10. Westlake is only 12-10 but secured another big win Tuesday, defeating Carrollton 58-51 on the road. Westlake will steal the regular-season region championship if it wins out. The Lions must play East Coweta and Campbell before the Pebblebrook showdown in the season finale.

Region 3: McEachern clinched the No. 1 seed for the region tournament with an 88-65 victory over Marietta on Tuesday. McEachern is 9-0 since Jan. 1.Four of McEachern’s six losses are against out-of-state teams. The others are to Pebblebrook by one and Kell by five.

Team	Region W	Region L	Overall W	Overall L
#6 Pebblebrook	5	1	16	7
Westlake	3	2	12	10
Carrollton	3	3	17	5
Campbell	2	3	14	8
East Coweta	1	5	10	12

Region 4: It appears this race is coming down the Feb. 10 game between No. 3 Grayson and No. 5 Newton. Newton won the first meeting 54-43. The rematch will be at Grayson. Both teams have landmines in the meantime with four ranked teams in the region. Plus, unranked Parkview delivered Newton’s only region loss. (Newton also plays No. 1 Wheeler in a non-region game Monday.) Grayson looked strong Tuesday in a 59-43 victory over No. 7 Archer. Newton made the semifinals last season. Grayson made the quarterfinals and was the state runner-up in 2020.

Team	Region W	Region L	Overall W	Overall L
#2 McEachern	6	0	17	6
Hillgrove	4	2	12	9
Marietta	2	3	4	18
Harrison	1	4	10	11
North Paulding	1	5	9	14

Region 5: Wheeler beat Cherokee 69-60 and North Cobb 68-61 last week, putting distance between itself and the field. Wheeler might have to wait until the Feb. 10 game at home at Cherokee to clinch the regular-season title. In the meantime, Wheeler faces No. 6 Newton on Monday in a non-region game. All of Wheeler’s losses have come to out-of-state teams, but tight region games against unranked opponents suggest the Wildcats could be vulnerable.

Team	Region W	Region L	Overall W	Overall L
#3 Grayson	6	1	16	5
#5 Newton	6	1	14	7
#10 South Gwinnett	4	3	15	7
#7 Archer	3	4	16	5
Parkview	2	5	11	10
Brookwood	0	7	10	12

Region 6: Milton was ranked every week this season until Sunday, when the latest AJC polled dropped the Eagles for their surprising third-place standing in Region 6. Lambert upset Milton on the road 68-67 on Friday and is expected to win out and finish ahead of Milton. But first place belongs to Denmark, which beat Milton on Jan. 25. History lesson: Denmark and Lambert, both from Forsyth County, each have won five state-playoff games in their histories. Milton won five in 2021 alone in winning a state title.) Back to the future: Denmark must play Milton again Tuesday, this time on the road. Denmark will win the regular season if it wins out, but if Milton defends its home court and beats Denmark, the region is likely headed for a Denmark-Lambert tie for first. Both would get a first-round bye in the region tournament and automatic berth in the state tournament.

Team	Region W	Region L	Overall W	Overall L
#1 Wheeler	6	0	14	6
#9 Cherokee	5	2	18	4
North Cobb	3	4	16	5
Walton	3	4	14	8
Osborne	2	4	13	8
Kennesaw Mountain	1	6	11	11

Region 7: Peachtree Ridge upset No. 4 Norcross 58-55 on Tuesday, and now Norcross must beat third-place North Gwinnett on Friday to win the regular-season title outright. It was Norcross’ second in-state loss. The other was to No. 6 Pebblebrook. Peachtree Ridge, perhaps on the verge of a state ranking, had lost to Norcross by 25 points in their first meeting Jan. 6.

Team	Region W	Region L	Overall W	Overall L
Denmark	7	1	14	8
Lambert	6	2	16	7
Milton	5	3	17	6
South Forsyth	3	5	8	15
West Forsyth	2	6	8	15
Forsyth Central	1	7	3	19

Region 8: Collins Hill is in the lead but must play at Buford on Friday and at Mill Creek on Feb. 7. Collins Hill defeated both in their first meetings, but they were tight. The Mill Creek game went to overtime. And the lower half can’t be taken for granted. Fourth-place Central Gwinnett beat Collins Hill 59-55 on Friday.

Team	Region W	Region L	Overall W	Overall L
#4 Norcross	10	1	19	4
Peachtree Ridge	8	2	18	5
North Gwinnett	7	3	9	13
Berkmar	5	6	11	12
Meadowcreek	3	7	7	14
Duluth	2	8	7	16
Discovery	1	9	4	19

About the Author

Todd Holcomb

Todd Holcomb has been a contributor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1985. He is currently co-founder and editor of Georgia High School Football Daily.

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