Games between ranked teams highlight the Class A high school basketball weekend, and none is more important than the Division I boys matchup between No. 2 Savannah (12-6, 5-0) and No. 3 Woodville-Tompkins (17-2, 6-1).
Woodville’s losses came against Class 5A No. 9 Bradwell Institute (79-75 in triple-overtime on Dec. 29), the other a 63-48 loss to Savannah on Dec. 8. Savannah’s only loss came Saturday against Florida’s Andrew Jackson (66-59 in overtime).
In another Division I boys game between ranked teams, No. 8 Mount Bethel (11-5, 4-1) will travel to No. 6 St. Francis (9-7, 5-0) for a Region 6 game. Greg Howard (19 points), Reynolds Escher (15 points) and Triston McDonald (12 points) pace the Knights. Bethel’s big four includes senior point guard Will Kuimjian, senior power forward Cole Buker, junior shooting guard Zach Rodene and sophomore Nate Robinson.
In Class A Division II boys play, top-ranked Greenforest (14-4, 2-0) has a large weekend ahead. The Eagles will face No. 2 Christian Heritage (15-3, 2-0) in a Region 7 game at 7:30 p.m. Friday and will travel for an out-of-state game against Alabama’s Hazel Green at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Alabama A&M Event Center in Huntsville.
Christian Heritage lost to Class A Division I No. 4 Darlington 64-60 in a league game Saturday. Greenforest has won eight consecutive games. including a 61-54 victory against Division I No. 1 Mount Vernon on Monday.
No. 2 Portal (15-1, 3-0) will travel to Jenkins County (11-2, 2-0) for a key Region 3 game. Both teams are unbeaten and on top of the league standings. Since losing to Vidalia 72-58 on Jan. 6, Portal has won four consecutive games. Jenkins County lost to Hepzibah 59-54 and Laney 62-50 on Dec. 27-28 but has defeated Metter, Emanuel County Institute and Montgomery County since. Joseph Thomas (15 points), Elijah Coleman (12 points), Amir Jackson (12 points) and Marion Tremble have been productive for Portal.
On the girls side:
-- Class A Division I No. 2 Galloway (10-7, 2-1) will travel to Class 6A No. 1 and defending champion River Ridge (13-4, 6-0) Saturday. The Scots are coming off a 72-59 victory against Class 3A No. 4 Carver-Columbus on Monday. River Ridge is coming off a 74-67 victory against Class 7A No. 3 Buford on Saturday.
-- Division I No. 8 Bryan County (14-2, 6-0) will have a Region 3 rematch on the road against Metter at 6 p.m. Friday. Bryan defeated Metter 50-38 on Dec. 8. The Redskins have won five consecutive games, including Tuesday’s 50-25 victory against Woodville-Tomkins.
-- Division II No. 8 Terrell County (11-4, 10-0) will play a region game against No. 5 Early County (12-5, 9-2) at 6 p.m. Friday. Early County has lost its last two games – 53-24 to Monroe and 38-36 to Randolph-Clay. Terrell County is coming off a 63-34 victory against Miller County on Tuesday and has won three games since losing to Monroe 52-46 on Jan. 6.
-- Division II No. 3 Wilcox County (13-1, 5-0) will play Dodge County (10-3, 5-1) at 6 p.m. Friday.
Class A Division I boys top-10
1. Mount Vernon
2. Savannah
3. Woodville-Tompkins
4. Darlington
5. King’s Ridge Christian
6. St. Francis
7. East Laurens
8. Mount Bethel Christian
9. Bleckley County
10. Paideia
Class A Division II boys top-10
1. Greenforest Christian
2. Portal
3. Christian Heritage
4. Calhoun County
5. Mitchell County
6. Seminole County
7. Clinch County
8. McIntosh County Academy
9. Early County
10. Randolph-Clay
Class A Division I girls top-10
1. St. Francis
2. Galloway
3. Athens Christian
4. Oglethorpe County
5. Rabun County
6. Lamar County
7. Swainsboro
8. Bryan County
9. East Laurens
10. Mount Pisgah Christian
Class A Division II girls top-10
1. Greenforest
2. Montgomery County
3. Wilcox County
4. Taylor County
5. Early County
6. Towns County
7. Warren County
8. Terrell County
9. Macon County
10. Seminole County
About the Author
