The top three spots in the Class 5A boys basketball rankings remained unchanged for a third straight week. This was not without controversy, as many wanted to see some new teams atop the rankings with all three top teams losing last week. Milton is once again ranked first, even after a loss to fourth-ranked Wheeler. The top spot was earned in part with a 76-51 win over cross-town rival Alpharetta early last week. The game of the week was Milton against Wheeler. The Eagles hadn’t beaten Wheeler since 1997 and the story remained the same last Friday when the Wildcats came out on top, 78-72. The Eagles were without one of their leading scorers, Evan Nolte, but got a much-needed contribution from Shannon Scott, who scored 22 points. This week, Milton will put its top ranking on the line against region opponents Roswell and Kell.
The No. 2 ranking belongs to Westlake again this week. Last week didn’t start out too well for the Lions, as they lost 69-68 to unranked Morrow on the road. A late lead for Westlake was taken away in the final seconds as Morrow stole the ball and converted it for two points to win the game. It was only the second loss of the season and first to a team from Georgia for the Lions. Pebblebrook had the unfortunate task of being the next opponent for Westlake. It wasn’t pretty, as the Lions blew away the Falcons, 87-50. Creekside was no match for Westlake either as the Lions took the win last Saturday, 57-45. Their overall record stands at 17-2 with their first-place region record at 11-1. A matchup with Chapel Hill and a rematch with Creekside will test the Lions this week.
At No. 3 this week sits Centennial. Surprisingly, this was the third team in the top three to lose last week. However, a win over Roswell, 82-59, solidified the Knights’ ranking. Senior center Vincent Bailey led the team with 22 points. Senior point guard Devonta White followed up his teammate with 17 points. The loss was against T.C. Williams (Va.) last weekend, 61-53. Centennial led the game going into the fourth quarter by two points, but was unable to hold the lead and was outscored 22-12. White led the Knights with 21 points. Centennial will be busy this week with three games, including another out-of-state opponent in D.W. Daniel (S.C.).
Class 3A South Atlanta lost its first in-state game in almost three years ago on Saturday, falling to Region 4 opponent Spalding 72-67. The Hornets, No. 1 in the classification at the time and the defending state champions, were tied with Spalding 68-68 with under a minute to go. With the clock running, the official scorekeeper took a point off the scoreboard from South Atlanta, which had its score tallied incorrectly. Players noticed the change immediately, but head coach Michael Reddick didn’t realize what had happened until later. Spalding went on to win the game, which will not be played under protest.
ON THE GIRLS SIDE …
The Westlake girls kept their ranking at No. 6 this week with wins over Morrow, Pebblebrook and Creekside. In all three wins, the Lady Lions held their opponents to under 40 points. The defense has yielded on average just over 40 points per game on the season. This number is thanks in part to senior center Simone Johnson, who leads the team in blocks. Westlake has won six out of seven contests since the new year. They will try to continue their winning ways this week against Chapel Hill and Creekside.
RECORDS BREAKING …
The North Fulton Swim & Dive Championships took place last weekend with Alpharetta taking the overall (combined boys and girls) championship. The boys finished in first place and the girls finished second. Centennial won the girls championship. There were a number of meet records that were broken this year. Allen Browning, Garrett Cottingham, Alex Forte and David Vater of Alpharetta broke their own records from a year ago of 1:41.01 in the 220-meter medley relay by posting a 1:40.29 mark. Browning also broke the meet record time for 100-meter backstroke with a time of 52.77. A meet record that was broken on the girls side was by Roswell’s Julia Henkel in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:55.31. Henkel also set the previous record in 2008. The Metro Invitational will be held at Westminster this weekend, where Alpharetta will try to continue its success.
Deighton can be reached at jdeighton@scoreatl.com.
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