The Lake City Classic at Allatoona High School separated some pretenders from contenders as of now in Class AAAAAA. McEachern entered ranked No. 10 but after a strong showing in the tournament and a second-place finish, the Indians move up to No. 6. They thrashed last week’s No. 6 Lambert (13-2) 73-37 causing the Longhorns to fall out of the poll. Lambert quickly rebounded however with a blowout of last week’s No. 8 Milton (9-5) by a final of 93-67. The final result was eye opening after the Eagles had lost to 5ANo. 3 McIntosh 74-68. Milton completed its 0-3 week at the tournament by dropping a 70-59 decision to 1A-Private No. 3 North Cobb Christian, 70-59 and in the process tumbled out of the top ten. McEachern not only routed Lambert, but scored an impressive overtime victory over McIntosh 75-68 in the semifinals before falling to Allatoona 64-61. Freshman Isaac Okoro finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and three blocks while Darius Jones poured in 20 points to lead the Indians over McIntosh.
No. 3 Norcross and No. 4 Wheeler both fell to out-of-state opponents while No. 5 Tift County suffered its first loss of the season in the Arby’s Classic championship in Bristol, Tennessee to Wayne (OH) without second leading scorer Preston Horne who injured his knee earlier in the tournament. No. 8 Newton won the Yuletide Classic championship behind the play of Dre Butler (All-Tournament Team) and JD Notae (Tournament MVP). A flock of Falcons, No. 9 Dacula and No. 10 Pebblebrook, both re-emerge in the top ten. Dacula finished 3-1 at the Kingdom of the Sun tournament in Florida. In their next game they clash with 12-1 Grayson in a crucial Region 8 meeting. Pebblebrook has played a heavy national schedule including seven of their 15 games coming against out-of-state competition. The Falcons return to Region 3 play battle-tested and already 5-0. Auburn signee Jared Harper and Collin Sexton have transformed into the most potent backcourt in the state, both averaging well over 20 points a night for Coach George Washington.
No. 1 Miller Grove continued its steady dominance this year in Class AAAAA by capturing the Chick-Fil-A Invitational championship at Tucker High School. En route to raising the trophy, the Wolverines clawed away 4ANo. 3 Lithonia 60-47 and beat Tucker in the championship on their home floor, 80-61. No. 2 Allatoona remained perfect by winning the Lake City Classic on their home court. Wins over North Cobb Christian, Berkmar and McEachern have the Buccaneers as hot as anybody in the state. Coach Markus Hood’s matchup zone and the stifling defense of Trey Doomes and Ephraim Tshimanga have the Bucs looking like a good bet to make another deep run in state. No. 5 Cedar Shoals continued to make a statement as well and built to its already impressive resume. The Jaguars won the Sweet South Classic and picked up wins over 1A-Private No. 4 SWAC, 48-44 and 3ANo. 3 Morgan County 61-59 along the way. In the championship victory over the Bulldogs, Phlan Fleming hit a basket with one second left to capture the crown. Fleming finished with 27 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals and was named tournament MVP. No. 10 Warner Robins is back in the rankings after LaGrange dropped to new 4ANo. 10 Upson-Lee, 77-65.
A familiar face takes over No. 1 in AAAA. Two-time defending state champion Jonesboro reaches the top of the poll for the first time this season after a third-place showing in the MaxPreps Holiday Classic. MJ Walker pumped in 38 points in the third-place game victory over Bishop Gorman (NV), 65-64. No. 2 Grady relents its hold on the top spot after a narrow loss to Jefferson Davis (AL), 67-61. No. 4 St. Pius quietly continues its ascension up the polls after losing to Grady and No. 3 Lithonia. The Golden Lions swept their way to winning the St. Pius X Christmas Classic and drilled Blessed Trinity in the finals, 67-38. Henry County (9-4), who peaked at No. 4 in the state, has dropped out of the top ten following their third straight loss. Stockbridge (6-5) won at Henry County 86-71 on Saturday. Virgil Fields finished with 29 points, six assists and 13 rebounds while Jadon Davis added 37 points and six assists to drop the Warhawks.
In AAA, No. 2 Jenkins moves up one spot after a tough No. 3 Morgan County loss in the Sweet South Classic championship. No. 4 South Atlanta blasted Sequoyah at the Farm Bureau Insurance Classic in Spartanburg, South Carolina 82-54. Artavious Banks led the way with 25 points. No. 5 Calhoun impressed many on its way to winning the SmileGeneration.com bracket at the Lake City Classic. On Saturday, the Yellow Jackets had to deal with an up-and-coming contender in Region 6, Coahulla Creek (12-3). Down 39-35 entering the fourth, Calhoun outscored the Colts 25-13 on the road to secure a 60-52 win. Jireh Wilson and Kaelan Riley, both football signees, were huge as Wilson finished with 31 points and six rebounds while Riley posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. No. 7 Westminster debuts in the poll after a huge 65-43 win over 1A-Private No. 4 SWAC and an 11-2 start behind Will Benson, Philip Jones and Mikael Sampson. No. 10 Westside-Augusta also debuts in the top ten following a Banks County (12-2) 42-40 loss to a shorthanded 6ANo. 7 Collins Hill in the Commerce Christmas Tournament championship. The Patriots get the slight nod over the Leopards. Westside’s only two losses have come to No. 1 Laney by a combined seven points. Speaking of Laney, the Wildcats held on to beat 4ANo. 9 Thomson, 62-58 at home behind Christian Keeling’s 23 points and Zep Jasper’s 20.
No. 1 Thomasville has emerged as the class of AA after sweeping through the Thomasville Hoopfest to win the title. Elsewhere in the classification, there have been road bumps. No. 2 Crawford County lost its first game to Manchester 63-61. No. 3 Seminole County is riding a two-game losing skid after falling to Boyd Anderson (FL) and Valdosta at the Thomasville Hoopfest, two teams Thomasville defeated. No. 5 Vidalia lost its first two games of the season as well to Richmond Academy and Brunswick. One team that is trending upwards is No. 4 Holy Innocents’. They jump up two spots following a perfect 3-0 championship run at the Pensacola Catholic Crusader Christmas Tournament. The Golden Bears return home to host Pace Academy. The Knights have played a national schedule and have paid dearly, dropping from No. 2 to unranked at 2-8 overall. No. 10 Chattooga at 14-1 makes an entry into the state picture.
Class 1A-Private and Public are still trying to sort themselves out. Outside of No. 1 Greenforest, 1A-Private looks like anyone’s ball game. No. 4 SWAC has dropped three straight with losses to Cedar Shoals, Stone Mountain and Westminster. No. 7 Lakeview has fallen to East Hall and North Hall back-to-back while No. 8 Whitefield Academy limped to 1-2 at the Lake City Classic with losses to Kell and Hillgrove in the SmileGeneration.com bracket.
1A-Public has seen No. 2 Wilkinson County start to make a move. They continue to rise following a 57-54 win over Stratford Academy (8-3) on Saturday. No. 9 Hancock Central held off a furious comeback from No. 7 Lincoln County to win 69-64 after leading by 22 at the half. In the loss rapidly rising ’17 prospect, 6-foot-7 Ahmad Rand, posted another triple-double with 18 points, 18 rebounds and 11 blocks.
Class AAAAAA
1. Westlake (7-2)
2. Shiloh (9-2)
3. Norcross (12-2)
4. Wheeler (8-5)
5. Tift County (13-1)
6. McEachern (10-2)
7. Collins Hill (13-1)
8. Newton (10-2)
9. Dacula (10-2)
10. Pebblebrook (9-6)
Class AAAAA
1. Miller Grove (12-2)
2. Allatoona (12-0)
3. McIntosh (11-2)
4. Gainesville (6-1)
5. Cedar Shoals (14-2)
6. Heritage-Conyers (13-1)
7. Camden County (12-0)
8. South Paulding (11-2)
9. Riverwood (14-1)
10. Warner Robins (8-2)
Class AAAA
1. Jonesboro (10-3)
2. Grady (12-1)
3. Lithonia (10-4)
4. St. Pius (11-2)
5. Liberty County (9-1)
6. Walnut Grove (13-1)
7. Sandy Creek (9-4)
8. Eagle’s Landing (12-1)
9. Thomson (10-2)
10. Upson-Lee (11-3)
Class AAA
1. Laney (12-0)
2. Jenkins (10-2)
3. Morgan County (10-3)
4. South Atlanta (10-2)
5. Calhoun (10-0)
6. Central-Macon (10-2)
7. Westminster (11-2)
8. Callaway (5-2)
9. Southwest-Macon (10-3)
10. Westside-Augusta (5-2)
Class AA
1. Thomasville (14-0)
2. Crawford County (10-1)
3. Seminole County (9-3)
4. Holy Innocents’ (10-3)
5. Vidalia (11-2)
6. Early County (8-2)
7. GAC (8-6)
8. Macon County (9-3)
9. Wesleyan (8-3)
10. Chattooga (14-1)
Class A-Private
1. Greenforest (13-1)
2. St. Francis (8-5)
3. North Cobb Christian (9-3)
4. SWAC (7-7)
5. St. Anne-Pacelli (8-4)
6. Landmark Christian (8-3)
7. Lakeview Academy (8-3)
8. Whitefield Academy (7-7)
9. Tattnall Square Academy (10-2)
10. Our Lady of Mercy (7-3)
Class A-Public
1. Treutlen (9-1)
2. Wilkinson County (8-3)
3. Randolph-Clay (10-4)
4. Hawkinsville (7-3)
5. Taylor County (8-4)
6. Atkinson County (8-2)
7. Lincoln County (7-3)
8. Terrell County (8-6)
9. Hancock Central (6-4)
10. Wilcox County (7-5)
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