This is the final week of the basketball regular season, and Tuesday is the busy day, as most teams left the weekend open for makeups. A few regions are beginning their tournaments Friday. Here are the top regular-season games left on the schedule.
Monday
Tri-Cities at Woodward Academy (boys): These Class 5A juggernauts from south Fulton County likely will meet three times in three weeks. Tri-Cities, playing at home, beat Woodward Academy 74-69 last week, knocking the War Eagles from the No. 1 ranking and moving Tri-Cities to No. 2 behind new No. 1 Milton. They’re likely to meet again for in the Region 4 final next week. Tri-Cities won state titles in 2019 and 2022. Woodward Academy last won in 2020.
Tuesday
ACE Charter at Central-Macon (girls): Central was undefeated in a deep Region 2-A Division I before being upset Jan. 17 by ACE Charter 32-20, one of the season’s most unusual final scores. The fifth-ranked Chargers (17-4, 10-1) remain in first place in the region, but they’ll need to avenge that loss this week to maintain control of their fate. No. 7 ACE Charter (18-2, 8-2) has lost region games against Washington County and Dodge County, which are tied for fifth place in the 10-team region.
East Hall at Jefferson (boys): These much-improved teams will decide the Region 8-3A regular-season champion. East Hall, ranked No. 8, is 19-4 overall and chasing its first region championship since 2017. Jefferson, ranked No. 8, is 16-5. Both are 7-1 in region play. Neither team made the state tournament last season.
Grayson at Newton (boys): Grayson, the No. 1 team in Class 6A, faces one more tough contest before the Region 4 tournament. That’s fourth-ranked Newton. As the home team, Grayson won their first meeting 72-56 on Jan. 9.
McIntosh County Academy at Savannah (boys): These coastal Georgia teams are ranked 1-2 in Class A Division II. No. 1 McIntosh County beat Savannah 48-47 on Jan. 7. There are no private-school teams in A Division II, which is giving these smaller public schools better opportunities. Savannah was in the semifinals last season but hasn’t won a title since 2001. MCA’s quarterfinal finish last season matched the school’s best playoff run in history.
Milton at Gainesville (boys): Gainesville, ranked No. 5 in Class 5A, is showing signs of rekindled glory under second-year coach Charlemagne Gibbons, who led Newton to a semifinal in 2022 and Morgan County to a state title in 2014. Gainesville hasn’t won a state-playoff game since 2019, but this year’s team is 16-6 overall and 9-1 in region play entering this Region 7 game against No. 1-ranked Milton (17-6, 10-0). Milton, playing at home, won the first meeting 60-50 on Jan. 7
Thomson at Josey (girls): These are the top two teams in both the Region 4-2A standings and the Class 2A rankings. No. 1 Thomson (21-1, 8-0) and No. 2 Josey (17-3, 7-1) are separated by one game in the standings, the difference being Thomson’s 61-49 victory when the teams met at Thomson on Jan. 17. Thomson concludes the regular season Friday against fifth-ranked Butler. Josey has won two state championships, most recently in 2021. Thomson is seeking its first.
Wednesday
Marist at Northview (girls): Second-ranked Marist (20-2, 13-0) and state player-of-the-year candidate Kate Harpring need only one victory in three games this week to secure first place in Region 5-4A. This game against second-place Northview appears the toughest of the three. The Titans (16-7, 12-2) are unranked in the AJC poll but No. 14 in the MaxPreps Class 4A rankings. Marist won 60-40 at home when the teams met Dec. 3. Marist also plays Tucker (Tuesday) and Lithonia (Friday) this week.
Metter at Bryan County (girls): These top-five teams from southeast Georgia sit atop Region 3-A Division II with one loss each. The winner likely will finish in first place, although both have busy weeks. No. 2 Bryan County (18-2, 11-1) also has games this week against Jenkins County (Tuesday), Claxton (Friday) and Savannah (Saturday). No. 5 Metter (15-2, 12-1) also plays Portal (Tuesday), Emanuel County Institute (Friday) and Tattnall County (Saturday). Bryan County won the first meeting 68-63 on Dec. 10 at Metter.
Thursday
Wheeler at Etowah (boys): Fifth-ranked Etowah of Class 6A is 9-1 on the calendar year, its only loss an 81-77 decision to second-ranked Wheeler on Jan. 14. Etowah (18-4 overall, 8-2 in Region 5) will take another shot at Wheeler (20-3, 10-0), this time at home. Etowah avenged its other region loss, to sixth-ranked Walton, with a 57-56 victory last week.
Friday
Campbell at Hillgrove (girls): These are the top two teams in Region 3-6A, and the winner will finish in first place. Hillgrove (16-7, 11-1) suffered its only region loss when it lost at Campbell 48-45 on Jan. 22. Fifth-ranked Campbell (21-2, 11-1) lost to fourth-place Harrison 46-38 on Dec. 13. Hillgrove seniors Yolanda Floyd and Amaya Harris were among the 40 players on the Atlanta Tipoff Club late-season awards watch list. Campbell junior Saniya Binion averages 15.7 points and 6.3 rebounds.
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