Three No. 1-ranked boys basketball teams came up short in their region tournaments last weekend, and two will enter this week’s state tournament after a demotion in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution rankings.
One is Glenn Hills of Augusta in Class AA. Cross-town Laney beat the Spartans 55-41 in the Region 4-AA final. The two have split their four games this season, with Laney winning the most recent two. Laney (25-3) switched places in the rankings, taking over the No. 1 spot while Glenn Hill (24-2) steps back to No. 2.
In Class A, both No. 1 teams lost in the region tournaments.
St. Francis, the No. 1 private-school team, was beaten 64-62 by previous No. 6 Christian Heritage in the Region 6 semifinals. Christian Heritage, of Dalton, went on to rout No. 4 North Cobb Christian 71-47 in the final.
St. Francis (24-3) remained No. 1 as the Knights have played a tougher schedule and lost only once to Georgia Class A opponents. Christian Heritage (26-2), with two Class A losses, moved up only to No. 2 despite the better overall record, the region title and the head-to-head win.
Manchester, the No. 1 public-school team in Class A, lost to No. 8 Central-Talbotton 49-48 in the Region 4-A final. Manchester lost to eighth-ranked Central-Talbotton 49-48 in the Region 4 final. That was the first on-court loss by Manchester (20-6), which was docked five wins by forfeit for the inadvertent use of an academically ineligible player.
The new No. 1 is Calhoun County (26-2), which has won 17 straight. One of Calhoun County’s losses was against Manchester 53-49 on the road on Dec. 16.
Only two ranked teams failed to qualify automatically for the state tournament.
One is Collins Hill (20-6), which lost in the quarterfinals of the Region 6-AAAAAAA tournament. The Eagles are likely to get the classification’s at-large state-playoff berth. Collins Hill fell out of the rankings, replaced by Region 4 champion Etowah (23-2).
Windsor Forest, the previous No. 8 in AAA, won’t be so lucky. The Knights’ season is done after failing to make the Region 3-AAA semifinals when beaten 85-78 by Beach (10-19), a team that Windsor Forest (15-10) had trounced by 40 and 24 points in the regular season.
Teams new to the rankings are Etowah for Collins Hill in AAAAAAA, North Atlanta and South Cobb for Tri-Cities and Bradwell Institute in AAAAAA, Jackson-Atlanta for Eagle’s Landing in AAAAA, Hart County for Windsor Forest in AAA, Washington County and Banks County for Elbert County and Early County in AA, Mount Vernon Presbyterian for Wesleyan in A private and Terrell County for Pelham in A public.
Class AAAAAAA
1. McEachern (24-2)
2. Norcross (24-3)
3. Newton (24-3)
4. Pebblebrook (24-2)
5. Peachtree Ridge (23-4)
6. Meadowcreek (21-6)
7. Mountain View (21-5)
8. Grayson (19-6)
9. Wheeler (16-10)
10. Etowah (23-2)
Class AAAAAA
1. Langston Hughes (21-5)
2. Gainesville (20-6)
3. Brunswick (24-3)
4. Cambridge (24-2)
5. Stephenson (21-5)
6. Jonesboro (20-8)
7. Douglas County (21-6)
8. Creekview (23-4)
9. North Atlanta (19-9)
10. South Cobb (18-8)
Class AAAAA
1. Warner Robins (23-3)
2. Buford (23-4)
3. Miller Grove (19-7)
4. Lithonia (21-6)
5. Columbia (19-9)
6. Southwest DeKalb (17-11)
7. Stockbridge (22-6)
8. Clarke Central (22-6)
9. Villa Rica (24-2)
10. Jackson Atlanta (24-2)
Class AAAA
1. Upson-Lee (26-0)
2. St. Pius (24-3)
3. Sandy Creek (22-5)
4. Westover (21-6)
5. Americus-Sumter (24-3)
6. Baldwin (21-6)
7. Cartersville (19-6)
8. Salem (20-6)
9. Carver-Columbus (20-8)
10. Mary Persons (23-4)
Class AAA
1. Morgan County (26-1)
2. Johnson-Savannah (21-5)
3. Jenkins (21-5)
4. Greater Atlanta Christian (23-3)
5. Cedar Grove (21-6)
6. Central-Macon (21-5)
7. Westside-Macon (18-10)
8. Pace Academy (16-11)
9. Towers (17-9)
10. Hart County (15-12)
Class AA
1. Laney (25-3)
2. Glenn Hills (24-2)
3. Thomasville (23-3)
4. Dublin (22-3)
5. Therrell (18-7)
6. South Atlanta (23-4)
7. Chattooga (23-3)
8. Washington County (17-8)
9. Banks County (24-4)
10. Swainsboro (20-6)
Class A (Private)
1. St. Francis (24-3)
2. Christian Heritage (26-2)
3. Eagle’s Landing Christian (25-3)
4. Aquinas (23-5)
5. North Cobb Christian (21-6)
6. Greenforest Christian (15-11)
7. Holy Innocents’ (16-9)
8. Stratford Academy (18-7)
9. Lakeview Academy (20-7)
10. Mount Vernon Presbyterian (17-10)
Class A (Public)
1. Calhoun County (23-2)
2. Manchester (20-6)
3. Wilkinson County (22-6)
4. Montgomery County (21-3)
5. Woodville-Tompkins (24-3)
6. Lanier County (24-3)
7. Macon County (19-5)
8. Central-Talbotton (21-3)
9. Georgia Military College (23-3)
10. Terrell County (19-9)
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