Parkview girls, Berkmar boys win critical Region 8 games; Milton-Wheeler ppd

When the season began, Parkview ‘s girls were thought to be perhaps the only team with the experience and talent to challenge super-talented McEachern. Those prospects went sour on Jan. 9, when their best player, point guard Genesis Perrymond, was lost to a fractured collarbone early in a loss to Archer, now ranked second.

But Parkview got revenge on Friday night with a 55-52 home victory in Region 8. Vicki Harris, a 6-foot-3 post, made a 3-point play in the final seconds to break a tie. She scored 15 points.

Perrymond hopes to return by the state tournament. If so, watch Parkview (20-2, 12-1), the team that went double overtime to eventual champion Norcross in the quarterfinals last season.

Berkmar's boys (17-5, 11-2) are probably the best team in AAAAAA that hasn't been ranked this season. The Patriots have made the quarterfinals the past two seasons, and they just about sewed up the No. 1 seed in Region 8 with a 56-43 victory over Grayson (18-3, 9-3) on Friday. Senior center Tim Rowe (6-foot-11) is averaging 13.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots. Jonathan Sanks, committed to Georgia Southern, averages 11.9 points. A third senior, guard Kiair Crouch averages 14.2 points.

Norcross' boys (17-5, 11-2) got a scare Friday from Peachtree Ridge but pulled out a 59-58 victory when Lorenzo Carter made a free throw with 1.9 seconds left. Peachtree Ridge (10-12, 7-6) was expected to be a potential Top 10 team this season but appears to be too green to make a run. Sophomore point guard Aaron Augustin (14.1 ppg, 4.4 apg) and senior post Amir Warnock (12.6 pog, 8.8 rpg) are as good an inside-out pair as there is in AAAAAA.

The Wheeler-Milton boys game, originally scheduled for Friday night, will be played at Milton on Saturday, Feb. 8. Should be a pretty interesting weekend for No. 1 Wheeler. The Wildcats (17-4, 10-0) will play at No. 7 Walton (17-3, 8-2) and No. 8 Milton (13-7, 8-2) on back-to-back nights on the final weekend of the regular season.