Basketball teams trying to keep hot streaks going

The region basketball tournaments are not that far away and every sub-region and region win can help a team’s seeding. For some teams, like Fayette County's Lady Tiger, each game could have a big impact on defending their AAAA state title.

The Fayette County boys (16-1, 6-0 region), ranked second in Class AAAA in the latest PrepCountry.com coaches poll, edged out Upson-Lee 59-53 on Friday and followed it with a 64-39 win over Sandy Creek on Saturday and an 84-60 win over Walton on Monday. Bradon Grant had 22 against Walton, while CJ Johnson added 20, Ekene Anachebe added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Jeremy Taylor added 12. Grant and Anachebe had 11 points a piece against Sandy Creek and Anachebe added 12 rebounds and six blocks. Sandy Creek was led by 12 points and nine rebounds from Brandon Byrdsong and seven points from Dale Earhart. Anachebe had 17 points. 15 rebounds and nine blocks against Upson-Lee, while Taylor added 16 points and Johnson added 15.

Fayette County’s Lady Tigers, ranked sixth, beat Sandy Creek 48-28 on Saturday night.

Fayette County hosts McIntosh on Friday and will host Starr’s Mill next Tuesday. Sandy Creek will host Jackson on Friday.

McIntosh’s varsity boys and girls basketball teams had two games over the weekend.

The Lady Chiefs (12-4, 5-1 region) split their games this weekend, beating Northgate 33-29 but losing to Collins Hill 37-21. Amanda Lindsey led McIntosh with 10 points against Northgate. Cassidy Williams had eight points against Collins Hill, while Lindsey chipped in with six.

The boys (6-10, 4-2 region) also split their games, defeating Northgate 47-40 on Friday but falling to Collins Hill 53-44 on Saturday.

McIntosh will play at Fayette County on Friday (7 and 8:30 p.m.) The girls will also play in the Girls’ Night Out event at Starr’s Mill at noon on Saturday against Rockdale County.

Starr’s Mill’s boys (6-11, 2-5 region) beat Harris County 61-46 on Friday. Randon Ruff led the Panthers with 19 points, while Nathan Bates added 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven steals. The girls (15-3, 6-1 region) whipped up on Harris County and earned a 64-26 win. Jenna Ricker was the leading scorer for Starr’s Mill’s girls with 14 points. Katie Wilson added 12 and Grace Huggins had 10.

The Lady Panthers will host a full weekend of basketball with the Girls Night Out event. Games start Friday evening. Starr’s Mill will host Locust Grove at 7 p.m. on Friday. The event is a fundraiser for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

Whitewater’s girls (7-10, 1-5 region) lost their sixth game in a row last Friday, falling to Newnan 48-35. The boys (11-7, 4-2 region) lost to Newnan 59-51 but bounced back with a 54-48 win over Westminster on Saturday. The Wildcats have won three of their last four games. Philip Cofer led the Wildcats against Newnan with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Tommy Chalkley had 14 points and five assists. Cofer had 14 against Westminster, while Maurice Rivers added 13 and Chalkley chipped in 11.
Whitewater will play at Northgate on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Landmark Christian’s boys (10-1, 3-0 region), ranked eighth in Class A, have won 10 games in a row. They beat Our lady of Mercy last Tuesday 83-60 and followed it with wins over Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (64-55) and Northgate (47-38). The Lady War Eagles (3-5, 1-2 region) lost to Mercy 54-35, beat ELCA 36-31 and lost to Northgate 48-17. Against ELCA, the Lady War Eagles were led by 17 points from Diamond Smith. Northgate held Landmark’s girls to five second half points in their win.
Landmark hosts Paideia Friday and plays at First Presbyterian Day Saturday.

Our Lady of Mercy’s boys (9-5, 2-3 region) bounced back from their loss to Landmark with two straight region wins: 63-42 over Strong Rock Christian and 83-71 over Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy.

Mercy will play at Pinecrest Academy on Saturday.