STATE BASKETBALL: 8 Clayton teams to compete in first-round games this week By Luke Strickland
JONESBORO — The first round of the GHSA State Basketball Tournament will begin later this week. Read more about each local team and who they will face as state tournament play commences.
Friday
Class AAAAA Girls: Morrow at Warner Robins, 5:30 p.m.
The Morrow Lady Mustangs finished as the No. 4 seed out of Region 4 in Class AAAAA. They will play Warner Robins in the first round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs on Friday.
Warner Robins finished the season 25-1 and are ranked No. 5 in Class AAAAA. The Lady Demons are led by seniors Kezia Holmes (17 PPG) and La’Terria Mathis (12 PPG) and junior Shynia Jackson (10 PPG). Warner Robins beat Bainbridge 56-51 in the Region 1-AAAAA championship game.
The winner of the Morrow/Warner Robins matchup will face the winner of the Cass/Columbia contest in the next round.
Class AAAA Girls: Upson-Lee at North Clayton, 6 p.m.
The Lady Eagles won the Region 4-AAAA tournament last weekend and will be the top seed out of the region in the Class AAAA state playoffs. North Clayton will face Upson-Lee in the first round on Friday night.
Upson-Lee is the No. 4 seed out of Region 2. The Lady Knights finished the season with a 14-14 overall record and fell to West Laurens 59-57 in the Region 2 third-place game. They are led by senior Kyjha Kendall, who averages 13 points and 10 rebounds per game.
The winner of the North Clayton/Upson-Lee game will play the winner of the Heritage/Madison County matchup in the next round.
Class AAAAAA Girls: Jonesboro at Glynn Academy, 6 p.m.
The Jonesboro Lady Cardinals clinched the No. 3 seed out of Region 4-AAAAAA with a win over Stephenson in the third-place game over the weekend. Jonesboro will face Glynn Academy Friday in the first round of the Class AAAAAA state playoffs.
Glynn Academy finished second out of Region 2 after losing to Brunswick in the region championship game by a score of 35-32. The Lady Red Terrors went 16-11 during the regular season.
The winner of the Jonesboro/Glynn Academy contest will face the winner of the Winder-Barrow/Sequoyah matchup in the next round.
Saturday
Class AAAAA Boys: Riverdale at Veterans, 3 p.m.
Riverdale finished as the No. 3 seed out of Region 3-AAAAA. The Raiders will travel to play Veterans Saturday in the first round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs.
Veterans came in second in Region 1-AAAAA after falling 61-41 to Warner Robins in the region championship game. The Warhawks finished the regular season with an 11-13 record. They are led by seniors Josh Linder (22 PPG, 10 RPG) and Dathan Boyd (15 PPG).
The winner of the Riverdale/Veterans matchup will play the winner of the Villa Rica/Lithonia contest in the next round.
Class AAAAAA Girls: Richmond Hill at Lovejoy, 6 p.m. at Jonesboro High School
Lovejoy dropped the Region 4-AAAAAA title game to Tucker over the weekend, making the Lady Wildcats the No. 2 seed out of the region. They will host Richmond Hill Saturday in a game scheduled to be played at Jonesboro High School.
Richmond Hill finished the regular season with a 12-15 record and as the No. 3 seed out of Region 2. They beat Brunswick by a score of 37-34 to secure third place in their region.
The winner of the Lovejoy/Richmond Hill game will play the winner of the Creekview/Habersham Central matchup in the next round.
Class AAAAAA Boys: Forest Park at Brunswick, 6 p.m.
As the No. 4 seed out of Region 4-AAAAAA, Forest Park will travel to play Brunswick in the first round of the Class AAAAAA state playoffs.
Brunswick won the Region 2-AAAAAA championship with a 46-44 victory over Effingham County last weekend. The Pirates finished the regular season with a 19-8 record.
The winner of the Forest Park/Brunswick game will take on the winner of the Dacula/Osbourne matchup in the next round.
Class AAAA Boys: North Clayton at Upson-Lee, 6:30
North Clayton finished as the No. 4 seed out of Region 4 and will take on Upson-Lee in the first round of the Class AAAA state playoffs Saturday.
Upson-Lee finished the season with a perfect 27-0 record and has been ranked No. 1 in Class AAAA all season. The Knights are led by junior forward Tavias Fagan (21 PPG, 8 RPG) and sophomore guard Zyrice Scott (12 PPG).
The winner of the Upson-Lee/North Clayton matchup will take on the winner of the Stephens County/Heritage matchup in the next round.
Class AAAAAA Boys: Richmond Hill at Jonesboro, 7:30
The Jonesboro Cardinals will be the No. 2 seed out of Region 4 in the Class AAAAAA state playoffs after dropping the Region 4 championship game to Stephenson over the weekend. Jonesboro will face Richmond Hill Saturday at home in the first round of the Class AAAAAA state playoffs.
Richmond Hill finished the season with a 20-6 record and as the No. 3 seed out of Region 2. The Wildcats entered their region tournament as the No. 1 seed but were upset by Effingham County in the semifinals. They have a balanced scoring attack, led by seniors Trey Deloach (12 PPG) and Montest Bumpers (11 PPG).
The winner of Jonesboro/Richmond Hill contest will play the winner of the Winder-Barrow/Allatoona matchup in the next round.
