Let the mad rush continue ... While it's true there are only two weeks left in the regular season, there's plenty left to do for the area's boys basketball teams.
Regions across the area are becoming more clear, but some are still wide open. It'll be interesting to watch how the final two weeks of the season play out.
ARE THEY THAT GOOD?
If there's any doubt about Dawson County's ability on the hardwood, perhaps it's from the haters. The Tigers proved they are worthy of a top-5 state ranking with the comeback three-overtime win over Class 4A No. 6-ranked Denmark on Friday. Dawson trailed the Danes by 13 going into the final quarter and rallied to tie the game at the end of regulation thanks to the Campbell Reed's 16 fourth-quarter points. Reed finished with 28 points. Dawson's Jasper Gibson scored 17 of the Tigers' 21 total overtime points. The Tigers proved they have the firepower to play with anybody. When they're on fire, which seems to be on a regular basis, the Tigers are really good.
STILL ON THE RISE
Gainesville has won the last 9-of-10 games and will finish the week at home versus Dacula and Apalachee. The Red Elephants are one game out of the top spot in Region 8-6A -- all of this after an 0-10 start. They struggled a bit against rival East Hall on Monday but came away with a 10-point win. They're still on the rise, but need more production out of the rotation to be really good. When Robert Reisman, Eli Pitts, Walt Dixon, Dee Buffington and Donsha Gaither are in sync, the Red Elephants are dangerous.
BUFORD HAS THE POWER
The No. 8 Wolves, most definitely, have the power to make a run in the state playoffs. They started the season with an entirely new roster and have continually gotten better over the season. Right now, coach Eddie Martin says the biggest adjustment his team has made is "they've gotten better mentally." They avenged a New Year's loss to Walnut Grove on Friday in a rout. They'll face No. 4 Cedar Shoals on Friday -- a 67-61 loss in Athens on Jan. 7. That game will further prove the Wolves' improvement since the start of the season.
BIG TIME LOSSES
Banks County dropped two massive games last week, Social Circle and Rabun County. Despite senior postman Carl Cleveland averaging 29 points and 11 boards last week, the Leopards' got single digits out of the supporting cast. The trend has been in the scoring stat column. When the Leopards have three players in double digits, they are more successful. As for now, the two losses have them one-game out of the top spot in Region 8-2A.
REGION 7-3A IS THE MOST INTERESTING
Interesting could turn into convoluted. That's right, this region is business as usual. Dawson County owns the lead by two games, but GAC, North Hall, Cherokee Bluff and Lumpkin could make it interesting. Here's how it could go, but don't hold us to it ... if Bluff beats Fannin on Tuesday and knocks off GAC on Friday, they'll jump into a tie for second with the Spartans. If North Hall beats Dawson County on Tuesday and Bluff wins both this week, technically, there will be a three-way tie for second -- GAC, Bluff, North Hall. Lumpkin can help itself, and North Hall and Bluff, by beating GAC and Dawson County this week. If that happens and North Hall and Bluff win this week, Dawson still has a one-game lead for first, but Bluff and North Hall would move into second. Yes, a good game of Twister would be easier.
THE RANKINGS ⬆️⬇️
Only three area teams are ranked in either the ajc.com poll or Kyle Sandy’s rankings.
-- Dawson County (19-2, 8-0 Region 7-3A) is the highest-ranked team in the area but dropped on spot to No. 3 in Sandy's poll and stayed at fourth in ajc.com.
-- With the two loses, Banks County (16-4, 6-2 Region 8-2A) dropped out of ajc.com poll. They were previously No. 6.
-- Buford (14-5, 3-2 Region 8-5A) moved up one spot to No. 8 in the ajc.com Class 5A poll but jumped to No. 10 in Sandy's poll this week.
THE HOT HAND
-- Chestatee's Brenton Nicholson – Week total 61 points (3 Games, 20.3 ppg) Nicholson helped the War Eagles snap a four-game skid with a 25 point performance on Tuesday. He also scored 8 points on Friday. On Saturday, he hit eight 3-pointers and scored a game-high 28 points in the War Eagles overtime win against Johnson.
-- Chestatee's Kyle Bowmar -- Week total 51 points (3 Games, 17 ppg) -- Bowmar scored 19 points on last Tuesday, 12 on Friday and 20 points on Saturday.
-- Johnson's Wade Pearce -- Pearce scored 22 points -- 15 from 3-point -- in the Knights' loss to Chestatee on Saturday.
-- Banks County's Carl Cleveland -- Week total 58 points, 22 rebounds (2 Games, 29 ppg, 11 rpg) -- Despite the two-game losing streak, Cleveland scored 28 points and pulled 10 rebounds in the loss to the Leopards on Tuesday. He scored 30 points and grabbed 12 boards in Friday's loss to Rabun County.
-- Dawson County's Campbell Reed scored 10 points in the win last Tuesday and 28 points -- 16 in the fourth quarter -- to lead the Tigers' comeback over Denmark on Friday.
-- Dawson County's Jasper Gibson scored 14 points last Tuesday and a game-high 35 points -- 17 in the 3 OTs -- in the comeback win over Denmark on Friday.
WHO HOLDS THE BIGGEST KEY ON TUESDAY?
No. 3 Dawson County at North Hall, 7:30 p.m. – This game is of more importance to North Hall, but not to be taken lightly by Dawson County. The Tigers have a 2-game lead over the field in Region 7-3A and a three-game lead over North Hall. Dawson routed the Trojans on Dec. 13, 68-36. But that was over a month ago. The Trojans have continually improved since then. Right now, the Trojans are a 1/2 game ahead of Cherokee Bluff for the No. 3 seed. A win for the Trojans would give them a little insurance as they head into the final week of the season.
