The high school basketball season is well into region play and as a result, front runners have emerged.
That said, this is the time of year where rivalries heat up and those sitting at two and below in the region standings will be at their best hoping to knock off the front runners.
This week has a little of all that as it starts with a crucial subregion girls matchup and ends with bitter rivals meeting in out-of-subregion play. Oh, and in the middle, there’s another East Hall-Gainesville game.
Tonight, the Chestatee and Pickens girls team will battle it out at Chestatee.
Pickens (14-4, 4-2), ranked third in Class AAA, has lost two of its last three games including a 45-24 loss to the subregion’s second-place team, Creekview. The Lady Dragons are currently the No. 3 team, just above North Hall, in the subregion standings.
The sixth-ranked Lady War Eagles (14-3, 6-0 Region 7A-AAA), on the other hand, remain unbeaten in subregion play and sit atop the standings. They come into tonight’s matchup winners of 11 straight and are scoring 11 more points per game than they give up.
Friday, the season’s second installation – outside Lanierland - of the storied East Hall-Gainesville rivalry will take place, but this one has subregion title implications as both the Lady Vikings and Vikings are tops in Region 7B-AAA with Gainesville right on their heels.
The high school week ends with area teams playing out-of-subregion games Saturday, including a matchup between Gainesville and North Hall at North Hall. While the games are sure to be good, Saturday will mark the second straight year each of the four teams have participated in a Pink Out.
Money raised during the game, along with proceeds made by the selling of T-shirts and other Pink Out items, will go to Glory, Hope and Life, an organization in town that provides for cancer patients and their families.
Outside of high school basketball, local college and pro teams will be at full title this week as well.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: The Georgia men’s team, fresh off a 15-point win against No. 8 Tennessee at Stegeman Coliseum – which marked Bulldogs coach Mark Fox’s first SEC win – will play at Florida on Wednesday and travel to South Carolina on Saturday.
Florida and South Carolina met Saturday night in a game that went down to the wire and was won by Florida on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The No. 8 Georgia women are currently 5-2 in the Southeastern Conference, following a 66-65 loss to Mississippi on Sunday.
The Lady Bulldogs take on Mississippi State on Thursday and Auburn on Sunday, both games are away.
Former Buford star Blanche Alverson plays for Auburn and is averaging 6.5 points and 3.9 rebounds this season.
The No. 19 Georgia Tech men and No. 22 Georgia Tech women are also in action this week. The Yellow Jackets will play host to both Wake Forest and Kentucky State while the Lady Yellow Jackets will play host to Miami and Virginia Tech.
Both teams sit in the middle of the ACC standings with the Tech men having knocked off two Top 25 opponents last week in North Carolina and Clemson.
ATLANTA HAWKS: In pro action, the Atlanta Hawks have won two straight games are tied for the southeast division lead of the Eastern Conference with Orlando, a team they’ll fact Saturday in Orlando.
The Hawks also play Monday at Houston, Wednesday at San Antonio and play host to Boston on Friday.
ATLANTA THRASHERS: That Atlanta Thrashers, who sit at third in the southeast division of the Eastern Conference behind Washington and Florida, play host to the Ducks on Tuesday and go on the road for a Thursday game with the Flyers and a Saturday game with the Predators.