This weekend marks the pinnacle of the high school basketball season with the state semifinals and championship games in Class A, AA and AAA at the Macon Centreplex.
The North Hall boys (27-3), Jefferson boys (25-6) and defending Class AA state champion Buford girls (27-4) will all represent the area starting Thursday in middle Georgia.
State semifinal action in Class AA kicks off when the Lady Wolves face Laney (26-3) at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Centreplex. Buford defeated Rabun County, 48-28, last Friday in the state quarterfinals. Laney defeated Thomasville to qualify for the trip to Macon.
In Class AA boys, Jefferson qualified for the semifinals — for the first time since 1983 — with a 65-58 win against Callaway last Friday in Dalton. The Dragons, currently riding an 18-game winning streak, will face Thomasville (23-4) in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The Bulldogs defeated Henry County, 65-54, in their quarterfinal matchup.
Thomasville has only lost twice to an in-state opponent this season (Cairo and Fitzgerald).
In Class AAA, North Hall pulled off one of the biggest come-from-behind victories in the quarterfinals when it overcame an eight-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter against Riverwood to win, 53-49. The Trojans are making the first trip to the state semifinals in the program’s history.
North Hall faces top-ranked LaGrange (30-0) at 8:30 p.m. Friday night in the final of 12 semifinal contests played in Macon. The Trojans have now won 22 of their last 23 games, dating back to early part of the region schedule.
Meanwhile, the Grangers have five wins against teams in a higher classification this season. LaGrange defeated Dougherty, 59-51, in the quarterfinals Saturday at Columbus State University.
ATLANTA HAWKS: Despite winning four of its last five games, the Hawks (40-22) remain 2 1/2 games back of the Orlando Magic (43-20) in the Southeast Division standings. This is the same margin between the two teams just one week ago.
This week, Atlanta visits the New York Knicks today followed by a trip to face the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. The Hawks round out the week with a home game against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday at Philips Arena.
The Hawks hold a 7 1/2 game cushion over the third-place Miami Heat in the division standings.
ATLANTA BRAVES: The Atlanta Braves received another look from right-handed pitcher Tommy Hanson, who gave up three runs in a win against the Houston Astros on Sunday — his second outing so far this spring. Atlanta fans also got good news from Derek Lowe, who threw two scoreless innings last Friday against the Washington Nationals.
Atlanta has high expectations for Lowe and for the return of Tim Hudson to full strength coming off his first start during Spring Training against the New York Mets.
The Braves have a full schedule with seven games in the Grapefruit League play this week.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: The Georgia men (13-16) open the SEC tournament against Arkansas at 8:45 p.m. Thursday in Nashville, Tenn. Georgia Tech faces an opponent still to be determined in the ACC tournament in Greensboro, N.C.