Region Tournaments to Watch: Class 5A

<!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Region 2</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TEAMS: Dutchtown, Eagle's Landing, Jones County, Locust Grove, Ola, Union Grove, Warner Robins<br>FAVORITE: Dutchtown<br>DARK HORSE: Jones County</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Out of the seven teams, five have spent time ranked in the Top 10. No. 3 Dutchtown, No. 5 Eagle's Landing and No. 9 Warner Robins are the latest in the poll. Dutchtown finished the regular season 11-1, their lone loss coming at Eagle's Landing 48-44 as the Eagles unveiled transfer [player_tooltip player_id='1223238' first='John' last='McQueen']. The Eagles are 3-0 since his arrival. Dutchtown has intimidating size between [player_tooltip player_id='1300745' first='Matthew' last='Hinton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1300737' first='Joah' last='Chappelle']. The tandem make Dutchtown extremely strong defensively, limiting second chance points for opponents and denying easy buckets inside. [player_tooltip player_id='1319337' first='Jamir' last='Russell'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1793653' first='Austin' last='Mosby-Weems'] have proven to be key pieces in the backcourt for the Bulldogs. Eagle's Landing has won eight of nine to claw back into the Top 5 after dropping out of the rankings completely. Their last loss came at Warner Robins 62-57. The Demons have reeled off 12 wins in their last 13 games, their lone loss 71-67 vs. Dutchtown. Warner Robins has an explosive offense averaging 79 points per game paced by sharpshooter Gabe Jacobs, veteran playmaker [player_tooltip player_id='1145101' first='Camryn' last='Perkins'] and toolsy swingman Jay Johnson. Jones County is a dark horse, even though their best basketball is currently behind them, losing five of their last seven games. Coach Buck Harris has experience winning big games however and does hold significant early season wins over Eagle's Landing (61-60) and Warner Robins (73-71). Union Grove lost their last two games of the season against Dutchtown (73-60) and Eagle's Landing (89-51) but were hitting their stride beforehand on a five-game winning streak their longest of the season. The Wolverines have bouncy interchangeable forwards with [player_tooltip player_id='1227099' first='Nile' last='King'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1574210' first='Caleb' last='Samples'] and big guards [player_tooltip player_id='1227100' first='Jason' last='Isaac'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2046334' first='Chase' last='Williamson'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Region 5</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TEAMS: Tri-Cities, Chapel Hill, [player_tooltip player_id='2297297' first='Maynard' last='Jackson'], Lithia Springs, Mays, Banneker, Midtown, Villa Rica, Creekside<br>FAVORITE: Tri-Cities<br>DARK HORSE: Mays</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Four teams have been ranked this season with No. 4 Tri-Cities, No. 7 Chapel Hill and No. 8 [player_tooltip player_id='2297297' first='Maynard' last='Jackson'] the latest to fill the poll. [player_tooltip player_id='1382011' first='Malique' last='Johnson'] is back from injury, giving Tri-Cities a major boost in the arm as he rejoins explosive freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2102286' first='Tre' last='Keith'] in the backcourt. Heading into the final week of the season with a two-game lead at 12-2, the only losses the Bulldogs have suffered have come against Banneker (70-67) and Chapel Hill (82-74). Chapel Hill did themselves no favors this past week, losing at Banneker 70-66 and at Mays 76-64 to all but extinguish their hope of securing the one-seed. Chapel Hill's size and athleticism will be tough to deal with in the region tournament with [player_tooltip player_id='1810844' first='Ramon' last='Soyoye'] anchoring the paint and bouncy wings CJ Winters and [player_tooltip player_id='2046355' first='CJ' last='Geathers'] attacking from the perimeter. [player_tooltip player_id='1917179' first='Ky'Den' last='Mays'] is another matchup problem with his versatility. [player_tooltip player_id='2297297' first='Maynard' last='Jackson'] lost Mekhi Jackson early in the season but hasn't let go of the rope. [player_tooltip player_id='2281462' first='Cam' last='Dover'] is an emerging prospect while [player_tooltip player_id='1967644' first='Cassius' last='Watkins'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1654188' first='Yusef' last='Bowyer'] have been through the fire. [player_tooltip player_id='2328883' first='Donaven' last='Thomas'] is an X-Factor with his shot making. [player_tooltip player_id='2297297' first='Maynard' last='Jackson'] lost to Lithia Springs 57-55, the surprise out of the group. Addition by subtraction in the offseason has made Lithia Springs more dangerous than ever as a balanced attack has seen Dorian Jackman, [player_tooltip player_id='1383036' first='Ziair' last='Finch'], [player_tooltip player_id='2634960' first='Tayshaun' last='Buford'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1377492' first='Damerius' last='Putmon'] all contribute in their own way. Mays is a dark horse to make a run with explosive guard [player_tooltip player_id='1967600' first='Derron' last='Lindsey'] capable of a 30-ball any night. [player_tooltip player_id='1054794' first='Tyler' last='Baldwin-Hughes'] is a reliable playmaker. Mays has JaQorian Wiggles back from injury, a physical rebounding machine that will join the bouncy [player_tooltip player_id='2328850' first='Germani' last='Wilson'] in the paint.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Region 6</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TEAMS: Kell, GAC, Chattahoochee, Cambridge, North Springs, Centennial, Northview<br>FAVORITE: Kell<br>DARK HORSE: Chattahoochee</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defending state champion No. 1 Kell is the odds-on favorite to win the region title but No. 10 GAC and Cambridge have spent time in the Top 10 with Chattahoochee on the outside looking in but extremely dangerous. Heading into the final week of the season the region standings show Kell (11-0), GAC (7-3), Chattahoochee (6-4), Cambridge (5-5), North Springs (4-6), Centennial (3-7) and Northview (0-11). If things go chalk in the region tournament, Kell should win the championship, but second-place is certainly up for grabs. The region opponent that has played Kell the toughest so far is Chattahoochee, losing to the Longhorns at Kell 62-49 and at home 63-47. Hooch hasn't been ranked this season but they did split with both GAC and Cambridge and have played a strong non-region schedule featuring Archer, Dutchtown, Walker and Newton. GAC has a dangerous offense led by [player_tooltip player_id='2323168' first='Rich' last='Rojas'] (18.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg). Cambridge and Chattahoochee are both stingy defensive teams allowing just 52 points per game while Kell and GAC thrive offensively at 78.8 and 71.2 points per game, respectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->