Region Tournaments to Watch: Class 4A

<!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Region 2</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TEAMS: Eagle's Landing, ELCA, Hampton, Jones County, Locust Grove, McDonough, Ola, Stockbridge, Union Grove, Woodland-Stockbridge</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It should be a competitive tournament, deep with teams who aren't separated by much. McDonough is the team to beat however as [player_tooltip player_id='1501753' first='Zion' last='Greene'] (17.4 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='1966203' first='Zaiden' last='Greene'] (14 ppg) lead the way. Union Grove went 2-5 in non-region play but has made up ground, positioned for top four seed. [player_tooltip player_id='1574210' first='Caleb' last='Samples'] is one of the tougher players in the region, an inside-out combo-forward. [player_tooltip player_id='2733894' first='Chris' last='Wray'] is a knockdown shooter for the Wolverines. [player_tooltip player_id='2633690' first='Tyson' last='Moore'] has had a huge season leading Eagle's Landing, averaging 17.4 points per game. Locust Grove is led by [player_tooltip player_id='2875379' first='Tyler' last='Jones']' 13.5 points a night while [player_tooltip player_id='2402141' first='Alando' last='Richards'] (10 ppg) has made a difference at Hampton. Ola has struggled this year but Kennesaw State-signee [player_tooltip player_id='1810738' first='Nigel' last='Thomas'] has averaged 15.2 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooter [player_tooltip player_id='2731374' first='Matin' last='Bello'] paces the Mustangs at 18 points per game shooting 40% from deep. [player_tooltip player_id='1861304' first='Jayden' last='Bone'] leads all scorers in the region at 18.9 points for ELCA. [player_tooltip player_id='2879775' first='Omari' last='Scott'] (14.3 ppg) is a handful for Woodland-Stockbridge. Jones County is just 6-16 but recently won three-straight, beating Hampton (47-33), Ola (58-52) and ELCA in overtime 54-48 before losing 55-53 to McDonough.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Region 4</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TEAMS: Creekside, Drew, Forest Park, Maynard Jackson, MLK, Midtown, Pace Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pace Academy enters the region tournament as the favorite with the duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1762523' first='Chandler' last='Bing'] (18.8 ppg) and Georgia Tech-signee [player_tooltip player_id='1383030' first='Eric' last='Chatfield'] (18.6 ppg) leading the way. The Knights have elite young talent between freshmen [player_tooltip player_id='2436947' first='Bentley' last='Lusakueno'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2194478' first='Brielen' last='Craft']. [player_tooltip player_id='1589322' first='Jackson' last='Ferry'] is a knockdown shooter. Maynard Jackson has a strong trio between [player_tooltip player_id='2328883' first='Donaven' last='Thomas'], [player_tooltip player_id='2281462' first='Cam' last='Dover'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2633688' first='Javon' last='Gardner']. Mays is closing the season with a flurry, red-hot. [player_tooltip player_id='2242911' first='Davenport' last='Cox'] has been one of the state's most improved players averaging 23.3 points per game to lead the region. Mays has firepower with [player_tooltip player_id='2634992' first='Jack' last='Sparks'] (14 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='1543553' first='Omari' last='Barnes'] (11.5 ppg) in the backcourt and size and athleticism up from with [player_tooltip player_id='2328850' first='Germani' last='Wilson'] (11.6 ppg). Midtown is in the hunt for the three/four seed with a balanced attack and a ton of upperclassmen. [player_tooltip player_id='2879758' first='Darrion' last='Hadley'] (12.1 ppg), Dhati Lewis (11.4 ppg), [player_tooltip player_id='2426927' first='Elonzo' last='Milla'] (8.7 ppg), [player_tooltip player_id='2125530' first='Galen' last='Roberts'] (8.4 ppg), Zuri Mesquitte (7.5 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2757605' first='Haiden' last='Evans'] (6.1 ppg) provide a diverse group of length and athleticism. Midtown's best win of the season was a 92-54 throttling of Habersham Central. The Knights also drilled Mays 86-69 before the Raiders' hot streak.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Region 5</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TEAMS: Clarkston, Cross Keys, Druid Hills, Lithonia, Marist, North Springs, Northview, Southwest DeKalb, St. Pius X, Tucker</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Following a 12-16 season, Southwest DeKalb has made a huge leap at 21-2 heading into the final week of the regular season. Always known for their defense, the Panthers have shown more bite with their offense this season as five players average over 8 points per game led by [player_tooltip player_id='2125538' first='Jackson' last='Ushery']'s 11.2 per game. Tucker's firepower in the backcourt has elevated the Tigers after being hit hard by graduation. [player_tooltip player_id='2746183' first='Jakobe' last='Williams'] is trending up as one of the better 2026 guards in Georgia while [player_tooltip player_id='2419504' first='Austin' last='Walker'] has done a little bit of everything his senior season after moving in from Druid Hills. [player_tooltip player_id='2385267' first='Braedyn' last='Gillespie'] can get hot quickly with his three-point stroke. St. Pius X has been a tough customer even without [player_tooltip player_id='2046360' first='Harris' last='Reynolds'] who has been hurt all year. D'marley Elliott and [player_tooltip player_id='2425856' first='Westin' last='Keppen'] have been reliable scorers. Key piece [player_tooltip player_id='2328813' first='Aiden' last='Portee'] was hospitalized late in the year. Furman-signee [player_tooltip player_id='1801910' first='Owen' last='Ritger'] (16.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.2 bpg) can take over games for Marist with his size and skill. [player_tooltip player_id='2471152' first='Jay' last='Walsh'] has had a big season for the War Eagles averaging 13.7 points a night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->