Region Tournaments to Watch: Class 5A

<!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Region 1</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TEAMS: Bradwell Institute, Brunswick, Effingham County, Evans, Glynn Academy, Greenbrier, Lakeside-Evans, South Effingham, Statesboro</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heading into the final week of the season, it is a three-horse race. Brunswick (19-2, 5-1), Bradwell Institute (18-4, 5-1) and Statesboro (18-2, 4-1) have all managed to beat one another. Brunswick dominates inside with four-star offensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id='1957064' first='Hezekiah' last='Kent'] (15.7 ppg, 13.9 rpg, 1.5 bpg). Bradwell Institute is long and athletic between [player_tooltip player_id='1696174' first='Christopher' last='Perry'] (15.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.2 bpg), [player_tooltip player_id='2524007' first='Zi'on' last='Thomas'] (12.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2471150' first='Jaylin' last='Sweat'] (11.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.1 bpg). Statesboro uses a balanced attack led by [player_tooltip player_id='2763279' first='Ja'caiden' last='Cone'] (14.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.6 spg).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Region 7</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TEAMS: Chattahoochee, Gainesville, Johns Creek, Lanier, Milton, Roswell, Seckinger</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Milton and Gainesville have clinched state playoff berths, securing the top two seeds heading into the region tournament. Milton has an explosive backcourt between [player_tooltip player_id='1383022' first='Josh' last='Dixon'], [player_tooltip player_id='1696238' first='Nathan' last='Earl'], [player_tooltip player_id='1655579' first='Jaydon' last='Cole'] and three-point specialist [player_tooltip player_id='2478475' first='Dhvanish' last='Vaghela']. The frontcourt of [player_tooltip player_id='1559292' first='Daniel' last='Ogunyemi'], [player_tooltip player_id='2245618' first='Braxton' last='Giesler'], [player_tooltip player_id='2478482' first='Solomon' last='Bratton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2633682' first='Colin' last='McHaney'] are important when going up against the Red Elephants who boast [player_tooltip player_id='1543522' first='Charlie' last='Gersmehl'], [player_tooltip player_id='2471160' first='Jaxson' last='Jones'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1543552' first='Xavier' last='Griffin']. The guard rotation of [player_tooltip player_id='2046362' first='Kevin' last='White'], [player_tooltip player_id='2385367' first='Brandon' last='Nelson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2245786' first='Caden' last='Jackson'] scores the ball at a high level. Johns Creek has been a dangerous sleeper albeit below .500 in region play. [player_tooltip player_id='2425890' first='Tatum' last='Holmes'] is an emerging star while [player_tooltip player_id='2025384' first='Thomas' last='Landeck'] can create mismatches. Seckinger can contend with the best of the best when [player_tooltip player_id='2243047' first='Caleb' last='Wells'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1444781' first='Keith' last='Banks'] are hot, the tandem getting the lion's share of the shots. Chattahoochee poses a threat with [player_tooltip player_id='2471138' first='Kyler' last='Fox'] anchoring the paint with [player_tooltip player_id='1501751' first='Jaylen' last='Edgerton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2471161' first='Josiah' last='Mawdesley'] outside. Lanier is powered by [player_tooltip player_id='2273540' first='Amari' last='Morgan'] while Roswell has been sneaky competitive with wins over Lanier (65-61), Johns Creek (63-59) and Seckinger (79-72) with two narrow losses to Chattahoochee. [player_tooltip player_id='2763302' first='Trey' last='Phillips'] has had a breakout sophomore season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Region 8</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TEAMS: Alcovy, Apalachee, Clarke Central, Habersham Central, Jackson County, Loganville, Winder-Barrow</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Habersham Central and Winder-Barrow split during the regular season. The Raiders won in overtime 80-77 before the Bulldoggs won the rematch 67-59. Both teams are senior-laden. Winder-Barrow has D-I star power with [player_tooltip player_id='1696246' first='Jerrin' last='Samuel'] on the perimeter. Brother [player_tooltip player_id='2299368' first='Jordan' last='Samuel'] is a crucial defensive presence.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2722003' first='Jeremiah' last='Shealey'] has provided a two-way presence in the backcourt. Habersham Central has massive size between [player_tooltip player_id='1801881' first='Josiah' last='McCurry'], [player_tooltip player_id='2385368' first='Jake' last='Mihalick'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2478479' first='Judge' last='Wilbanks']. Jalen Davis jumps out of the gym and knocks down threes while Justus Gober is a defensive-minded table setter. [player_tooltip player_id='2471136' first='Enzo' last='Combs'] is the straw that stirs the drink with his takeover ability, an explosive three-level scorer. Alcovy is quick in transition and can beat anyone when their three-point shot is dropping. [player_tooltip player_id='2767865' first='Nick' last='Durham'] has emerged as one of the best scorers in the state. Jaqari Smith can fill it up when Durham draws too much attention. Loganville has been a thorn in the side of the competition, pushing teams to the brink. The Red Devils lost 58-54 to Winder-Barrow and 67-61 to Habersham Central. Nino Nesbitt has played well his senior season while [player_tooltip player_id='1565483' first='Brent' last='Williams'] has been effective in the post. Jackson County is better than their 8-16 record with a handful of heartbreaking losses, losing seven games by six points or less. The Panthers play tough defense and can hurt teams from beyond the arc between [player_tooltip player_id='2452497' first='Jacob' last='Lee'], Logan Tullis and [player_tooltip player_id='2763336' first='Landon' last='Jones'], a blossoming stretch forward. [player_tooltip player_id='2460993' first='RJ' last='Knapp'] does a lot of creating off the dribble as a physical lefty. Apalachee has improved from 6-21 to 13-10 and holds a 50-43 win over Loganville. Clarke Central is winless but they pass the eye-test with a young team with terrific size. 6-foot-8 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2757014' first='Andrea' last='Cox'], 6-foot-8 freshman Asher Sheppard, 6-foot-5 senior Nicolas Desden Smith, 6-foot-5 freshman Shane Walls and 6-foot-6 senior Quentin Huff can all cause issues in the paint.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->