Playoff Preview: Region 4 Class A

District 7-A and District 8-A convene this time each year for an unfriendly playoff picnic. Who gets to eat first this year? Table scraps are an unappetizing, wholly unfulfilling consolation prize for the losers.   Games begin Saturday, February 23rd.     [caption id="attachment_686076" align="alignright" width="1024"]<img class="size-large wp-image-686076" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2019/02/Region4A-1024x499.png" alt="" width="1024" height="499" /> Eagleville and LEAD Academy earned the #1 seeds.[/caption]         Picking the first round games Eagleville vs. RePublic: RePublic will be blown out in this contest. Eagleville is much better than RePublic on paper and in reality. Few quarterfinal matchups statewide are more lopsided. Our pick: Eagleville by 22.   Merrol Hyde vs. Moore County: Moore County enters this quarterfinal matchup with 8 wins on the season. They will not see a ninth. Merrol Hyde on 16 games overall, and tied the 8 Moore County owns...just in their district.   Hyde's head coach Kory Craighead benefits from three double-figure scorers: Matthew Sykes (15.1 ppg), Isaac Stinson (13.4 ppg), Asher Wolthers (13.3 ppg). To be blunt, all three are better than any player on Moore County.   Asher is a relentless rebounder (8.6 rpg) with that kind of toughness that translates well in the postseason. More than two times a game Asher Wolthers collects an offensive rebound. Moore County will be overwhelmed several places on the floor, but nowhere more than under the rim. Our pick: Merrol Hyde by 11.   LEAD vs. Cascade: Jason Rhodes, Kam Elder, and McKinley Simmons all landed on the All-Tournament Team. Jason Rhodes is the sparkplug that starts the LEAD engine. He is tough, bouncy, and active. Elder earned Tournament MVP with his versatile play. LEAD enters with the most confidence and deservedly so after their wonderful week. Cascade doesn't have the innate strength to compete with LEAD in the lane. Cascade's Jaden Russell will give LEAD problems at 6-foot-7 because LEAD's frontcourt is more stout and sturdy than long and lean. Our pick: LEAD by 8.   Fayetteville vs. Grace Christian-Franklin: Fayetteville and Eagleville are the two winningest teams in the region. Fayetteville was only a single point worse than EHS last week. They desperately intend to rectify that district tournament loss. Defeating Grace Christian is the first step on that mission.   Grace Christian pelts opposing castles with nonstop catapulted three point offerings by one of the best shooters in the country...Mason McKnatt. Statistics for Mason are confusing in their enormity.   FHS is more than Julius Dixon. They could not quite win against a sharpshooting Grace Christian with ONLY Julius Dixon scoring even though the Morehead State signee is special at 6-foot-6. Though he missed making Class A Mr. Basketball Finalist, Julius is easily a top 6 player in Class A. Dixon has help though, making this game a presumed blowout. Our pick: Fayetteville by 13.   Previewing the semifinals Eagleville vs. Merrol Hyde: Eagleville is a very strong team, if you didn't know ahead of this story. With a win against RePublic EHS will be 23-3 entering this somewhat challenging clash. Merrol was the #1 seed in 7A's District Tournament. If not for LEAD's heroics, then they would be on the opposite half of the bracket. They did not win and are not there. This matchup is their punishment.   Eagleville's high-powered offense puts up 72.5 points per game. Ryley McClaran will be the number one priority for Hyde's defenders. Keeping him under 20 points is rare. They need to stop one of EHS' four scorers. Ryley is the most automatic and limiting him will is virtually impossible at the Class A level.   Merrol is the host of this entire semifinal round. Our pick: Eagleville by 16.   LEAD vs. Fayetteville: This will be a LEAD loss, and their final game of the season. LEAD definitely features a feisty, physically strong team. The rebounding wars of this game, should it happen, will be epic. LEAD Academy is amped and excited for the competition to come. Expect a great tournament and game from Jason Rhodes, the explosive point guard from LEAD Academy. LEAD's bigs are going to be hellacious to thwart on the glass. They will not be able to score at will though when Dixon hovers around the tin.   Fayetteville is playing with purpose and LEAD will be playing largely on emotion. FHS has one of their best teams in school history. The time for FHS to capitalize is now and of the first two rounds this game will be the most entertaining. Our pick: Fayetteville by 10.   Players to watch 2019 Demari Stoudemire, Eagleville 2020 Asher Wolthers, Hyde 2020 Mason McKnatt, Grace Christian-Franklin 2020 Jason Rhodes, LEAD 2019 Ethan Cobb, Eagleville 2020 Jordan Davenport, Eagleville 2020 Ryley McClaran, Eagleville 2019 Julius Dixon, Fayetteville 2019 Floyd Williams, Fayetteville 2020 Matthew Sykes, Hyde 2019 Chay Chumley, Cascade 2019 Jaden Russell, Cascade       REGION 4 FINAL PREDICTION Eagleville vs. Fayetteville Fantastic reunion indeed. Eagleville and Fayetteville already played three times this year. Eagleville won the most recent two and FHS emerged victorious 84-81 back in early January. Scoring will be high in this exciting   Ryley McClaran is not the only scoring option for EHS, but his scoring is predictable and consistent. Ryley is a new name to @PrepHoopsTN, but he torched the entire district for 24.3 ppg in the first 18 games of this season. Julius Dixon is not a new name. Dixon will have an enormous game and his Tigers will lose late. We think.   In the end, Eagleville features better basketball chemistry and execution. EHS will be The Executioners and Region 4 Champions! Our pick: Eagleville by 4.