Time is running out for the local basketball teams to make a move in the region standings before the region tournaments start next week. For some teams, it doesn’t matter very much as their seeding is fairly solid, but most teams can move up a spot or two with some wins in the final games of the regular season.

Some moves were made over the weekend as several teams picked up key region wins.

Fayette County’s girls (11-11, 6-5 region) defeated East Coweta 34-18 on Friday. Simone Heath and Tessah Holt each had 12 points for the Lady Tigers in the win. Fayette County is third in the region, ahead of Starr’s Mill, Mundy’s Mill and Union Grove, all with a 5-5 record. The Fayette County boys (21-1, 10-1 region) picked up a 68-61 win over East Coweta. Chris Pettaway and Cameron Carruthers each scored 19 points for the Tigers in the win. Fayette County is at the top of the region and can’t be caught before the tournament. Fayette County closes out their region with a game against Lovejoy on Friday.

Starr’s Mill’s girls picked up two wins over the weekend, one region and one against a county rival. The Lady Panthers (14-9, 5-5 region) beat Lovejoy on Friday 48-34 with Alexis Shaffer and Meredith Lytle each scoring 11 points. On Saturday, Starr’s Mill beat McIntosh 43-40 in overtime with Shaffer scoring 12 points. McIntosh was led by 21 points from Erin Justice.

With two more region games left on their schedule at the time this paper went to press, Starr’s Mill can make a run and move up in the region standings. The Starr’s Mill boys (10-13, 2-8 region) went 1-1 in those two games. The Panthers lost to Lovejoy 56-50. Mark Harris scored 19 points for the Panthers while teammate Bo Tiller chipped in 11 points. Starr’s Mill then beat McIntosh 43-40 with Spencer Shelton scoring 13 and Harris adding 11, while the Chiefs were led by nine points a piece from Marcus Chisholm and Vaughn Page. Starr’s Mill can make a big move if they can nab wins in their final two region games this week, perhaps vaulting over Lovejoy or East Coweta.

McIntosh’s boys (7-12, 5-3 sub-region) handed Creekside their first sub-region loss of the year on Friday in a 50-49 victory over the Seminoles. Page led the team in scoring with 11 points. The Lady Chiefs (6-13, 2-6 sub region) lost to Creekside 43-35. With two games left in the sub-region, including one with Sandy Creek, with whom they are tied, wins in their final two games would give the boys a great seeding in the region tournament. While winning their final two games of the sub-region schedule wouldn’t have an impact on seeding, the momentum and the confidence from the wins would be very valuable to the girls team.

Sandy Creek’s girls (19-4, 7-1 sub-region) were handed their first sub-region loss of the year in a 49-36 loss to Woodward Academy on Friday night. The Lady Patriots bounced back on Saturday with a 68-49 win over Lithia Springs. Morganne Campbell was the leading scorer for Sandy Creek in both game with 16 points against Woodward Academy and 22 against Lithia Springs. If they can get two wins in their final two games, the Lady Patriots will enter the tournament with a top seeding and a good chance to defend their region crown. The Sandy Creek boys (7-12, 5-3 sub-region) went 0-2 in both games over the weekend, falling to Woodward 63-55 and falling to Lithia Springs 74-67. David Millaud led the team in scoring on Friday night with 13 points. Their game with McIntosh last night will figure into their seeding in a big way. A win would practically seal a second place finish in the sub-region, while a loss would make the Chiefs hard to catch.

Whitewater’s boys (14-8, 4-4 sub-region) picked up their first sub-region win after four straight losses in the sub region by defeating Northgate 61-43. Though the Wildcats trailed at the half, they established a 13 point lead entering the fourth quarter and pushed it a little further. Jay Bright led Whitewater with 15 points. The Wildcats are behind Sandy Creek and McIntosh and are hoping that those two teams split their final two games, while they win the remaining two games on their schedule. That would make a three way tie and the overall record tiebreaker would go to them. The Lady Wildcats (3-17, 0-8) lost to Northgate on Friday 52-33. Kait Loewecke and Courtney Walker led the team with six points a piece. They are another team searching for wins and some momentum heading into the tournament.

In 5-A, Our Lady of Mercy’s Lady Bobcats (4-18, 1-8 sub-region) went 1-1 over the weekend. They lost to W.D. Mohammed 63-50 on Friday with Raven Moore leading the team in scoring with 17 points. On Saturday, the girls picked up their first sub-region win by defeating Mt. Zion, Carroll 53-39 with JoAnn Lonzanida leading the way with 15 points and Kelly Tolcher chipping in 12. A win against Landmark in their final game of the regular season would go a long way into boosting the team’s confidence as the region tournament begins. On the boys side, the boys (5-17, 2-7) fell to W.D. Mohammed 61-51 on Friday but picked up a 57-40 win over Mt. Zion, Carroll. Mercy’s boys would love to pick up a win against Landmark, not just for bragging rights but a win would tie their sub region record with Landmark.

Landmark Christian School’s girls (13-6, 7-2 sub-region) defeated Greenforest Christian 59-40 on Friday. Kelsey Knapp led the Lady War Eagles with 17 points. The girls trail W.D. Mohammed, the top ranked team in the state in the sub-region and can’t be caught before the region tournament begins. The boys (6-17, 3-6 sub region) lost to Greenforest 62-52 with Matt Thornton scoring 15 points to lead the War Eagles in scoring. The boys can’t catch anyone ahead of them in the sub-region but they would like to continue their trend of good play, which has surprised some solid teams from all classifications.

The region tournaments will all be nearby. The 4-AAAAA tournament will be at Mundy’s Mill, the 4-AAAA tournament will be at Whitewater and the 5-A tournament will be at Our Lady of Mercy. Games get underway next week, visit www.thecitizen.com for updates.

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