High School Sports

Tuesday will mark the busiest night so far on the hardwood, with 16 matchups -- 13 involving key region showdowns -- around northeast Georgia.

With the prep hoops season beginning to heat up around the state and in northeast Georgia, some area teams are receiving some early love from pollsters and the computers.

The Region 7-5A All-Region team was announced over the weekend. Region 7-5A houses Gainesville, along with Milton, who will be playing for a second consecutive state title next week.

When Gunner Stockton trotted out to start the second half of the SEC Championship game Saturday night for Georgia against the big, bad Texas Longhorns (yes, sarcasm), who didn’t feel a sudden case of the serious “uh ohs” about the Bulldogs’ chances?

Travis Noland is no stranger to state title games. He took a pair of Oconee County teams to the finals in 2019 and 2020.

The last ride at Tom Riden Stadium, home of the Buford Wolves since 1990, proved disappointing as No. 1 Carrollton beat No. 2 Buford 30-17 Friday night in the Class 6-A state semifinals.

The East Hall boys basketball improved to 5-0 with a 70-55 win over Rabun Gap at Valhalla on Friday.

The Lady Warriors opened Region 6-3A play with a dominating win over North Hall, 68-43, at home on Friday.

It’s semifinal week for the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) and two northeast Georgia teams are among the 32 programs still left scattered across the eight classifications.

All but three of Friday's prep basketball action involve region matchups as region play begins one final push before the Christmas break.