Now that the preliminaries of the regular season are over, the real business of getting into the state basketball tournament begins in earnest Monday for northeast Georgia area basketball teams.
Regions 8-A, 8-2A, 8-3A, and 7-4A all get going on Monday with elimination games. Regions 7-3A and 8-5A will begin on Tuesday while Region 8-6A does not get under way until Thursday.
Region 8-A is being held in Commerce the entire week with opening round action and elimination games on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The semifinals and finals are set for Friday and Saturday. The Lakeview Academy girls and the Riverside Military boys are the top seeds. The region winner gets an automatic berth into the state tournament while the rest of the teams will have to wait for the power rankings to see if they qualify.
Region 8-2A opens on Monday with the boys opening rounds taking place at Elbert County with four elimination games. Elbert County and Banks County are the top two seeds. The girls open tournament play on Tuesday at Rabun County with four elimination games. The Lady Wildcats and Banks County are the top two seeds. The semifinals and finals will be at Elbert County Thursday and Friday.
Region 8-3A opens on Monday as well with a pair of elimination games at East Jackson. The tournament then moves to Hart County on Tuesday with two elimination games each in the boys and girls brackets. The semifinals will be on Thursday at Hart County and the finals on Saturday at Hart County. The Jefferson girls and Hart County girls are the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds and received automatic berths into the state tournament. The Morgan County and Hart County boys are the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds and also received automatic berths into the state tournament.
Region 7-4A also begins on Monday with three elimination games in the girls bracket at Marist. The Flowery Branch girls are the top seed and received an automatic berth into the state tournament. The boys open on Tuesday at Blessed Trinity. Marist is the top seed and received an automatic berth into the state tournament. The semifinals will move to Chestatee on Thursday with the finals set for Saturday, also at Chestatee.
Region 7-3A opens on Tuesday at Dawson County with the girls holding three elimination games. The boys open on Wednesday, also at Dawson County, with three elimination games. The Greater Atlanta Christian boys and girls both earned the No. 1 seeds and received automatic berths into the state tournament. The semifinals and finals will move to North Hall with the semifinals set for Friday and the finals for Saturday.
Region 8-5A will open on Tuesday in Loganville with elimination games. Both Buford teams secured the No. 1 seeds and automatic berths into the state tournament as did the Clarke Central girls and the Cedar Shoals. The tournament will move to Walnut Grove on Thursday with the semifinals. The finals are slated for Friday.
Region 8-6A is the last of the area regions to get going not starting until Thursday with the entire tournament at Winder-Barrow. The top two seeds on each side receive automatic berths. Lanier and Gainesville on the boys side and Lanier and Winder-Barrow on the girls are already in the state tournament. The elimination round will be Thursday with a pair of games on both sides. The semifinals will be on Friday and the finals on Saturday.
