There are several area basketball games on the Friday schedule that have the ingredients to be pretty good.
Four of those games will be on the Jacobs Media airwaves on Friday.
Before we get to those, if you're looking for other games to track, the Flowery Branch boys travel to Winder-Barrow in a key Region 8-5A game. If the Falcons can get past Winder-Barrow, it'll improve their standing in the region.
Much of the same for West Hall and White County boys. The two play each other in Cleveland on Friday. If the White County (12-8, 6-1 Region 7-3A) wins, they'll solidify their place atop the region standings. If the Spartans (10-10, 5-3 Region 7-3A) can squeak out a win, they'll stay in a great position for the No. 2 seed in the region tournament.
Can the Chestatee boys (14-7, 7-1 Region 8-4A North) knock-off top-5 Madison County (19-2, 4-2 Region 8-4A South) in Danielsville? It'll be a tall task for the War Eagles, but they have the firepower to pull the upset.
You can catch the Buford at Mill Creek doubleheader on WDUN AM 550 and FM 102.9. Tip-off is 6 p.m.
The Lady Wolves (18-1, 6-0 Region 8-7A) hammered Mill Creek (10-7, 3-3 Region 8-7A) 68-35 on Jan. 10. Unless the Lady Wolves have another bad shooting night, they should roll to their fourth win in the last five games.
On the boys side, it'll be much closer. In the last meeting at the Buford Arena, the Wolves walked out with a three-point win over Mill Creek, 77-74. The Hawks need a win to jump up the standings to the No. 2 spot. If they knock off Buford, the two will be tied at No. 2.
On AM 1240 and 94.5 FM The Lake, Gainesville, plays host to Habersham Central. Tip-off is 6 p.m.
The Gainesville girls (17-1, 5-1 Region 8-6A), who have won four straight, beat the Lady Raiders (13-6, 5-2 Region 8-6A) 59-50 on Jan. 6 in Mt. Airy.
Habersham has been playing well as well, winning four out of their five games, including a win over region leader North Forsyth on Jan. 14. This game will be intense as the two are trying to stay in position for a top-seeding in next month's region tournament.
If the Lady Red Elephants win, it'll set up a showdown for first with North Forsyth on Tuesday. If Habersham Central wins, they'll tie Gainesville for second in the standings.
On the boys side, Gainesville (11-7, 4-2 Region 8-6A) comes into the matchup with a major stumble against Shiloh last Friday. Offense was tough to come by for Big Red in the loss to Shiloh. Habersham Central (12-7, 2-5 Region 8-6A) has lost three of four, including blowout losses to North Forsyth and Lanier and a 53-49 loss to Shiloh on Tuesday.
If Gainesville has found the offense, they should roll on Friday, as they did in the first meeting.
AREA BASKETBALL SCHEDULE, Friday, Jan. 27
Athens Academy at Union County*
Bethlehem Christian at Lakeview Academy*
Buford at Mill Creek*
Cedar Shoals at Cherokee Bluff*
Chestatee at Madison County*
Commerce at Rabun County*
East Forsyth at Walnut Grove*
East Jackson at Providence Christian*
Flowery Branch at Winder-Barrow*
George Walton Academy at Riverside Prep*
GSIC at Towns County*
Habersham Central at Gainesville*
Jackson County at North Forsyth*
Jefferson at Eastside*
Lumpkin County at Gilmer*
North Oconee at Johnson*
Pinecrest Academy at Lanier Christian*
Seckinger at North Hall*
West Hall at White County*
AREA BASKETBALL SCHEDULE, Saturday, Jan. 28
Aquinas at Towns County, (3:30 p.m.)*
Commerce at George Walton
Fellowship Christian at Banks County*
Johnson at Cristo Rey Atlanta
Lanier at Jackson County*
North Forsyth at Shiloh* (4 p.m.)
Gainesville at Apalachee* (1:30 p.m.)
(* -- denotes region contest)
