A critical boys region battle between the Norcross Blue Devils and Peachtree Ridge Lions will take place tomorrow night at 7:00 PM at Norcross. Peachtree Ridge is one of the hottest teams in the state right now having won seven consecutive games. In the seven-game winning streak, they have defeated North Gwinnett twice, Norcross, Meadowcreek, Duluth, Berkmar, and Discovery. The Lions have an 8-1 region record with only three games left.
Norcross is 2-2 in its last four games with victories over Duluth and Discovery. It has been an up-and-down year for the Blue Devils who are 11-12 but they have been good in region play with a 7-3 record. They have played a daunting schedule so far going against a bunch of perennial playoff contenders in Grovetown, Shiloh, Alexander, Berkmar, Myers Park (NC), Central (AL), Peachtree Ridge, and Wheeler.
Peachtree Ridge Basketball Peaking at Right Time https://t.co/CWM12M5Mlh
— SBLive Georgia (@SBLiveGA) January 31, 2024
One thing is certain, you can never count out the Blue Devils, especially with an elite coach like McMillan at the helm, who always gets the best out of his players. For reference, look at the second half of the game against Douglas-Atlanta in December. The Blue Devils trailed by double-digits throughout the first half but hit another gear in the second half making it an intriguing game late.
Peachtree Ridge is led by Connor Teasley and has been a weapon on the offensive end for the Lions. In their recent win against North Gwinnett, he hit five three-pointers to lift them to victory. He finished the game with a team-high 19 points. In that game, four players reached double-figures including Trey Hobbs, Teasley, Byron Martin, and Gideon Kamuelyu. Martin has also been a reliable scoring threat this season for the Lions and hit four 3-point shots in the win.
Norcross’ Toby Ojukwu has been a steady force and a dependable leader and scorer on the offensive end. Ojukwu played well in the Beach Ball Classic in December and was selected to the All-Tournament team. Another bright spot this season has been senior Casey Williams who has been a go-to player on the offensive side of the floor. Williams has great length and explosion in the post and perimeter, and has continued to get better as the season has progressed.
Peachtree Ridge is the No.9 ranked team according to the Score Atlanta poll.
This is a key game because Peachtree Ridge can lock up the #1 seed for the region tourney with a win on the road, and will have home-court advantage and an easier path to the #1 overall seed come playoff time in region 7-7A. A win for Norcross keeps them in the running for a #1 seed and a chance at the potential two or three seed if they defeat North Gwinnett next Tuesday.
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