Top boys championship matchups to watch

With a handful of semifinal games being completed on Thursday night, the first batch of Region Championship matches have been set for Friday and Saturday. Here are ten of the most intriguing finals we will see this weekend:

#1 St. Francis (24-3, 12-0) vs. #2 Whitefield Academy (20-8, 10-2)

Saturday, 4:30 p.m. at Whitefield Academy

No surprise here in Region 6-A as the Knights will try to get past the Wolfpack for the third time this season. St. Francis has rolled through the region tournament winning its games by an average of 39.5 points. Whitefield had to slip by #1A North Cobb Christian 57-43 to set up a third crack at St. Francis. The Wolfpack have given the Knights their biggest scares of the season in region play losing by eight and five points. Whitefield will have home court advantage and will look to stun the star-studded Knights.

#1 Swainsboro (17-9, 11-1) vs. #2 Harlem (23-3, 10-2)

Friday, 7:30 p.m. at Metter

Region 3-AA features one of the state’s best players, Reggie Reid and the Harlem Bulldogs against the Tigers of Swainsboro. Reid has done it all for Harlem this year averaging 22.2 points, 9 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game. He will need another big game to tame the Tigers. The two teams split this season. Swainsboro won by 24 at home but lost by 15 at Harlem. Four Tigers scored in double figures in their win, but only Da’Korey Somerville scored over 10 points in the loss.

#1 Pace Academy (24-2, 14-0) vs. #3 GAC (18-8, 11-3)

Friday, 8:30 p.m. at Holy Innocents’

The reigning Class AA champs, the GAC Spartans, held on against Holy Innocents’ 74-68 to make it to yet another Region 6-AA title game. The Spartans are a well balanced team, but they will definitely be entering Friday night’s game as a heavy underdog. Pace has romped through the competition this season behind Wendell Carter Jr. and Elijah Holifield. The duo has helped hand GAC losses of 16 points and 29 points. Legendary Head Coach Eddie Martin will have to concoct a game plan to slow down the powerful Knights.

#1 Lithonia (24-2, 17-1) vs. #2 St. Pius (24-3, 16-2)

Friday, 8:30 p.m. at Arabia Mountain

Two Region 6-AAAA juggernauts meet for the third and potentially final time this season. The Bulldogs defeated St. Pius earlier in the season 55-41 at home, but the Golden Lions returned the favor and snapped Lithonia’s 20-game win streak two weeks ago as they downed the ‘Dogs 65-58. Lithonia beat Grady by 10 to set up the rubber match with St. Pius, while the Lions survived Columbia in overtime, 42-39.

#1 Brunswick (23-2, 14-0) vs. #6 Coffee (19-9, 8-6)

Friday, 8 p.m. at Effingham County

With three wins already under their belt dating back to Tuesday, the Coffee Trojans seem to be peaking at the right time in Region 3-AAAAA. They escaped #7 Glynn Academy by two, beat #3 Effingham County by 17, and on Thursday night knocked off #2 Statesboro, 72-66 in OT. Friday night should be another close one as Brunswick has dispatched of Coffee twice this year, but by only two and three points.

#1 Pebblebrook (22-5, 14-0) vs. #2 Douglas County (22-6, 11-3)

Friday, 8:30 p.m. at Westlake

The Douglas County Tigers look to finally get over the hump and get the thorn out of their side which has been Pebblebrook all season long in Region 3-AAAAAA. The Falcons have thwarted the Tigers’ efforts to take control of the region. Pebblebrook has handed Douglas County losses of 87-62 and 71-43. Coach Hollis Bethea hopes that the third time will be a charm for the Runnin’ Tigers. Douglas County drilled an injured Langston Hughes team 75-56, while the Falcons got past host Westlake 72-67 in their semifinal matchup.

#1 Tift County (25-1, 8-0) vs. #3 Lowndes (10-14, 4-4)

Friday, 8:30 p.m. at Colquitt County

The Vikings will look to upset the reigning Class AAAAAA champs in the Region 1 finale. In their first meeting, Lowndes played Tift tight, losing by just nine points at home, but the wheels fell off when they traveled to Tift, losing 73-25 just a few weeks ago. Lowndes is not an explosive scoring team with just one player scoring in double figures, but has nine players scoring more than four points per game. Tyrie Jackson leads Tift with 15.2 points per game. Tyson Harris, Octavious Fudge, and Brandon Benjamin combined for 50 points in the Vikings narrow loss to Tift. That same trio managed just 11 points combined in their blowout loss.

#1 Jonesboro (26-1, 15-0) vs. #2 Mt. Zion-Jonesboro (23-5, 13-2)

Friday, 8:30 p.m. at Hampton

Region 4-AAAA features a rivalry for the region crown. Jonesboro has been the cream of the crop all season long and has been able to bully around its opponents. The Bulldogs will try and buck that trend on Friday coming off a 27-point win against #1A Henry County. The Cardinals have breezed through the tournament drilling Eastside and Griffin. They will look to go 3-0 against the Bulldogs. Jonesboro has already thumped Mt. Zion by margins of 41 and 44 points this season.

#1 Liberty County (20-4, 9-1) vs. #2 Burke County (23-2, 9-1)

Friday, 8:30 p.m. at Burke County

The Bears will be at home as they look to bring home a Region 3-AAAA title. Burke County defeated #3 New Hampstead in the semis by eight, while Liberty County drilled #5 Thomson by 26. The Bears beat the Panthers 65-60 at home, but later lost by 17 at Liberty. The Panthers will rely heavily on the scoring duo of Devion Mitchell (19.5 ppg) and Richard LeCounte (17.9 ppg) to get the job done.

#1 Vidalia (24-2, 13-1) vs. #3 McIntosh County Academy (18-10, 11-4)

Friday, 8:30 p.m. at Long County

While Vidalia has been the team to beat all season in Region 2-AA, McIntosh County Academy has been a tough out themselves. Thursday night in the semis, the Buccaneers survived against #2 Bryan County, 51-48. They now have a chance to beat Vidalia who has handed the Bucs losses of 26 and 11 points. Senior big man Tre Scott, one of the best players in the region, will need to have a big game to give MCA a chance at the upset.