NEWS FROM THE HARDWOOD: Playoffs feature interesting early matchups

Several first round matchups will certain have people's interest piqued this Friday and Saturday night.Defending Class AAAAA champion Norcross will hit the road to face Region 8-AAAAA champ Berkmar. The Patriot's Yonel Brown and the Blue Devils' Brandon Goodwin will bring the star power but expect Berkmar's Tim Rowe and Adonai Rogers to have an impact if the Patriots are to bounce the defending champs.

Marietta entered the rankings last week at No. 7, but an upset loss to Lassiter sent the Blue Devils on the road for the first round.The Lassiter coaching staff was incredibly excited following the semifinal victory, and while the Trojans couldn't knock off Wheeler for the region title, Niles Clark and the rest of the team is playing with confidence and could be dangerous.

Milton is starting to flex its muscles a bit, racking up triple digits in the Region 6 championship game. The Eagles won the title two years ago and made the finals last year before losing to Norcross. Expect David Boyd to have his team frothing at the idea of another title.

Alcovy was able to knock off Fayette County in a highly-anticipated Region 3-AAAA championship game. Now Alcovy must put an emotional win quickly behind them and focus on a dangerous Forest Park squad.

In perhaps the most anticipated Class AAAA region championship game, Miller Grove received a huge effort from Christian Houston to knock off Southwest DeKalb 67-63. Senior Tony Parker is looking for a fourth straight championship before he heads off to the McDonald's All-America Game.

It was a tough eight-day stretch for the Washington County boys basketball team. While the girls continued their 59-game winning streak, the boys fell for the first time all year, losing their regular season finale to Hancock Central, then following that up with two losses in the Region 3-AAA tournament. The Golden Hawks will be the No. 4 seed and will travel to face Drew in round one after starting the season 22-0.