Seeds set: Area basketball teams to begin playoffs Tuesday

danielmayes, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
·3 min read

Feb. 23—Six area high school basketball teams open play in the 2021 Georgia High School Association state tournament Tuesday night:

Christian Heritage boys, girls open playoffs at home Tuesday night

The Christian Heritage girls and boys play their first round playoff games at 6 and 7:30 p.m. at home. The girls, the second seed in Region 7-A Private, play Mount Pisgah Christian from Johns Creek first, then the Region 7-A Private champion boys host Gainesville's Lakeview Academy, the fourth seed from region 6.

Neither of Christian Heritage teams played in region tournaments last week, unlike most other teams in the area and state. A few Georgia regions, including Region 7-A Private, canceled the usual tournament due to COVID-19.

The boys (20-2) earned their top seed and region title due to their regular-season record, where they finished 10-0 in the region. Lakeview (17-10) was last played in the Region 6-A Private consolation game on Saturday. The Lions, which won 14 games in a row to finish region play, reached the round of 16 in the Class A Private playoffs last season.

The only region losses for the girls (13-10) came against Mount Paran Christian, which went undefeated in region play. Mount Pisgah Christian, which has played just 14 games this year, earned the third spot in the region in last week's Region 6-A private tournament.

Northwest, Creek girls look to playoffs after falling in region title games

The girls' teams from Northwest Whitfield (13-10) and Coahulla Creek (21-4) each reached their respective region championship games last week, and each ran into a familiar foe.

Both of Northwest's Region 7-4A losses in the regular season came to Pickens, and that's who they fell to in the championship game on Friday. The Coahulla Creek girls have gone 21-1 against teams other than Sonoraville this season, but it was Sonoraville that was waiting in the Region 6-3A finals Saturday to hand Coahulla Creek another loss.

Both teams look to rebound in home playoff games Tuesday night.

Northwest gets Druid Hills (11-14), which finished third in Region 6-4A. Coahulla Creek hosts White County (11-9), the third-place finishers in Region 7-3A.

Both games begin at 6 p.m.

Dalton, North Murray boys hit the road to try to make playoff magic

The first state playoff appearance for Dalton's boys in nine years will be made at Snellville's Shiloh High School Tuesday night, while North Murray is back in the Class 3A playoffs for the third straight year, this time at Dawson County.

Both teams made runs from lower seeds in their respective region tournaments to earn a playoff spot. Dalton, from the seventh seed, won two games to reach the semifinals of the Region 5-6A tournament and secure a playoff berth, while North Murray did the same in the Region 6-3A tourney from the sixth seed, eliminating Murray County along the way.

Dalton (14-13) plays at the second-seeded team from Region 8-6A in Shiloh (19-5), while North Murray (12-14) visits the top seed from Region 7-3A in Dawson County (20-7).

Both games start at 6 p.m.