Fayette area schools will be

competing literally across the state this weekend in the first round of

the state basketball playoffs.

The three schools still alive

- Fayette County, Sandy Creek and Landmark - each are sending

both varsity squads, boys and girls, to play at state after good showings

in various region tournaments last week.

Both Fayette County teams finished

fourth in Region 4-AAAAA, after close games Friday night in the region

consolation round at Starr's Mill. The boys dropped a 46-40 decision

to Riverdale, while the girls went into overtime before losing 49-47 to

East Coweta.

With all Fayette public schools

out the entire week, the Tigers and Lady Tigers will likely leave Thursday

for Savannah, where they are scheduled to take the court Friday at Savannah

State University. Both teams will play Beach High of Savannah, the top

seed from Region 3-AAAAA. The girls game is at 7 p.m. and the boys play

at 8:30.

Teams that win Friday move

on to the south sectional at the Macon Centreplex the following weekend,

with the Final Four in AAAAA scheduled for the first weekend of March

at the Gwinnett Center Arena.

Both Sandy Creek squads wound

up coming in fourth in the Region 4-AAAA tournament, qualifying them for

the state playoffs. The Lady Patriots beat Forest Park 45-31 in the second

round of the region tournament, then lost 32-23 to North Clayton in the

semifinals and 59-52 to Pebblebrook in the consolation game. The Patriots

beat Northgate 61-56 to reach the semifinals, where they fell 68-65 to

Lithia Springs before losing the consolation game 59-55 to North Clayton.

The Patriots will face Statesboro

Friday at Jones County High School in Gray, about 30 minutes east of Forsyth.

The Lady Patriots take on the top seed from Region 3-AAAA, also at Jones

County.

The south sectional for AAAA

schools is at the Columbus Civic Center the following weekend, while the

Final Four will be played the Gwinnett Center Arena the first weekend

of March.

Landmark's varsity teams

go north this weekend, with Saturday games at Towns County High School

in Hiawassee. Both teams finished third in the Region 5-A tournament and

will face the second-seeded teams from Region 8-A. For the boys, that

means a game against Jefferson, while the girls take on Lakeview Academy.

The girls game is at 7 p.m. and the boys should play right after that.

Sectional play for Landmark

would be at Floyd College the following weekend, and the Final Four for

A teams is the first weekend of March at Macon Centreplex.

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