Monday's top HS games to watch (2/18)

No. 1 McKenzie (21-7) vs. No. 3 Dresden (18-8) (District 13-A boys’ championship)

Time: 7:30 p.m. at Huntingdon

Previous meetings: McKenzie on both (69-68; 52-49)

Players to watch: McKenzie guard Trevor Willis; Dresden guard Austin Maxey

Next opponent: Winner hosts the Lake County-South Fulton loser in the Region 7-A quarterfinals. Loser hosts the Lake County-South Fulton winner.

What to know: Dresden is attempting to win its third-straight district championship. The Lions fell twice to McKenzie during the regular season in close game; this time Dresden will be looking to win. Dresden has won six of its last seven games. McKenzie made program history by winning the semifinal and will be hosting a region quarterfinal for the first time. The Rebels have won 11 of their last 13 games.

 

No. 1 Union City (22-6) vs. No. 2 Humboldt (21-6) (District 14-A boys’ championship)

Time: 7:30 p.m. at Trenton Peabody

Previous meetings: Union City won both (66-64; 61-50)

Players to watch: Union City guard Malik Stockdale; Humboldt guard Stephen Turner

Next opponent: Winner hosts the Huntingdon-West Carroll loser in the Region 7-A quarterfinals. Loser hosts the Huntingdon-West Carroll winner.

What to know: Humboldt is a young ball club with just one senior on the roster. The Vikings have gotten increasingly better as the season has progressed. Humboldt is 7-1 since its last loss to Union City in the regular season. Union City has been the top team in the district the entire second half of the season, and now the Golden Tornadoes have a chance to prove they are the best with a district title.

 

No. 1 Westview (26-5) vs. No. 2 Crockett County (21-8) (District 13-AA boys’ consolation)

Time: 6:30 p.m. at Dyersburg

Previous meetings: Split two meetings (Crockett County won 76-71; Westview won 75-65)

Players to watch: Westview guard Antonio Hogard; Crockett County forward William Edwards

Next opponent: Winner travels to the South Side-Liberty loser in the Region 7-AA quarterfinals. Loser travels to the South Side-Liberty winner.

What to know: These two teams entered the tournament as the top two teams, and now they will play each other in the consolation game. The key to winning this is the hope of avoiding state-ranked South Side in the region quarterfinals. Westview played without coach JB Suiter and senior post Javier Gordon in the upset loss to Ripley. Suiter will be back on the sidelines for this one. Crockett County lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Haywood, so the Cavaliers will look to respond well.

 

No. 3 Haywood (22-8) vs. No. 4 Ripley (17-10) (District 13-AA boys’ championship)

Time: 8 p.m. at Dyersburg

Previous meetings: Haywood swept (75-69; 72-60)

Players to watch: Haywood forward Jordan Varnado; Ripley guard Chad Culbreath

Next opponent: Winner hosts the Fayette-Ware/Bolivar loser in the Region 7-AA quarterfinals. Loser hosts the Fayette-Ware/Bolivar winner.

What to know: The Tomcats are young, starting four sophomores and a junior. Haywood played well in some tough situations in the semifinal win, and now the Tomcats will have to step up on a bigger stage. Ripley has played all the top teams in the district close, but couldn’t break through until the semifinal win over Westview. The Tigers will look to continue on that momentum.

 

No. 1 Scotts Hill (19-7) vs. No. 3 Madison (20-10) (District 15-A girls’ consolation)

Time: 6 p.m. at Middleton

Previous meetings: Split two meetings (Scotts Hill won 70-61; Madison won 66-60)

Players to watch: Scotts Hill post Chloe Roberts; Madison post Dakota Smith

Next opponent: Winner travels to the Booker T. Washington-Memphis Business Academy loser in the Region 8-A quarterfinals. Loser travels to the BTW-MBA winner.

What to know: Coming off a loss to rival Riverside, Scotts Hill will look to rebound quickly in the consolation game. These two teams are evenly matched with good guard play and two tough post players inside. Each won at home during the regular season, but this one is at Middleton. Madison is coming off a double-overtime loss to host Middleton in the semifinals.

 

No. 2 Middleton (20-8) vs. No. 4 Riverside (16-11) (District 15-A girls’ championship)

Time: 7:30 p.m. at Middleton

Previous meetings: Split two meetings (Riverside won 46-36; Middleton won 46-41)

Players to watch: Middleton guard Averyale Joy; Riverside guard Holly Chumney

Next opponent: Winner hosts the Soulsville-Power Center Academy loser in the Region 8-A quarterfinals. Loser hosts the Soulsville-PCA winner.

What to know: These two teams played on consecutive days just 10 days ago with the home team winning each. This one is at Middleton, but the District 15-A crown is one the line. The Lady Tigers will rely on their two sophomores Averyale Joy and Deja Faulkner to control the offense and scoring. Riverside plays tough defense and will look to contain Middleton’s athleticism.  Both teams get to play at home in the region quarterfinals instead of traveling to Memphis.

 

No. 1 Bolivar (20-6) vs. No. 2 McNairy Central (22-6) (District 14-AA girls’ championship)

Time: 7:30 p.m. at Chester County

Previous meetings: Bolivar swept (48-39; 49-45)

Players to watch: Bolivar guard Tionne Herron; McNairy Central post Mikaela Rowland

Next opponent: Winner hosts Obion County and loser hosts Dyersburg in the Region 7-AA quarterfinals.

What to know: Bolivar swept each of the other three teams still alive in the district during the regular season. The Lady Tigers are tough with guards like Tionne Herron, Kelsey Kirk and Tymeria Franklin. The winner of this one has the task of playing Brandi Goodman, a Memphis signee, and Obion County in the quarterfinals of the region. The loser hosts a Dyersburg team that is playing hot right now. Bolivar is 7-1 in its last eight games. The Lady Bobcats entered the postseason going 3-3 in the regular season’s final six games, but they have beaten Fayette-Ware and Chester County to get to this point.