4A: No. 3 St. Pius (18-3, 12-2) at No. 2 Lithonia (17-4, 14-1)

The Golden Lions survived Senior Night on Tuesday, using a Sam Petry three at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime before Christian Merrill sank two free throws to beat Stone Mountain, 60-59. No. 3 St. Pius will have its hands full again with Region 6 leader No. 2 Lithonia, the Bulldogs beating the Golden Lions back on Dec. 12, 55-44 at the X-Dome. In that game 6-foot-7 senior Jacara Cross led the Bulldogs with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Tyheem Freeman added 18 points of his own and UT-Chattanooga-commit Rodney Chatman finished with nine points, six rebounds and nine assists. For St. Pius to continue its push towards a No. 1 seed heading into the postseason, 6-foot-6 senior Kerney Lane will need a big game. The lefty averages over 18 points and 7.0 rebounds per game to pace Coach Aaron Parr’s team. He along with 6-foot-7 Jakob Spitzer will need to hold their own against Cross and Tyleen Patterson inside.

6A: Langston Hughes (11-9, 4-6) at Campbell (15-5, 6-4)

Region 3 has turned out to be as wild as everyone expected. The Spartans scored the win of the year in the region, rallying to beat No. 1 Westlake 81-80 on Tuesday. Campbell is now tied for third-place in the region with Douglas County, who they beat last Tuesday 72-61. Senior point guard Mike Olmert went off vs. the Lions. He finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and 15 assists. Running mate Laz Walker chipped in 24 to help lead the charge. Walker averages 19 points and 6.0 rebounds while Olmert tallies 13.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 8.6 assists. Langston Hughes is on the outside looking in right now, sitting at 4-6 in the region tied for fifth-place. Unlike the rest of the region, Coach Rory Welsh prefers to control tempo, run their sets and play hard-nosed defense. A pair of 6-foot-4 junior guards run the show for the Panthers. Derrick Cook has more than doubled his scoring average from a year ago and now leads the team with 16.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Khalil Cuffee has seen his scoring average dip by three points, but still posts 15.6 points a night. Cuffee is a sturdy guard with a reliable three-pointer. By this time next year, he should be deciding upon which D-I school to attend.

4A: Pickens (5-15, 3-7) at Southeast Whitfield (8-13, 5-6)

Straying off the beaten path, north Georgia is home to one of the state’s most prolific scorers. Coaches Brad Steinhauer and Ben Oliver don’t have the Division-I talent that is scattered amongst the state in the higher classifications, but the two Class AAAA programs have some good old fashion roundball with kids playing for the love of the game. NAIA and D-II schools should have their eyes on Southeast Whitfield’s Ty Pendley.  The 5-foot-10 senior is leading the state in scoring at 27.8 points per game while adding 3.0 assists and 6.1 rebounds. On Tuesday the sharpshooter exploded for 43 points against Ridgeland. Pendley is more than just a one-dimensional marksman. He has taken 207 free throws this year, averaging just under 10 per game and sinks them at a 90 percent clip. Pickens counters with a 5-foot-11 senior guard of its own, Holden Roop. He leads the Dragons in scoring with 15 points per game and 3.4 assists.