By Kevin Price
For GCS Athletics

The Brunswick High boys and girls teams and the Glynn Academy girls squad are gearing up to take part in the Region 1-AAAAA basketball tournament. 

The opening two rounds in both the boys and girls tournaments are taking place at Effingham. Then, the boys tourney will shift to Bradwell Institute in Hinesville for the semifinals, finals and third-place game while the girls tourney will go to Evans in Augusta for those same games. 

Bradwell was awarded the finish of the boys tournament as the No. 1 seed from the South Sub-Region while Evans got the girls tournament by finishing as the No. 1 seed from the North Sub-Region.

 It was predetermined prior to the season as the top team in the regular season in the South would serve as the host for the finish of the boys tourney while the top team in the North would hold the end of the girls tournament. 

The top four teams in both tournaments will advance to state. The Bradwell boys and the Evans girls are already guaranteed spots in the Class AAAAA state tournament as they have received byes into the semifinal round. 

The Brunswick boys will be the first local team to take the floor in the region tournament. The Pirates will take on Lakeside-Evans at 11 a.m. Saturday in the first round. 

BHS is the No. 3 seed from the South while Lakeside finished fourth in the North. 

The Pirates (18-7) went 4-4 in region play, splitting games with Statesboro, the No. 2 seed from the South, and also South Effingham, the No. 4 seed from the South. Brunswick lost both of its region matchups to Bradwell. 

Lakeside ended the regular season with a 5-20 record that included a 3-6 mark in league games. 

The winner will advance to the quarterfinal round and would draw Effingham, the No. 2 seed from the North, on Tuesday night. The winner of that game would then face Bradwell in the region semifinals on Wednesday and would be assured of a berth in the state tournament as one of the final four teams in the league. 

The Glynn girls are also playing Saturday in Effingham as they will take on Lakeside-Evans as well. The Lady Terrors are the No. 3 seed from the South while the Lady Panthers were fourth in the North. 

Glynn goes into the tournament with a 15-9 record that includes a 4-4 ledger in the region. The Lady Terrors lost both games to Bradwell in region play and also both contests against rival Brunswick High, but GA swept Statesboro and South Effingham. 

The Lakeside girls have not won a game as they are 0-18 on the year. 

A win would send the Glynn girls into the Monday quarterfinals against Greenbrier, the No. 2 seed from the North. The winner of that game would face Bradwell in the semifinals. The Lady Tigers won the South Sub-Region in the regular season. 

The Brunswick girls are set to play in the quarterfinals Monday as well as the No. 2 seed from the South. The Lady Pirates will face the winner of Saturday’s opening-round game between Effingham and South Effingham. 

The BHS girls finished the regular season 20-5 while going 6-2 in league games. The Lady Pirates won both their games against Glynn, South Effingham and Statesboro but dropped their two meetings with Bradwell. 

The Glynn boys did not qualify for the region tournament.