Aiken-South Aiken and Evans-Heritage are the key region games AugBball will cover tonight

Charvis Jones and Cameron Cabarrus will try to help keep Aiken and Evans in contention in for top region spots tonight.

Winning the regular season region championship should be a goal for every team at the beginning of every season. Along with the distinction of being consistently better than your peers, rewards like an automatic spot in the state playoffs and beneficial seeding in the region tournament can mean the difference between a deep post season run and an early start to the off-season. In this post and those soon to follow I'll frame where each region race stands before the first region tournaments begin about 10 days from now.

North Augusta's boys and girls are breezing through South Carolina's class 4A, region 5; Aiken and South Aiken's boys will fight to stay close to the Jackets

The Lady Yellow Jackets appear to be sprinting towards their third straight state title, an accomplishment we haven't ever seen from any area team. Coach Al Young's class 4A squad left no doubt in anybody's mind about whether it is the best team in the Palmetto State by defeating the defending class 5A state champion Spring Valley 71-65 in an invitational game last Saturday at Eau Claire High School in Columbia.

Here's a mind blowing fact: That 6 point margin of victory marked the first time any team in South Carolina has come within single digits of the Lady Yellow Jackets in more than 3 years.

Tyliah Burns (top), Mya Burns (left), and J'mani Ingram (right)

Junior J'mani Ingram scored 26 points in the victory. Senior Mya Burns added 19, as did junior Tyliah Burns.

North Augusta's boys (16-5, 5-0) have also have been on a roll that has been unmatched area wide. Since sophomore RJ Felton rejoined the team after missing the first month of the season with an injury, the Yellow Jackets have won 12 of 14 games. Their average margin of victory in league play has been 20 points.

Rj Felton Class of 2021 @TeamUnited2021 @PrepHoopsSC @AugBball @WJBFSports
North Augusta High School pic.twitter.com/uSEubmghnM

— Latravea Felton (@latravea) January 19, 2019

North Augusta's place at the top of the region standings had been Aiken's for the two seasons prior to this one. Aiken won all 16 league games during that stretch and reached the quarterfinals of the state playoffs both seasons. The Hornets (10-10, 3-2) will have a chance tonight to claw back into contention for a top 2 spot when they host arch rival South Aiken (8-10, 4-1) in a game that will be featured on the @AugBball social media timelines. The reward for a top two spot in the region in South Carolina is at least one home game in the state playoffs.

Rivals Evans and Lakeside try to settle their differences and hold off Heritage in the process

It has been exactly 2 weeks since Evans, then ranked #1 in Georgia's class 6A, recorded its first loss of the season, a 67-56 decision to Lakeside, which was ranked #3 at the time.

Since that night both teams have dropped an additional league game, setting up a final week of action in region 3 that will see those two rivals and Heritage fight for the top 2 spots in the regular season standings. A top two spot will bring a bye in the first round of the region tournament and therefore an automatic bid into the state playoffs.

Evans (19-2, 5-2) will host Heritage (11-10, 5-2) tonight before visiting current leader Lakeside (19-3, 6-1) Tuesday. Lakeside will host Alcovy (8-12, 2-5) tonight before Tuesday's big game.