1/17/2023 basketball Edit

VHSL Hoops Top Tens - Entering 1-17-23 Games

Nasir Coleman and the Pioneers knocked Battlefield from the ranks of the unbeaten and figure to be a tough out come playoff time (Submitted Photo)

Matthew Hatfield • VirginiaPreps

Publisher

Matthew Hatfield has been with VirginiaPreps.com since 2004, officially taking over as Publisher in 2016. Hatfield hosts 757 Saturday Sports Talk every Saturday, 10 AM to Noon, on ESPN Radio 94.1.

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The action is heating up on the hardwood here in January, even though the temperatures are getting colder in many parts of the state this winter.

In a Cedar Run District rivalry showdown, Patriot handed previously undefeated Battlefield its first blemish, 74-62. Isaiah Vick led the Pioneers with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor. Kaden Bates had 20 points, including 4-of-5 on 3's, to go with seven rebounds.

There were also some results on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in out-of-district play of note around the Commonwealth.

Woodside - which fell at home on January 13th to Kecoughtan 69-60 - responded in a huge way by beating nationally-ranked Gonzaga 82-73 at the University of Maryland. Richmond signee Trevor Smith led the way with 17 points, while My'kel Jenkins and Silas Barksdale chipped in 16 points apiece for Stefan Welsh's Wolverines to grab a signature victory.

John Marshall also won another big game on MLK Day, defeating Grayson (GA) 66-53 behind 28 points and five three-pointers from junior point guard Damon 'Redd' Thompson Jr. The Justices are one of just six remaining unbeaten VHSL teams heading into play on January 17th.

As for the other five: it's Oscar Smith in Class 6 out of Chesapeake Menchville at the Class 5 level from Newport News, Northside from Roanoke in Class 3 as well as Skyline from Warren County, and Lancaster out of the Northern Neck in Class 1.

A couple of the marquee matchups this week include a re-match with Northside and Cave Spring, the reigning Class 3 State Champs, and Oscar Smith visiting King's Fork, which returned to the top of our Class 4 rankings after its 51-42 win over Maury where they had a 21-0 first quarter run.

You can see the full rankings below...

* Indicates record including Eastern District Tournament games

Class 6 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 1/17)
1	1	Hayfield	11-1
2	3	Oscar Smith	12-0
3	4	Patriot	12-2
4	2	Battlefield	15-1
5	5	Manchester	12-1
6	8	Landstown	10-4
7	10	George Marshall	13-2
8	9	South Lakes	11-3
9	NR	Alexandria City	12-3
10	6	South County	9-4

Dropped Out: #7 Potomac (12-4)

Honorable Mention:
Fairfax (11-3)
Edison (11-2)
Madison (10-4)
Freedom-PW (7-3)
Gainesville (12-4)

Jack Esworthy has led Patrick Henry-Roanoke to a 13-1 start as the Patriots look to be one of the top contenders for the Region 5D crown (Twitter)

Class 5 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 1/17)
1	1	Menchville	11-0
2	3	Patrick Henry-Roanoke	13-1
3	2	Maury	11-3; 9-2*
4	6	Kecoughtan	10-2
5	4	Woodside	10-4
6	5	Albemarle	12-2
7	7	Stone Bridge	9-3
8	8	Glen Allen	11-3
9	9	Massaponax	11-2
10	NR	L.C. Bird	9-4

Dropped Out: #10 William Fleming (9-4)

Honorable Mention:
Norview (12-4; 9-4*)
Riverside (9-4)
Highland Springs (7-4)
Princess Anne (10-4)
Mills Godwin (10-3)

Kaleb Brown and the King's Fork Bulldogs used a 21-0 first quarter run to overwhelm Maury - which reached the Class 5 State Championship a season ago - in a 51-42 win at the MABC Classic in Virginia Beach (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 4 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 1/17)
1	2	King's Fork	8-3
2	1	Varina	10-2
3	3	E.C. Glass	11-2
4	4	Western Albemarle	11-1
5	6	Tuscarora	11-2
6	9	Loudoun County	10-4
7	NR	Courtland	11-3
8	NR	Matoaca	10-3
9	HM	Smithfield	12-3
10	5	Park View-Sterling	11-1

Dropped Out: #10 Loudoun Valley (5-5)

Honorable Mention:
Sherando (11-4)
Jefferson Forest (9-3)
Hampton (7-5)
Great Bridge (9-3)
Churchland (10-6; 9-5*)

Daytwan Johnson has been a consistent playmaker for the Bookers, including posting 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four blocks in a 62-61 road win at Indian River. (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 3 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 1/17)
1	1	Northside	13-0
2	2	Cave Spring	12-2
3	3	Spotswood	12-2
4	4	Hopewell	11-2
5	6	Skyline	11-0
6	7	Tunstall	14-1
7	5	Lake Taylor	8-3; 8-2*
8	8	Rustburg	9-2
9	9	Abingdon	10-4
10	NR	Booker T. Washington	8-2; 7-1*

Honorable Mention:
William Monroe (10-3)
Petersburg (9-5)
Staunton (9-3)
Lord Botetourt (8-5)
Wilson Memorial (8-4)

Class 2 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 1/17)
1	1	John Marshall	14-0
2	2	Radford	9-1
3	3	Brunswick	11-3
4	4	Ridgeview	11-2
5	5	Floyd County	10-4
6	7	East Rockingham	9-4
7	8	Virginia High	10-4
8	6	James River-Buchanan	10-5
9	9	Madison County	10-4
10	HM	Strasburg	9-3

Dropped Out: #10 Buckingham (9-4)

Honorable Mention:
Greensville (7-5)

Junior guard Ronyell Coston is putting up 16.4 points, 6.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game for the Northampton Yellowjackets (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 1 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 1/17)
1	1	Lancaster	11-0
2	2	George Wythe	11-1
3	3	Franklin	14-2
4	5	Auburn	12-3
5	4	Altavista	10-3
6	6	Twin Springs	9-4
7	9	Narrows	12-2
8	8	Northampton	8-4
9	7	Lebanon	13-2
10	HM	Carver Academy	11-1

Dropped Out: #10 Chilhowie (9-3)

Honorable Mention:
Middlesex (11-2)
Bland County (11-4)
Eastside (7-7)

Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald and The Farmville Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him from 10 AM to Noon on 757 Saturday Sports Talk on ESPN Radio 94.1.