Gwinnett Daily Post

This one is kind of big.

The No. 1 team in the state vs. the No. 2 team in the state (depending on which poll you're looking at).

An 18-2 team vs. a 17-2 team.

A 10-game winning streak vs. a seven-game winning streak.

And first place in Region 7-AAAAA, and the state of Georgia, is on the line.

Tonight's contest between the top-ranked Norcross Blue Devils and the highly ranked Peachtree Ridge Lions has all the makings of an instant classic in Gwinnett County. And it should be a packed house at Norcross, so if you want to see it, get there early.

"It's just another game for us," Peachtree Ridge head coach Gerald Arnold said with tongue firmly planted in cheek. "It's just another region game."

He then continued a bit more seriously: "I know it's a big game for our community and for our fans and our parents. The truth is, we know how important it is. We know how good Norcross is and we're using this game as an opportunity to see where we are at this point in the season."

Said Norcross head coach Eddie Martin: "It should be a spectator's delight. They've got a very good team. I feel like we're a very good team. To put two good teams playing in an atmosphere like this, it should be something ... and it should be very loud."

The game tonight will have a much different look than when the two teams played earlier this season.

Peachtree Ridge, ranked No. 2 in the state by the Georgia Sportswriters and No. 4 by Georgia Sports Monthly, was playing without four starters when the two teams matched up on Dec. 8. Cameron Heyward, Zach Graham and Sidney Haynes were still helping the football team to a share of the Class AAAAA state title while Bassey Inameti was recovering from a knee injury when the first game was played.

Despite playing well early and being within striking distance in the second half, the depleted Lions ran out of gas and lost 79-58.

"Our guys were real proud of how we played that first game against Norcross," Arnold said. "... and if anything, I think they might have overlooked us a little bit because they knew Cameron and Bassey and Zach and Sidney weren't going to be playing.

"But I don't think they'll be overlooking us at all (tonight)."

Not after what the Lions have done lately.

Peachtree Ridge is 17-2 and has won seven straight games since a one-point loss to Milton in the semifinals of the Deep South Classic.

With Graham's 23.5 points per game leading the way, the Lions have become a serious contender for not only a region championship, but a state championship as well.

"Zach is definitely one of the best scorers in the area," Martin said. "And then you take a kid like Cameron Heyward, who is just such a big and strong kid, and he's hard to move around inside. When you take someone like that who plays as hard as he does, he makes a lot of good things happen out there."

Although the Blue Devils don't exactly have a pair of scrubs underneath to deal with Heyward and company.

Georgia Tech signee Gani Lawal is playing the best basketball of his career and junior Al-Farouq Aminu is turning into one of the top prospects in the nation - he scored 23 points and pulled down 21 rebounds against Arlington Country Day (Fla.) in a win on Saturday.

In virtually every game they've played this season, the Blue Devils (18-2) haven't just won the battle of the boards, they've dominated it.

Arnold knows his team will have to contain Norcross on the glass to have any chance tonight.

"We have to be competitive on the boards," he said. "We have to box out Al-Farouq and Gani. And also Jordan (DeMercy) and (Tony) Neysmith. You have to box them all out. And you have to be aggressive and take it to the basket as well.

"And defensively, we have to put pressure on them and we have to prevent them from getting second shots."

Arnold said Inameti is still not fully cleared from his knee injury and won't be able to log a lot of minutes tonight.

Either way though, Martin knows his team, which has been playing its best basketball of the season recently, will have another very tough test tonight.

"The competition we've been playing has really helped us," he said, "and I think it helps prepare us for games like this. But we still have to come out and play. Even though we're playing pretty well right now, we still have to come out (tonight) and play."

And no doubt thousands of local basketball fans will come out to watch.