By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

LAGRANGE – It’s a simple enough scenario.

If the boys’ and girls’ teams from Callaway, LaGrange and Troup win their basketball games this weekend, their seasons will continue for at least another game.

If they lose, though, their seasons will be over.

The one-and-done portion of the schedule has arrived, with teams across the state facing the pressure of state-tournament basketball.

All of the teams from the local schools will participate in the state tournament, and there are 32 teams in each of the state’s five classifications.

If a team wins five games, it will be the state champion, but the primary concern right now, obviously, is to win that first game this weekend.

There will be four games involving local teams on Friday, and two more on Saturday.

The Callaway and LaGrange teams will all be at home, while the Troup teams will be on the road.

Callaway’s teams, which both finished second in Region 5-AA, will be at home on Friday.

First up will be the girls’ game, with Callaway facing Dade County, the third-place finisher from Region 7-AA.

Dade County (19-8) finished second in the region during the regular season, but it placed third during the region tournament.

Callaway (8-12) finished tied for second in Region 5-AA during the regular season, and it reached the region-championship game before falling to Heard County on Friday.

At 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Callaway will host Coosa (14-14), which was third in the Region 7-AA tournament after finishing fifth in the regular season.

Callaway (11-10) fell to Heard County in the Region 5-AA-championship game after finishing tied for second in the regular season.

Also on Friday, the girls’ teams from LaGrange and Troup will be in action.

LaGrange (16-11), which finished second in the Region 5-AAAA tournament, will host Marist (11-14), the third-place finisher from Region 7-AAAA, with tip-off set for 7 p.m.

The Troup Lady Tigers (14-12), after losing two close ones in the Region 5-AAAA tournament to finish fourth, will be on the road against West Hall (22-5), which won the Region 7-AAAA regular-season and tournament championships.

On Saturday, the boys’ teams from LaGrange and Troup will hit the court for their state openers.

Troup (10-17), which finished fourth in the Region 5-AAAA tournament, will visit Region 7-AAAA-champion Blessed Trinity on (20-6) on Saturday at 5 p.m.

LaGrange (24-3), after beating Sandy Creek in Saturday’s dramatic Region 5-AAAA championship game, will host West, Hall (8-18) on Saturday, and the game begins at 7 p.m.

STATE OPENERS

FRIDAY

Dade County girls at Callaway, 6 p.m.

Coosa boys at Callaway, 7:30 p.m.

Marist girls at LaGrange, 7 p.m.

Troup girls at West Hall, 7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY

Troup boys at Blessed Trinity, 5 p.m.

West Hall boys at LaGrange, 7 p.m.