Three Musketeers on a roll

Reviewing and previewing local high school basketball:

WHO'S HOT

RICHMOND ACADEMY. JUNIOR GUARD TREVOR WELCHER AVERAGES 20 POINTS, BUT HE'S NOT ALONE. LOCE HILL HAS HAD BIG NIGHTS. SO HAS RENARD JAMES. THE MUSKETEERS (18-3) HAVE WON SEVEN IN A ROW.

WHO'S NOT

GLENN HILLS. THE SPARTANS (4-16, 0-10 in Region 3-AAA North) aren't that bad, but haven't finished off teams with an all-sophomore group. Chris Reynolds and Jerel Stephenson are solid, but they still make the same youthful mistakes. It seems the Spartans lose every game by five or six points.

BEST WINS LAST WEEK

BOYS: Evans 50, Greenbrier 48: The Knights hold off an upset bid and protect the momentum of one of their best years in history.

GIRLS: North Augusta 46, Lexington 45: The Yellow Jackets still earn a region win despite an off-night from star Sydnei Moss, who finished with just six points.

THIS WEEK'S BIG GAMES

BOYS: Butler at Richmond Academy today: It decides the Region 3-AAA North regular season champ.

GIRLS: Cross Creek at Hephzibah today: Hephzibah coach Wendell Lofton matches sideline wits with protege Kim Schlein. The Razorbacks are the last hurdle between the Lady Rebels and another perfect region record.

BIG GAME TALK

BUTLER STANDOUT AND SOUTH CAROLINA COMMITMENT AUSTIN STEED WEIGHS IN ON TONIGHT'S BUTLER-RICHMOND ACADEMY CONTEST. STEED LED ALL SCORERS WITH 21 POINTS IN THE FIRST MEETING. BOTH TEAMS ARE 10-1 in region play.

"I think if we just rebound and run the ball up the floor like we always do, we should have no problem," Steed said. "None at all."

QUOTABLE

"I TOLD RICHMOND COACH STEVE NOBLES THAT THIS IS THE FIRST AREA TEAM I'VE SEEN TRULY PLAY ABOVE THE RIM. THEY PUT ON A SHOW AT OUR PLACE WHERE THEY WERE LOBBING BALLS UP AND DUNKING ALL OVER THE PLACE. LIKE A COLLEGE TEAM. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN AN AREA CONSISTENTLY DO THAT. NOT JUST TRY TO. THIS IS ONE OF THE ALL-TIME AREA HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS I'VE SEEN IN THE LAST 10 YEARS. AT LEAST."

- HARLEM COACH KIM CHAMBERS, ON THIS YEAR'S BUTLER TEAM

QUOTABLE, PART II

"I'VE BEEN ON OUR GUYS A LOT BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF POTENTIAL BUT WE RUN OUR HALF-COURT OFFENSE BETTER THAN ANY BUTLER TEAM I'VE EVER HAD HERE."

--BUTLER COACH ROB JOHNSON

CONTENDER CHECKUP

HEPHZIBAH (22-2) is 11-0 in region play and once again one of the top area girls' teams. Longtime coach Wendell Lofton breaks down the year so far:

WHAT LOFTON LIKES: "Our outside shooting is about it."

WHAT HE DOESN'T: "We're not playing good defense right now."

WHAT'S EXPOSED: "Our defense. We're not reading offenses the way we should. Our defense is supposed to force turnovers and create 15 points per game. We're just not getting that."

PROGRESS AT: "Our outside shooting. We've got three or four good outside shooters."

NEED TO IMPROVE: "If I could wave a magic wand and fix one part it would be the defense. And I'd try to wave that wand on my free throw shooting, too."

SURPRISES: "None. I'm still waiting on my first nice surprise."

BOTTOM LINE: "We're not executing either or offensive or defensive systems. I guess these girls have gone complacent on me. We're not peaking right now and that's the honest truth. I'm a little stressed because I think we're in a little bit of trouble. Stressed maybe, but not dismayed because I think we have the time to fix it."

- Jeff Sentell