By JOEY HOLLEMAN
State Sports Writer

Only sixteen girls basketball teams and a like number of boys teams remain in Classes A. AA and AAA of the South Carolina High School League after last week’s playoffs.

That number will be reduced to eight in each category by Wednesday, as the girls play first-round games Monday night and the boys go into action Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the five Class AAAA regions that have yet to play conference tournaments will do so this week.

CLASSES A, AA AND AAA will move to centralized locations for the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds March 6 and 10.

The upper state portion of the Class A.A.A will be played at Presbyterian College, while the lower state quarterfinals and semifinals will be in Kingstree. Class AA teams travel to Newberry in the upper state and Goose Creek in the lower state. For Class A, the sites are Lugoff-Elgin for the upper state and Berkeley of Moncks Corner for the lower state.

The finals in the three smaller classifications will be play March 13 in Irmo (AAA), Newberry (AA) and Camden (A).

Region 5-AAAA got the jump on the other teams in that classification, with the South Florence boys and the Wilson girls winning tournament titles last week.

Region 4AAAA will play at Lower Richland, with three games Monday and Tuesday and two games Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Region 3-AAAA decided against playing all the games in one location. Instead, each game will be played on the home court of the higher-seeded team. Boys games will be played Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while the girls play Tuesday. Thursday and Saturday.

Region 1-AAAA’s boys bracket should be interesting since the regular-season race ended in a four-way tie for first place between Dorman of Spartanburg. Easley, Eastside of Taylors and Wade Hampton of Greenville. First-round games for girls Monday and boys Tuesday will be played at the home court of the higher seeded teams. Then, it’s on to Easley for semifinals and finals on Thursday and Friday.

The boys play Monday and girls play Tuesday in Region 2-AAAA on home courts. Spartanburg High will be the site for two games each on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

In Region 6-AAAA. the girls play Monday and boys Tuesday before moving to the College of Charleston for two games each Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

THE PAIRINGS for the Class A. AA and AAA tournaments, with several entries still out as of Saturday afternoon will be:

√ Class AAA boys — 2- AAA runner-up Wren of Piedmont at 1-AAA winner T.L. Hanna of Anderson: 1-AAA runner-up Westside of Anderson at 2-AAA winner Parker of Greenville: 4-AAA runner-up C.A. Johnson at 3-AAA winner Southside: 3-AAA runner-up J.L. Mann at 4-AAA winner A.C. Flora: 6- AAA runner-up Myrtle Beach at 5-AAA winner Bennettsville: 5-AAA runner-up Winnsboro at 6-AAA winner Lake City: the 8-AAA runner-up at 7-AAA winner Bishop England: and 7-AAA runner-up Chicora-North Charleston at the 8-AAA winner.

√ Class AAA girls – 2-AAA runner-up Carolina at 1-AAA winner T.L. Hanna: 1-AAA runner-up Westside at 2-AAA winner Wren: 4-AAA runner-up Batesburg-Leesville at 3-AAA winner J.L. Mann: 3-AAA runner-up Byrnes at 4AAA winner Keenan: the 6-AAA runner-up Mullins at the 5-AA.A win-ner: 6-AAA winner Manning at the 5-AAA runner-up: the 7-AAA runner-up at the 8-AAA winner: and the 8-AAA runner-up at 7-AAA winner St. Andrews.

√ Class AA boys – 2-AA runnerup Pendleton at 1-AA winner Crescent: 1-AA runner-up Abbeville at 2-AA Woodruff: 4-AA runner-up Timmonsville at 3-AA winner North Central: 3-AA runner-up Andrew Jackson at 4-AA winner Butler: 6-AA runner-up Allendale-Fairfax at 5-AA winner Swansea: 5- AA runner-up Denmark-Olar at 6-AA winner Wade Hampton: the 8-AA runner-up at 7-AA winner North Myrtle Beach: and 7-AA runner-up Hanna-Pamplico at the 8-AA winner.

√ Class AA girls – 2-AA runner-up Chapman at 1-AA winner are Shoals: 1-AA runnerup Crescent at 2-AA winner Pendleton: 4-AA runner-up Mt. Pleasant at 3-AA winner Andrew Jackson: 3-AA runner-up Great Falls at 4AA winner Butler: the 6-AA runner-up at 5-AA winner Denmark-Olar: 5-AA runner-up Barnwell at the 6-AA winner: the 8-AA runner-up at 7-AA winner Loris: and 7-AA runner-up Chopee at the 8-AA winner.

√ Class A boys – 2-A runner-up Jonesville at 1-A winner • Landrum: 1-A runner-up Dixie at 2-A winner Whitmire: 4A runner-up Lamar at 3-A winner Clio: 3-A runner-up Blenheim at 4-A winner Ashwood Central: 6-A runner-up Lincoln at 5- A winner Pleasant Hill: 5-A runner-up Johnsonville at 6-A winner Williamsburg: 8-A runner-up Harleyville-Ridgeville at T-A winner Ridge Spring-Monetta: and 7-A runner-up Pelion at 8-A winner Branchville.

√ A winner Pleasant Hill: 5-A runner-up Johnsonville at 6-A winner Williamsburg: 8-A runner-up Harleyville-Ridgeville at T-A winner Ridge Spring-Monetta: and 7-A runner-up Pelion at 8-A winner Branchville.