The Gilmer High Bobcats’ final basketball win of the regular season was an important one.
GHS was at West Hall last Tuesday, and the Spartans hung with the Cats through a half. Gilmer took control of the game over the final 16 minutes and rolled to a 90-60 victory. The win secured Region 7-3A’s top seed and qualified Gilmer for the state tournament.
GHS gave West Hall plenty to handle offensively. Jackson McVey was a power down low with 34 points while Ryder Wofford and Keegen Bryant provided 20 and 14, respectively.
However, West Hall only trailed by four after a quarter and 46-40 at halftime. Head coach Jordan Hice discussed some defensive changes that paid dividends in the second half.
“The first half was a little rough,” he said. “We were giving up too much on defense and made some adjustments that worked well. They were getting some mismatches when we had to switch, so we stopped switching on this one guard-to-guard screen. We had a good first and second halves in terms of scoring, but we did better slowing them in the second after making some changes.”
The adjustment drastically altered the Spartans’ ability to get open looks. After shooting 53 percent from the field in the first half, West Hall made just 27 percent of its shots in the third and fourth quarters.
Meanwhile, Gilmer’s offense continued to hum. McVey scored 14 of his points in the second half, and the Cats combined to make four more three pointers after draining five in the first half.
West Hall slipped behind 71-50, and the margin only widened in the fourth. The win improved GHS to 16-8 overall.
As the No. 1 seed in a seven-team region, the Bobcats have already qualified for the state tournament because of their bye into the region semifinals. GHS will take on Dawson County Thursday at Lumpkin County High School at 7:30 p.m.
1 2 3 4 F
G 23 23 28 19 90
WH 19 21 10 10 60
GHS scoring: McVey 34. Wofford 20. Bryant 14. Taylor 12. Blane Banks 4. Jacob Becerra, Kohan Davis 3.. Rebs.: McVey 15. Becerra 6. Wofford 5. Bryant 4. Banks, Davis 3. Boston Teague, Taylor 2. Jaden Sevcech 1. Assts.: Bryant, Taylor 6. Becerra 5. Wofford, 3. Davis 2. Teague 1. . Stls.: Taylor 3. Teague, Banks, Becerra 1. Blks.: McVey, Wofford 1.