The Gilmer High Bobcats won two more basketball games and have now been victorious in seven out of the last eight times they have taken the court.
GHS hosted White County last Tuesday and rocked the short-handed Warriors, 79-50. The Cats were at Wesleyan Friday, and the Wolves celebrated their senior players. After a fourth-quarter rally, Wesleyan then celebrated a 66-65 win.
Gilmer ended its week the following day at Southeast Whitfield. The Raiders hung early but faded in the second half as GHS took over to secure an 82-68 nonregion victory.
White County was without two-time reigning region player of the year Jadon Yeh. The Warriors’ rudderless offense had trouble finding any consistency without their playmaking guard.
GHS on the other hand made 49 percent of its shots. The Bobcats hit 11 three pointers to go with 34 points in the paint.
“The contributions from everyone were good,” said head coach Jordan Hice. “We really didn’t have any down moments. All of the eight guards we run in and out were doing what they were supposed to. We’ve been preaching all year to keep shooting, and hopefully by the end of the year things get more consistent. That just seemed to show up tonight.”
GHS jumped on the Warriors early and they never recovered. Gilmer racked up 21 points in the first and added 27 more in the second to open a 48-23 edge at the half.
Bobcat J.D. Taylor came off the bench to score 10 of his 16 points in the first half, and he made 4/5 three-point attempts on the night.
Gilmer continued to put it on the Warriors in the second half, which began with six straight points by Jackson McVey in the post. He finished with 16 points and seven rebounds and did not play in the fourth, which GHS entered with a 70-37 lead.
The fourth quarter was shortened to six minutes as GHS reserves continued to score against WCHS.
Keegen Bryant and Ryder Wofford each added 11 points for Gilmer while Christian Sumner and Kohan Davis scored six apiece.
Four Bobcats were in double figures versus Wesleyan. The Bobcats led by two points after a quarter and 38-34 at halftime. GHS scored 14 close-range baskets in the third while the Wolves fell behind 58-46 with eight minutes to play.
Wesleyan outscored GHS 20-7 in the fourth, while Gilmer committed six turnovers. The Wolves pulled ahead momentarily, 63-62, with 3:41 to play. GHS then got a free throw from Taylor and two points from Will Kiker.
An offensive rebound and jump shot from the high post moved Wesleyan ahead for good, 66-65, with a minute on the clock.
McVey led GHS with 14 points and nine rebounds. Wofford added 13 points and six boards, while Taylor scored 12 and Bryant finished with 10.
“Their guard No. 3 (Josh Kavel) had a good game (21 points), and we gave up some offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter,” Hice said. “Those second-chance points ended up hurting us. It just seemed like everything went wrong in the fourth. We put ourselves in a good position but couldn’t hang on.”
Post player Thomas Chipman added 18 points for the Wolves.
Gilmer defeated Southeast for the second Saturday in a row. The game was played closely through three quarters, and after trailing 35-31 at the half, GHS slipped ahead 57-56 entering the fourth.
“We came out strong in the fourth and started hitting some free throws and threes and getting some stops on the other end,” Hice said. “They were forced to foul us at the end, and we continued with the lead in the fourth.”
The Bobcats outscored the Raiders 25-12 in the final quarter for their 17th win of the season.
Wofford and Taylor scored 23 and 20 points, respectively. McVey added 16 and 10 rebounds. Bryant, Wofford and Myles McCall all grabbed six boards.
The win improved Gilmer’s record to 17-8 and 6-5 in region play. GHS hosted West Hall at press deadline to end the regular season.