The Gilmer Bobcats split with region opponents as the regular season winds down.
GHS made its way to White County last Tuesday and ran away with the game from the opening tipoff. Jackson McVey was a force inside with 42 points and 22 rebounds, and the Bobcats extended their 14-point halftime lead to an 87-47 victory.
Wesleyan was in town Friday, and the Wolves took over in the third quarter and never lost the lead for a 78-66 win.
J.D. Taylor added 15 points versus White County and Keegen Bryant scored 12 to go with seven assists.
“Jackson had a really big game, and on top of that, we had guards who contributed,” said head coach Jordan Hice. “I told them the most important aspect of that game was that we’re looking for all around gameplay and not just from one person. That’s what separated us. Jackson got his points, and then everyone else contributed also.”
McVey made 16/20 shots to go with a 10/12 effort from the free-throw line. As a team, the Bobcats shot a healthy 56 percent from the field while the Warriors only made 21 percent of their attempts.
GHS was there to force 16 Warrior turnovers, which included 13 steals. Gilmer turned the Warriors’ sloppy ball handling into 18 points on the night.
Gilmer stormed to a 26-11 lead after a quarter and led 44-30 at the half. McVey had another 13-point quarter in the third as the Cats’ lead swelled to 26 points with only eight minutes to play.
White made just five shots from the field in the second half and GHS won by 40.
Wesleyan’s consistent three-point offense kept GHS from closing the gap in the second half. The Wolves were led by Josh Kavel, who scored 27 and made six three pointers.
“They shot a high percentage from the three-point line (13/25). You’re going to give up a few open looks, but there were a lot of times where we were closing out with a hand in their face,” said Hice.
“The only thing we didn’t do was block the shot and they would still go in. We didn’t make any threes and took 13. That aspect killed us. If the other team is hitting a high percentage it helps if we hit at least three of four.
“It wasn’t that it was a horribly played game, we just weren’t making the outside shots they were making.”
McVey (32 points), Bryant (13) and Taylor (10) were Gilmer’s most productive offensive players once again.
Taylor, Bryant and Ryder Wofford helped bolster the offense in the first quarter. McVey scored four, but tallied 17 of Gilmer’s 21 points in the second. Wesleyan hit six threes to trail 41-36 at the half.
However, GHS was ice cold to begin the third while the Wolves went on a 20-2 run. A McVey basket stopped the scoring drought, and Wesleyan led 56-43 with 2:50 left in the third.
McVey and Taylor trimmed the Wolves’ advantage to 56-48 entering the fourth. Bryant, McVey and Kohan Davis all pitched in to pull the Cats within four, 58-54. Wesleyan promptly drained a trio of threes and a deep two over the next two minutes to move its lead to 69-59.
GHS never got closer than eight points over the final two minutes, and the Wolves came away with the road victory. The loss dropped the Bobcats’ record to 15-8 overall. They are 9-2 in the region and in sole possession of first place.
The Bobcats ended the regular season at press deadline at West Hall.
Jan. 30 at White Co.
1 2 3 4 F
G 26 18 22 21 87
WC 11 19 10 7 47
GHS scoring: McVey 42. Taylor 15. Bryant 12. Blane Banks 6. Boston Teague 5. Wofford 3. Mack Kiser, Jaden Sevcech 2. Rebs.: McVey 22. Wofford 7. Bryant 6. Davis 4. Teague 3. John Ponders 2. Kiser, Taylor, Sevech, Jacob Becerra, Cooper Farmer 1. Assts.: Bryant 7. Taylor 3. Teague, McVey, Davis 2. Wofford, Kiser, Ponders, Farmer 1. Stls.: Davis 5. Bryant 2. Teague, Kiser, Taylor, Banks, McVey, Sevech 1. Blks.: McVey 4. Kiser, Taylor, Banks 1.
Feb. 2 vs. Wesleyan
1 2 3 4 F
G 21 21 7 17 66
W 19 17 20 22 78
GHS scoring: McVey 32. Bryant 13. Taylor 10. Becerra 7. Davis, Wofford 2. Rebs.: McVey 14. Bryant, Wofford 3. Davis, Becerra 2. Assts.: Taylor 4. McVey, Davis, Becerra, Teague 2. Bryant, Wofford 1. Stls.: Taylor 2. Blks.: McVey 1.