The Gilmer Bobcats snatched a nonregion win on the basketball court.
GHS hosted Murray County last Thursday for its second game of the season. After an evenly-played first half, MCHS began to fade over the final two quarters and the Bobcats came away with a 61-44 win.
The Cats traveled to North Forsyth’s Thanksgiving tournament Saturday to take on Dunwoody. GHS found itself in another tight game for a half, but the Wildcats opened a 14-point lead with a quarter to play. While Gilmer’s offense came alive in the fourth, the Cats’ comeback fell short, 64-58.
Head coach Jordan Hice discussed the Murray win and where he thought Gilmer has made improvements.
“We executed our offense a whole lot better, and we had been working on that. We’ve been trying to teach kids what effective shots are and why we want to take certain shots early in the shot clock,” he said. “There are still some things we need to work on, but all in all, the offense was a lot better. We had a lot more offensive rebounds, and taking effective shots helped out a lot.”
Gilmer and Murray traded threes to begin the game, but outside shots were not a dependable option for either as they made 3/17 and 5/20, respectively. The Cats had a distinctive advantage in the rebounding department (39-27) where they out hustled MCHS. Gilmer also found success running the floor and scored 18 transition points.
Mack Kiser gave the Cats an inside presence early while both Keegen Bryant and J.D, Taylor had success driving to the basket for points and fouls.
GHS led 16-15 after the first and opened a 10-point lead at the midpoint of the second quarter. MCHS went on a 7-1 run to trim the Cats’ lead to 32-28 at the half.
Murray made just 4/14 attempts in the third period. Bryant scored eight of his team-high 24 points in the quarter, and Cooper Farmer slashed through the lane for four more. Taylor hit a three and added two in transition as GHS opened a 49-39 lead.
Murray’s offense continued to sputter over the final eight minutes, and Gilmer won by 17.
Taylor finished with 16 points, and Kiser added nine points and eight rebounds. Aside from Farmer’s four, Boston Teague scored five and Blane Banks added three. Bryant also grabbed seven rebounds and Riley Davis had four.
Versus Dunwoody, Taylor was there for 22 points, Bryant scored 19 and Teague had 13. Gilmer committed 24 turnovers in the game, which the Wildcats converted into 17 points. DHS also held an advantage at the free-throw line of 15/20 compared to a 9/13 effort for Gilmer.
The Cats were down by two points after the first, and Dunwoody led 27-25 at the half. A seven-point third saw GHS fall behind 46-32 entering the final quarter.
GHS shot 53 percent from the field in the fourth and made 5/8 three-point attempts. While they continued to press forward, the Wildcats were able to maintain their advantage and held off GHS.
Farmer added two points, as did Kiser, who grabbed eight rebounds. Bryant had eight boards and four assists.
Gilmer is 1-2 overall and played Horizon Christian Academy Monday. GHS returned to North Forsyth Tuesday, but its opponent had yet to be determined as of Monday morning.
JV wins
Bobcat Preston McVey scored 20 points in the junior varsity’s 42-34 win over Murray County.
Half of McVey’s points were scored in the first quarter, which ended in Gilmer’s favor, 15-15. A.J. Callihan and Alex Miltiades also scored in the half, and they finished with nine and eight points respectively.
GHS led 23-16 at the break and 35-25 with a quarter to play. Andrew Chastain scored three points and Mason West added two in Gilmer’s eighth-point win.