The Gilmer Bobcats had issues with the taller Adairsville Tigers to start region play.
The Cats hosted AHS last Friday, and the Tigers led from start to finish. Adairsville took a three-point lead at the half, and it expanded over the final two quarters as Gilmer lost, 63-43.
“We were playing man-to-man defense and their height killed us,” said head coach Jordan Hice. “They were able to get inside and shoot over us. We hit a scoring halt and couldn’t hit anything from outside. When we attacked the rim, we were missing layups. We didn’t have the offense to keep up with their scoring.
“We missed a lot of shots we probably should have made. We were finding open shots and layups, but just weren’t hitting them. We had to switch to man defense, and we couldn’t contain them.”
The Cats came into the game playing a 1-3-1 zone defense, which led to a pair of wins at North Forsyth’s Thanksgiving tournament. However, Adairsville’s outside shooting ability forced Gilmer back into man defense.
AHS hit nine three pointers on the night, and GHS made just 1/10 attempts. That did not hurt Gilmer’s chances early as the Tigers slipped ahead 20-15 after a quarter. AHS had its worst shooting quarter in the second but still led at the half, 28-25.
Gilmer shot 3/11 from the field in the third. The Cats committed five more turnovers and racked up 13 through three quarters.
Adairsville saw its lead swell to 49-32 with eight minutes to play. Gilmer never threatened the Tigers in the fourth and lost by 20.
Keegen Bryant scored 14 points for the Cats, and J.D. Taylor tallied 10. They were followed by teammates Boston Teague (eight), Cooper Farmer (seven) and Blane Banks and Mack Kiser (two). Taylor led GHS with eight rebounds and four steals, while Kiser snatched five boards.
AHS outrebounded GHS 36-24, and the Tigers’ 10 offensive rebounds led to 11 second-chance points. Benjamin Abernathy scored 21 and Tre Winters added 19 for Adairsville.
Gilmer is 3-3 overall and hosted Ridgeland at press deadline. GHS travels to Calhoun today for a 7:30 p.m. game.