The Gilmer Bobcats notched a decisive basketball win to cap Christmas break.
GHS was in Pickens last week for the Dragons’ Christmas tournament, and they took the court Wednesday against Lassiter. The Class 6A Trojans took an early lead and never looked back in a 76-63 win.
Next up was Cartersville Thursday, and the Purple Hurricanes’ size and athleticism aided their 74-61 defeat of the Bobcats.
GHS ended the event versus Savannah Chastain. The Bobcats turned the tables as points came in bunches. The Raiders did not enjoy the same luxury, and the Cats won handily, 81-31.
Gilmer entered the tournament without much preparation. Players were given last Monday off, and inclement weather and icy roads kept them from practicing Tuesday.
“We came out a little bit rusty and walked in there without much practice,” head coach Jordan Hice said. “It’s always difficult to play in a Christmas tournament because the kids are out of a routine.
“We did some things good and bad, but defense was our biggest problem. We made a comeback, then would go flat on the offensive end. We had a hard time stopping them from scoring.”
Four Trojans reached double-digit scoring, and they the made nine three pointers on the day. LHS also converted GHS turnovers into 20 points.
Jackson McVey scored 32 points for Gilmer to go with 14 rebounds and three blocks. Teammate Ryder Wofford added 17 points, six boards and five assists.
Lassiter opened a nine-point lead after a quarter and was up 40-26 at the half. GHS continued to trail 59-44 with a quarter to play before it cut the deficit to 13 points.
Cartersville supplemented their quick guards with post player D.J. Cain, who is listed at 6’ 8”. He had the weight to go with his tall frame and scored 19 on the night. Guard Romo Cain added 21 points.
Gilmer got 18 points and nine rebounds from McVey. Point guard Keegen Bryant added 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Wofford scored nine and grabbed eight rebounds.
“We never really stopped them from scoring much either. Our defense just really wasn’t that great,” Hice said. “He (Cain) had a lot of weight on Jackson, and they kind of traded points. That’s not really what we’re used to seeing because Jackson will usually outscore anyone on the inside. We gave up a lot on the inside, and their speed got to us.
“I felt like we had chances to get caught back up, but we never really came back from that deficit in the second quarter.”
CHS scored 46 post points. That task was made easier when McVey went to the bench with his third foul two minutes into the second quarter and did not return for the remainder of the half.
The Cats saw their four-point lead evaporate as the Canes went on a 9-0 run to begin the second to pull ahead, 25-20.
Gilmer took a brief 31-30 lead on a Bryant three pointer, but CHS outscored the Cats 9-2 over the final two minutes for a 39-33 halftime edge.
Another Bryant three drew the Cats within a point three minutes into the third, but the Canes again went on 9-0 run to maintain a 51-43 lead.
GHS trailed 54-49 to start the fourth. Another Gilmer scoring lull saw the Cats fall behind 67-51, and that was enough for the Canes to secure the 13-point win.
Gilmer got back on track versus Savannah Christian. Six Bobcats reached double figures, and McVey manned the post with 11 blocked shots. When the Raiders opted to shoot three pointers, they made just 4/31 attempts.
“As the tournament progressed, I felt like we got back to our old self, especially by the last game,” Hice said. “Everybody was scoring, and we came out strong and got a huge lead at the beginning. Myles McCall came in and had a huge game, and we never really skipped a beat on scoring no matter who was out there.”
McCall finished with 14 points and five rebounds. J.D. Taylor hit four three pointers and scored 14 points as well. McVey was there for 11 points and six rebounds, and Kohan Davis also scored 11.
Wofford and Christian Sumner both scored eight, and Wofford added six boards while Will Kiker tallied five assists.
The Raiders only shot 13 percent from the field and managed four points in the first quarter.
GHS saw its 14-point lead swell to 40-10 at the half. It did not get any better for the Raiders in the third as Gilmer continued to score at will. The Bobcats opened a 69-17 lead, and the fourth quarter was shortened because of point differential.
GHS is 9-5 overall and will take the court for a pair of nonregion games this week.
“We want to get back in rhythm,” Hice said. “We didn’t get to practice at all last week, and this week we’re going to focus on how we’re going to attack the game. We want to get back to making people play the way we want them to play.”
Gilmer hosted Southeast Whitfield at press deadline and will travel to Murphy, N.C., Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. tipoff.