The Gilmer Bobcats had a busy week on the basketball court.
First up was a pair of region games versus the Pickens Dragons and Dawson County Tigers before a nonregion matchup against Fannin County.
GHS was on the road last Tuesday at Pickens and turnovers aided the Cats’ undoing. PHS took the lead at the half and never lost it in a 75-66 win.
Gilmer was at home Friday to host Dawson, and the fast-paced game was not decided until midway through the final quarter. A Bobcat scoring run allowed them to snatch a 66-54 victory.
The Rebels played host to GHS Saturday, and Fannin’s offense never got going. Gilmer led from wire to wire and downed FCHS for the second time this season, 63-38.
While the Cats won the first meeting versus Pickens, the Dragons were able to avenge their loss as Gilmer committed 26 turnovers, which led to 24 points for the Dragons. PHS collected 17 offensive rebounds on the night that led to 15 second-chance points.
“Turnovers have been a problem every game, it’s just that we’ve scored enough to overcome the turnovers,” said head coach Jordan Hice. “Not only did we turn the ball over, but we turned it over for points against Pickens’ press.”
GHS led by one after a quarter and committed nine more turnovers to bring its tally to 18 for the half. The Dragons fired 34 three pointers in teh game, and after missing all six attempts in the opening quarter, they drained five in the second.
Gilmer’s one point lead turned into a 36-31 deficit by halftime.
While the Bobcats made just four shots from the field in the third, they did make 10/13 free-throw attempts to keep pace with Pickens. The Dragons hit four more threes in the quarter to maintain a 56-51 edge entering the fourth.
The free-throw line continued to be the Bobcats’ ally in the fourth where they converted 7/8 attempts. However, the Cats had difficulties getting shots to fall in the half court.
PHS grabbed six rebounds in the quarter for five second-chance points and added six made free throws to win by nine.
Freshman guard Keegen Bryant led GHS with 16 points and five assists. Jackson McVey added 13 points and 12 rebounds. J.D. Taylor scored 12, while both Ryder Wofford and Kohan Davis finished with nine points.
Against Dawson, the easy shots were not falling in the first half for Gilmer, while the Tigers were able to score tougher contested points.
“When the press group came in there were a lot of missed layups, which hurt us,” Hice said. “The good thing was that press group did really good in the second half and got a four-point lead. This is the first time where I’ve felt like wide-open layups have been a problem. We did miss a lot, but came through at the end.”
Neither team attempted any free throws in the first half, and both teams pushed the pace as quickly as possible. Seven of Gilmer’s 15 turnovers came in the first quarter and Dawson got its offense going with a trio of three pointers.
GHS fell behind by 17-14 after a quarter. Both teams struggled to get shots to fall in the second as DCHS maintained a slim 25-23 halftime lead.
After scoring four points in the first half, McVey tallied eight of his 14 points in the third. GHS also started to draw fouls and made 7/12. Wofford, Bryant, Taylor, Will Kiker and Jacob Becerra all added points as GHS opened a 46-42 lead.
DCHS cut Gilmer’s lead to 50-49 with 5:28 to play before five straight Taylor points. Wofford then scored five straight as its lead stood at 60-54.
Dawson was forced to foul down 62-54 with 1:33 left in the game. GHS took advantage of a pair of free throws, four points in transition plus a McVey rebound and putback to come away with a 14-point win.
McVey added 18 rebounds to go with his scoring effort. Wofford scored 15, Bryant added 12 and Christian Sumner finished with 11.
Fannin shot just 20 percent from the field and was never in the game beyond the opening whistle. GHS led 16-6 after a quarter and 32-14 at halftime.
Gilmer continued to shoot at a high percentage (53) in the third quarter. GHS drained four of its nine three pointers in the quarter to build a healthy 57-27 lead.
Hice used the fourth quarter to give his starters rest en route to their second win of the week. Wofford led GHS in scoring with 14 points to go with six rebounds.
Bryant had 13 points and Taylor scored six. McVey added eight points and 12 rebounds. Becerra also scored eight points and had three assists, while Noah Ballew finished with five assists.
GHS has a 6-2 overall record and traveled to Lumpkin County at press deadline. Gilmer will head to White County Friday for an 8:30 tipoff.
Junior varsity
The junior varsity Bobcats had plenty of scoring options versus Dawson as they rolled to a 61-46 win.
Six Bobcats tallied at least eight points while Dawson was not as fortunate. The Tigers only managed six points in the opening quarter, and GHS held a 26-18 lead at the half.
The Tigers were able to get their offense going in the third. Bobcat J.D. Taylor was there for eight points in the quarter and Blane Banks added seven.
The Cats maintained a 41-37 lead in the fourth where they put the Tigers away. Cooper Farmer led Gilmer’s fourth quarter surge with seven of his nine points. Five more Bobcats reached the scoring column in the quarter as GHS won by 15.
Taylor scored 11 points and Keegen Bryant and Boston Teague added 10 apiece. Banks totaled nine, Mac Kiser had eight as both Riley Davis and Noah Banks added two.