The Gilmer High Bobcats improved to 6-0 in nonregion basketball action.
GHS was on its home court for games last week and sent both teams home with a loss. First up were the Southeast Whitfield Raiders on Friday. Foul trouble plagued the Cats throughout, but they were able to win the low-scoring affair, 43-37.
The Pickens Dragons were in town the following day. The Bobcats used their press to force turnovers for quick points. The outcome was the same as when the two rivals met in the first week of the season, and this time GHS won, 66-56.
The Bobcats went on an 11-0 run to start the game against Southeast. Gilmer’s press yielded steals for layups, but whistles put a stop to that. Lewis Mulkey, Britt Taylor and Noah Ballew all picked up two early fouls as coach Jordan Hice was forced to enter reserves into the game.
“Next thing you know, the refs started calling every touchy foul. I had three starters sitting on the bench,” Hice said. “Cade (Carter) luckily stayed in for the whole first half.”
The foul-ridden Bobcats saw their 14-9 lead turn into a 18-18 tie at the half. Gilmer’s troubles did not ease over the game’s final 16 minutes.
“As soon as we went back out there (in the third quarter) with all of the starters, Britt and Lewis got another one and they were sitting at four. I had to pull them out and they probably only played seven minutes.
“(Southeast) shot 28 free throws to our 11. Everything we did was a foul so we stopped pressing and that hurt us. It ended up being a lot closer than it should have been.”
Ethan Banks led GHS with 15 points. Fourteen of those points came in the second half, and he nailed two three pointers in the third and fourth quarters.
With the score still even after the third, 29-29, Raider Job Willis handled all of Southeast’s points in the fourth, but it was not enough to keep pace with GHS.
Willis led all scorers with 21 points. Mulkey finished with eight for Gilmer, Carter scored seven and Christian Sumner added six.
Gilmer’s press continued to work versus Pickens. GHS pressure led to repeated Dragon turnovers, and the Bobcats snagged 13 steals on the night that led to 19 points. Anytime Pickens got close, Gilmer’s press produced points to extend the lead.
“They love the press. That’s the main thing about it,” Hice said. “Normally when you practice and you say, ‘all right we’ve got to work on the press,’ they hate it. But they love it, and it’s all they want to do.
“It’s a whole lot easier to press with the numbers we have this year. I can sub in three, four, five different guys. When someone gets tired, it’s easy just to rotate one ... move Britt to a four, pop out one of the posts and get another guard in there and get fresh legs.”
Banks led GHS in scoring once again with 17 points to go with five steals. He scored 11 points in the opening quarter, which ended with the Cats ahead, 20-13.
Carter was there for 12 points in the second quarter. He had success when GHS set up its half court offense but also thrived in the press for dunks and layups.
PHS found some rhythm from outside and cut the Cats’ lead to 25-21. However, Gilmer’s pressure fueled a 12-4 run, and GHS led 37-27 at the half.
Mulkey, Taylor and Carter sat much of the third with foul trouble. Pickens took advantage and trimmed the deficit to five points midway through the quarter.
“I had five guards out there to start then put in Jackson McVey just to give us some height on No. 21 (Luke Rogers) because he was killing us,” Hice said.
Taylor and Banks made consecutive three pointers to bump Gilmer’s lead to 47-39, and it stood at 50-44 with a quarter to play.
PHS quickly drew within two points, 50-48. Carter left the game with an injury after attempting to block a Dragon layup and did not return. GHS went on a 10-0 run over the next four minutes.
The Cats shot 6/6 from the free-throw line when PHS was forced to foul, and they preserved the 10-point win.
Carter finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Mulkey added 12 points and collected 10 boards, and Taylor scored 12 as well.
Gilmer played West Hall at Tuesday’s press deadline to start the region schedule. GHS will host White County Friday at 8:30 p.m.
JV downs Southeast
The JV Cats posted a 1-1 record last week with a 67-51 win over Southeast Whitfield and a 57-53 loss to Pickens.
Jacob Becerra and Ryder Wofford led GHS with 17 and 16 points, respectively versus Southeast. While Gilmer outscored SHS in each of the first two quarters for a 30-22 lead, it was a 26-point outpouring in the third that put the game away.
Gilmer made four threes in the quarter while the Raiders’ offense faltered, and the Bobcats opened a 56-30 advantage. GHS emptied its bench in the fourth and cruised to victory.
Jackson McVey added nine points for Gilmer, while both J.D. Taylor and Blane Banks scored seven.
Sixteen of McVey’s 29 points versus Pickens came in the first half. The Dragons opted to go outside for points and made nine threes on the afternoon.
GHS led by six after a quarter and 26-22 at the half. Gilmer only tallied six points in the third and fell behind, 35-32. The score was knotted at 47-all at the end of regulation, and PHS did enough in overtime to win by four.
Wofford scored nine and Banks added five points. Becerra, Taylor and Kohan Davis all totaled four points.