The Gilmer High gym was rocking to start the Class 3A basketball state tournament.
The GHS Bobcats entered the first round last Wednesday as a No. 2 seed versus No. 3 seeded Hart County. The visiting Bulldogs were a speedy bunch that gave Gilmer issues when they decided to press. Hart’s explosive first quarter put GHS at a 15-point disadvantage, and the Bobcats clawed their way back into the game over the next three quarters.
Gilmer tied the score at the end of regulation, but the Bulldogs doubled the Cats’ points in overtime for an 83-77 victory.
Hart came out firing from outside to start the game and made 5/7 three-point attempts. Despite the Bulldogs’ success from three-point range in the opening quarter, they only attempted seven more over the course of the game and made two.
“I thought we did a good job of coming back,” said head coach Jordan Hice. “In the first, they outscored us by 15. We did a really good job of coming back the rest of the way. We were able to outscore them in every other quarter to tie the ball game and force overtime.
“It was close up until the end where we needed to start fouling because they were holding the ball.”
The Bobcats’ three-pronged attack of Jackson McVey, Ryder Wofford and Keegen Bryant combined to score 70 points. Hart had five players with at least nine points, and Terrance Mitchell (23) and Tahj Johnson (18) led the way.
Both teams concentrated their efforts in the paint where each scored 44 points. GHS entered the second quarter behind, 30-15. Gilmer trailed by 17 before McVey scored from close range while Bryant and Wofford attacked the lane for points and fouls.
GHS went on a 10-0 run toward the end of the second to reel the Bulldogs back in, and a Bryant three pointer cut Hart’s lead to 46-39 at halftime.
McVey, Wofford and Bryant continued to shoulder the bulk of the scoring in the third. Jacob Becerra came off the bench to make a pair of free throws, and Christian Sumner drained a three pointer.
GHS committed six turnovers in the third, which Hart converted into 10 points. Gilmer was down 63-59 to start the fourth. They trailed by eight with five minutes to play before two points from Kohan Davis. A three by Wofford, tip-in by McVey and two more close-range points from the former evened the score at 72-72 with 56 seconds on the clock.
The score remained the same by the end of regulation. A Bryant three pointer gave GHS its first lead of the game, 75-74, but two more points from McVey was all GHS was able to muster in overtime. Behind 80-77 with 1:26 on the clock, Gilmer was forced to foul. Hart converted 3/4 free throws to cement the win.
McVey also collected 15 rebounds and blocked five shots. Wofford grabbed five rebounds, and Bryant finished with four steals and four assists. Will Kiker dished five assists on the night for GHS.
Gilmer committed 16 turnovers compared to 18 for Hart. However, the Cats converted those into 19 points while the Bulldogs scored 28 off Bobcat turnovers.
“I felt like we did a good job against their press. The biggest thing we were worried about was inbounding the ball. Sometimes they’d put more pressure on the inbound. There were a few times in the second half where we had some dumb turnovers, but we adjusted well,” Hice said.
“This was a good experience. The region championship was the first big game we had; then had to turnaround and go into the state playoffs. We had a good chance at it, but had a few ill-advised turnovers. If we got a few of those back, I feel like it could have helped us out. It’s a good experience going into next year.”
GHS finished with a 19-10 record on the season. Its state tournament appearance was its second in a row.
“We came together as a team,” Hice said. “Some games you saw it really well and some games it went away. They stuck with the game plan and did things they needed to do. We need to focus on smarter shot selection at high percentages. All in all, we got a lot of improvement out of players and we’re returning a lot next year, which will help a lot.”