The Gilmer Bobcats hung with the No. 4 team in the state for the better part of four quarters.
GHS hosted Hebron Christian Academy last Saturday for the second round of the Class 3A basketball state tournament. The Lions (25-3) held an advantage when it came to size and strength, but GHS had no issues keeping pace.
Only a point separated the teams at the half, and Gilmer led by as many as eight points in the third. HCA continued to go inside in the fourth quarter and pulled ahead with just under six minutes to play and held on for a 64-59 win.
Both teams continually drove the lane for points. While the Lions relied on strength and size to bully their way to the basket, the Bobcats’ quickness off the dribble allowed them to get to the rim for easy point.
“They only really utilized one part of their offense that we looked over, and that was where they would iso with No. 25 (Blake Wilson) and 13 (Carrington Coombs). No. 3 (MaTaj Glover) is their best scorer, and I felt like we did really well defensively (holding him to 11 points),” said head coach Jordan Hice.
“I think they thought they were going to be faster than us. We stepped up and ran our offense and executed fairly well. They did a really good job of containing Jackson (McVey) with double teams and kind of kept him off the boards. That aspect of their strategy really hurt us in the end.”
He added, “We were able to maintain and keep up with their speed. We had opportunities to win the game, but we just missed shots in the fourth quarter that we really needed.”
Wilson had a field day in the post with a game-high 28 points, and guard Jelani Mason scored 15. The Bobcats were led by Ryder Wofford and Keegen Bryant, who scored 25 and 12 points, respectively. McVey finished with eight points, and the Lions were quick to double team him with Wilson and Coombs each time he touched the ball.
Wofford had the hot hand in the first quarter and scored nine of Gilmer’s 13 points. HCA fed Wilson when they were not penetrating the lane with guards, and they led, 16-13.
Senior Kohan Davis came off the bench and spun through the lane for two points before Wofford hit two more threes. Boston Teague made a three pointer as well as both Bryant and J.D. Taylor added lay-ups for a 28-22 lead.
HCA answered with a three pointer before Wilson went to work in the post for two points plus a foul. Wilson then stepped out and drained a three. McVey made a twisting jumper from the high post as the halftime buzzer sounded, and GHS led, 32-31.
Bryant, Wofford and Taylor attacked the paint for quick points to begin the third. Gilmer led 39-31 two minutes into the second half, and the teams continued to trade close-range points. Points came steadily for Wilson as he scored eight in both the third and fourth quarters.
Davis sank a three pointer for a 51-45 advantage on Gilmer’s final possession of the third. Glover received the ensuing inbound pass and dribbled uninterrupted across the timeline before banking in a three at the buzzer.
Shots stopped falling for the Bobcats in the fourth, and they were held to eight points. A baseline drive moved HCA ahead 52-51 with 5:40 left in the game. Wilson then added six straight points, and a lay-up extended the Lions’ lead to 60-55.
A Wofford rebound and putback gave GHS hope with 56 seconds to play. His ensuing three-point attempt to tie the game rimmed out, and a long outlet pass and lay-up allowed HCA to push its lead back to five.
Down 62-57 with 17 seconds to play, HCA stole the Cats’ inbound pass. Jacob Becerra added a final basket for Gilmer, and two Lion free throws gave them a five-point win.
“We haven’t played a team with that many players who can jump above the rim,” said Hice. “We had problems on some of our drives because we’re not used to having people coming from behind for blocks.
“All in all, the guards stepped up. In the fourth quarter when we really needed a bucket, we missed some right under the basket. We had some wide open three-point shots that we really needed. In the end, it was those last few minutes of the game where we lost the momentum and couldn’t find a bucket.”
Gilmer crushed Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 70-44 in the first round last Wednesday, and all Region 7-3A teams were victorious.
McVey scored 21 to go with 18 rebounds to lead GHS. LFO attempted to slow the game down by walking the ball up the court offensively while deploying a zone press in the second and third quarters.
While their press did force a pair of turnovers, GHS adjusted and added to its lead. The Cats went on a 17-2 run over the final four minutes of the first half to lead, 42-25.
McVey added eight more points in the third and GHS outscored LFO, 17-4. Bobcat reserves took the court for the bulk of the final quarter.
“We would go on a little run early then they’d hit a few buckets or get some turnovers with their press,” Hice said. “After we settled down and got everything under control and relaxed, we were able to extend our lead to 15. We were able to extend it more in the third, and the game was pretty much over at the end of the quarter.”
Gilmer posted a 19-9 record on the season, and its state tournament appearance was its third in a row. The Bobcats defeated Pickens for the region championship, their first in school history.
“I thought we represented our region well and played tough. We held onto the No. 1 seed all year, which is a hard thing to do. It helped us out a lot,” Hice said. “All in all, we reached three of our main goals. We wanted to give ourselves a high position going into the region tournament, we wanted to make it to or win the region championship and we wanted make it past the first round. All three goals we set for the team were accomplished.
“I’m proud of the players for working hard, especially with that target on our backs all year. We had a lot of close games, and I think our region was one of the toughest with all four teams making it to the second round. I think it says a lot for our region and how competitive it was. I feel like our region prepared us for those state games and being competitive and knowing how to be competitive.”
Junior varsity
The junior varsity Bobcats were on the court for 13 games this season and earned four wins.
The JV secured wins over Dawson County (50-42), Fannin County (56-31), Lumpkin County (62-50) and West Hall (49-26). Four of the JV’s losses were by five points or less.
Bobcat Jaden Sevcech was the team’s leading scorer with 12.4 points per game and scored a team high of 19 versus Fannin. Boston Teague, Peyton Chancey, Douglas Callihan, Preston McVey and Tyler Wright all turned in at least one double-digit scoring performance on the season.
“We had a young group, and some of our sophomores split time with the varsity. Boston was the main one,” Hice said. “We’re trying to get those guys experience to see which sophomores can help us on their way up to the varsity level. It’s a hardworking group, and they were competitive enough to stay in games. We lost some close ones.”
Round 1
1 2 3 4 F
G 18 24 17 11 70
L 11 14 4 15 44
GHS scoring: McVey 21. Wofford 12. Bryant 8. Blane Banks 7. Teague, Taylor 6. Davis 5. Becerra 3. Cooper Farmer 2. Rebs.: McVey 18. Wofford, Davis 5. Bryant, Teague, Taylor, Banks, Jaden Sevcech, Becerra 2. Mack Kiser, John Ponders, Farmer 1. Assts.: Bryant 4. McVey 3. Wofford, Taylor, Farmer 2. Riley Davis, Becerra 1. Stls.: Bryant, Taylor 3. McVey, Becerra, Davis 2. Blks.: McVey, Wofford 3. Bryant 1.
Round 2
1 2 3 4 F
G 13 19 19 8 59
HC 16 15 17 16 64
GHS scoring: Wofford 25. Bryant 12. McVey 8. Davis 4. Teague 3. Becerra 2. Rebs.: McVey 12. Wofford 7. Taylor 3. Becerra 2. Bryant 1. Assts.: Becerra 4. Taylor 3. Bryant 2. McVey 1. Stls.: Taylor 3. Wofford 2. Bryant 1. Blks.: Bryant 2.