Christmas came early for Lumpkin County.
The Indians gladly accepted a “win” last Tuesday against the Gilmer Bobcats that they did not earn.
Two points were erroneously given to LCHS, and no one in the Indians’ camp pointed out the obvious blunder by its own scorer. Rather than acknowledge the mistake, the four-point swing loomed until the game’s conclusion as Lumpkin “won,” 75-71.
With four minutes left in the first quarter, Bobcat junior Keegen Bryant hit a shot to give GHS a 14-12 lead. However, after 42 seconds of play, those points were taken from the Bobcats and awarded to Lumpkin.
Head coach Jordan Hice discussed the situation, noting, “Keegen (who wears No. 0) made a mid-range jump shot. The clock keeper put us up, 14-12. The score was correct for about a minute then they changed the score to 14-12 to put Lumpkin up.
“I called a timeout to get the ref’s attention and said, ‘They just took two points away from us and gave it to Lumpkin.’ Lumpkin was keeping the (official) scorebook (because they were the designated home team), and when they wrote down Keegen’s two points, they (instead) wrote it down for No. 0 Cal Faulkner (of Lumpkin)`. So the official scorer wrote it on the wrong side, and she told the clock keeper that the score was wrong, and he adjusted it to match the home book when the score was actually right.”
Hice added, “So we lost two points, they gained two points and we lost by four, and the home book wouldn’t change it. Lumpkin wouldn’t change it. They said their book was correct.”
GHS ran for much of the game and scored 26 points in transition. The Bobcats were able to limit turnovers to nine and forced 17. Gilmer converted Lumpkin’s defensive miscues into 20 points.
The usual suspects were out in full force for Gilmer. J.D. Taylor racked up 27 points, five assists and five steals. Bryant was there for 24 points and contributed four assists. They were followed by Boston Teague (seven points), Cooper Farmer (five), Blane Banks (four) and Jaden Sevcech, Mack Kiser and Preston McVey (two apiece).
GHS led 21-20 after a quarter, and the score was tied at the half, 34-34, according to the scoreboard. Lumpkin had a strong third quarter to take a 61-48 lead into the fourth. The Bobcats had a rally of their own and tied the game late, though LCHS slipped ahead at the end by four, according to the scoreboard.
Faulkner was the game’s top scorer and finished with 33 points, according to Lumpkin’s scorekeeper.
Gilmer County athletic director Paul Standard said they have reached out to the Georgia High School Association concerning the scoring error.
Standard is uncertain the issue will be addressed as the GHSA has yet to respond to the “unsatisfactory officiating report” he filed with the organization pertaining to the Bobcats’ state playoff game against North Hall, which was played Nov. 15.
GHS ended the tournament by defeating Copper Basin (70-33) and Fannin County (63-52). Because of Christmas’ early Sunday deadline, they will be covered in next week’s edition.