The Gilmer High Bobcats ran into a well-rounded Sandy Creek team to kick start the state basketball tournament.
GHS was in Tyrone last Tuesday to take on the Patriots, the No. 1 team in Class 3A. Sandy Creek’s speed and athleticism gave Gilmer issues at both ends of the court, and the Patriots steadily built a lead throughout. The 75-35 loss eliminated the Bobcats from the tournament and ended their season.
Head coach Jordan Hice knew the Bobcats were going to be in for a tough challenge.
“They’re the No. 1 team in 3A. They’re a really good team, quick, could shoot outside and had two 6’ 7” kids,” he said. “It was probably the tallest, quickest and most athletic team we faced all year.
“It was hard to get anything done, and we had a lot of turnovers. We really couldn’t stop them from scoring at all. Our best chance was to try to keep up with them scoring wise, but we had too many turnovers.”
The Patriots’ full court pressure aided 25 Bobcat turnovers, which started in the first quarter. SCHS converted those turnovers into 32 points to continually fuel its offense.
Sandy Creek’s four-headed scoring attack included Micah Smith (15 points) and P.J. Green (11) in the post, while Amari Brown (15) slashed to the basket and fellow guard Vic Newsom (15) camped out at the three-point line.
Senior Cade Carter was Gilmer’s go-to for offensive production. His final game for the Bobcats ended with 13 points and five rebounds.
The Patriots surged ahead in the first quarter as the Cats’ offense was stifled, 20-4. GHS got four quick points to close out the quarter and trailed, 20-8.
Sandy Creek led by 21 points midway through the second. Carter scored two down low and hit a corner three as Will Kiker and Noah Ballew added transition baskets.
GHS fell behind 40-21 at the half. Gilmer only managed six points in the third as the deficit widened to 61-27 with eight minutes to play. Both teams played reserves for the final four minutes of the game as SCHS claimed the first-round win.
Lewis Mulkey finished with four points and seven rebounds, Jackson McVey scored six points and Ethan Banks scored four. Connor Wimpey made a three at the buzzer, Kiker and Ballew added two points and Mark Tyson scored one.
GHS posted a 19-11 overall record and was 9-6 against region opponents.
“It was a pretty good season and better than what was expected,” Hice said. “We won some games that I didn’t know if we were going to be able to win or not. But we also lost a few of those pickup games on Saturdays when we were playing three games per week. We did really well in the region, which was the main thing.
“We probably should have had a couple more of those nonregion games, but all in all, it was a really good season. The boys played hard and kept the momentum going for most of it.”