The Gilmer High Bobcats have secured their seed ahead of the region basketball tournament.
GHS closed out the regular season last Tuesday versus the North Hall Trojans before hosting the Cherokee Bluff Bears Friday.
Both North Hall and Cherokee Bluff were able to defeat the Bobcats by respective scores of 69-50 and 69-36.
In both games, the Bobcats faced the same issue.
“Being able to start strong and finish strong has been our problem,” said coach Jordan Hice. “Usually it’s like we’re always fighting to get back in the game after the first quarter.”
Gilmer had a quick turnaround after last week, and its practice time was cut short ahead of its game against North Hall.
“We were coming off a long week with games Friday and Saturday before. Then we took off Monday because they would not allow us to practice (because of the threat of inclement whether),” Hice said.
“We didn’t get to watch film or go over practice plans. We came in Tuesday after not having school and practiced for about an hour. It just felt like we were rushing to get everything in.”
North Hall made 10 three pointers on the night, and they fell steadily throughout the game. The Trojans also shot 13/19 from the line and jumped ahead 17-6 after a quarter.
Cade Carter was the only Bobcat to make shots from the field in the first. Braden Jenkins added eight points in the second quarter and teammate Brady Sanford was there for five.
Six Trojans scored for NH, and they built a 33-19 halftime advantage. Ethan Banks got hot for GHS in the third and tallied seven points. Lewis Mulkey added four in the post, but NH still maintained a 52-34 edge with a quarter to play.
Points were traded almost evenly in the fourth. The Trojans held the Bobcats at bay and came away with the win.
Jenkins and Sanford both scored 11 points for GHS, Banks had nine, Carter added eight and Mulkey finished with seven.
Carter received two technical fouls in the fourth quarter, which led to his ejection. The infraction also carries a two-game suspension, and GHS was without him versus Cherokee Bluff.
“Even without Cade, I felt like the effort was a lot better than against North Hall. We knew going in they were going to score a lot of points. Their No. 2 (Cade Simmons) had a ton of threes in the first half that basically carried their team,” Hice said.
Cherokee Bluff pushed the ball up the court as quickly as possible offensively and pressed GHS relentlessly after points in the first half.
Simmons led CBHS with 26 points. He made five three pointers in the first half, including three in the second quarter. Corey Thomas was a factor in the post for the Bears. He added 16 points on the night, and 14 came in the first half.
Another sluggish start saw GHS down by 10 after the first and 40-19 at halftime. Gilmer only made six shots from the field over the final two quarters. The Bears’ 54-30 lead after three quarters stood at 30 points by game’s end.
“I felt like we had a good effort and game plan. We gave up a ton of points in the press. But that wasn’t so much the issue as it was that we were just missing open shots,” Hice said. “It seemed like a better effort. I think if we could have had some more scoring, we could have kept it close.”
Mulkey was the lone Bobcat in double figures with 12 points.
The Bobcats have a 6-14 overall record. No. 6 seeded GHS hosted No. 7 seeded West Hall to begin the region tournament at press deadline. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals versus No. 3 seeded Dawson County.