Gilmer High returned to the basketball court for three region games last week.
The Bobcats traveled to Cherokee Bluff Tuesday and a slow second quarter resulted in a 74-36 loss to the Bears. GHS was at home Friday and defeated the West Hall Spartans, 75-61.
The Bobcats were back on the court the next day and made their way to Dawson County and fell to the Tigers, 77-44.
The Bobcats took a 14-8 lead into the second quarter Tuesday before the Bears went on a 25-0 run. GHS played the bulk of the second quarter without four starters.
“Cade (Carter), Braden (Jenkins) and Carson (Pierce) got in foul trouble and Brady (Sanford) was hurt,” coach Jordan Hice said. “Four of my starters had two fouls, so I subbed everybody. We didn’t score any points and were down 33-14 at halftime.”
GHS continued to sputter offensively in the third but managed 12 points. The Bears added to their lead and took a 55-26 advantage into the fourth.
Hice inserted reserve players for nearly all of the final eight minutes. Cherokee Bluff kept its starters in the game and foot on the gas with its full-court pressure and extended its lead to 38 by the end.
“We handled their press in the first quarter, but after we got in foul trouble, we had some problems,” Hice said.
GHS high scorers included Sanford with eight followed by Carter with seven.
Carter was the centerpiece of the Bobcats’ offense versus West Hall, and all five starters reached double figures. Carter scored 28 on the night, and teammates Jenkins added 14, Sanford scored 12, Ethan Banks tallied 11 and Pierce finished with 10.
“We were moving the ball well. We didn’t take quick shots and took our time offensively. We got the ball down low to Cade and worked the ball inside out,” Hice said.
“It seemed like a game where no one was missing on either team. It was a high-scoring game with a lot of people hitting shots.”
GHS netted six three pointers on the night, and Sanford hit four of them. The Cats built a 16-7 lead after a quarter, which stood at 37-26 by halftime.
West Hall cut Gilmer’s edge to 52-46 with a quarter to play, but GHS would not be denied. Carter scored seven more down low and both Sanford and Jenkins made three pointers to help propel GHS to victory.
A rough second quarter against Dawson kept Gilmer from securing its second win of the week.
“We did fairly well against Dawson,” Hice said. “We were down 14-8 in the first quarter and just gave up 26 points in the second. We played them pretty close in the third. By the fourth we were still so far behind I started to sub. They’re a real good shooting team.”
The Tigers drained 10 three pointers on the afternoon. Jake Craft made seven of those deep shots and led all scorers with 29 points.
GHS emerged from the locker room in the third trailing, 40-22. Carter had his best quarter and scored eight as Gilmer also got points from Jenkins, Sanford and Pierce. But the Tigers were able to add to their advantage, which stood at 59-37.
DCHS extended its lead in the fourth as Gilmer dropped the region game. Carter led GHS with 15 points and Sanford scored 11.
GHS is 6-8 overall and hosted White County at press deadline and will travel to Lumpkin Friday for an 8:30 p.m. game.