Following a pair of basketball losses to Pickens earlier in the season, the Gilmer High Bobcats exacted their revenge last Tuesday.
GHS traveled to take on the Dragons, and the Cats were clicking on all cylinders while PHS had trouble getting shots to fall. Gilmer jumped to a 6-0 lead and never looked back as they earned a commanding 68-47 win.
“It’s always good to beat Pickens,” coach Jordan Hice said. “We led pretty much the entire game. They went with two posts so we went two posts with Cade (Carter) and Lewis (Mulkey). We were hitting shots from outside, we were scoring inside and Braden (Jenkins) had 28 points. Pickens wasn’t shooting well, and it all just seemed to go our way.”
Jenkins’ season-high 28 points was flaked by Carter’s 13 as both Mulkey and Brady Sanford scored 11.
PHS was plagued by inconsistent offense. While Dragon point guard Tucker Lowe had been a thorn in Gilmer’s side all season, he was limited to 14 points, and eight came in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. Post Player Noah Sutton was the other Dragon in double figures with 13, but he only scored a point in the second half.
Gilmer made eight three pointers on the night. Sanford and Jenkins both made one in the first quarter as Carter and Mulkey combined for six points in the post.
GHS opened a 20-10 lead after a quarter and PHS made only two shots from the field in the second. Meanwhile, GHS buried two more threes, and one was made by Mulkey, who stepped out from the low post.
Gilmer took a 33-17 lead into the third where Pickens was finally able to gain some offensive momentum. GHS remained hot from outside and maintained a 47-31 lead with eight minutes to play.
The Bobcats did not let up in the fourth as Jenkins poured on nine more points. Sanford hit his third three pointer of the day, and Carter kept PHS honest in the post with five more points.
The 21-point win settled Gilmer into fifth place in the standings with a 5-6 region record.
Gilmer ended the week Friday on the road versus the 20-win LaFayette Ramblers. While GHS made a run in the third quarter, LaFayette kept the Cats from within striking distance, and a strong final quarter saw LaFayette win, 78-42.
“We were down by 21 at halftime and were able to cut it down to 12, but then they went on another run,” Hice said. “They’ve got good players and maintained their lead the whole time.”
Bobcat senior Luke Wimpey scored 11 of his team-high 16 points in the first half. LaFayette made five three pointers in the game to supplement its fastbreak offense.
LHS led 24-11 after the first and 47-26 at halftime. Gilmer made five threes on the night as well and two fell in the third quarter. However, LaFayette was still able to extend its lead to 61-38 at the end of the third.
The Ramblers added 16 more points in the fourth for a decisive win.
Jenkins finished with 11 points for GHS, Carter scored eight and Sanford had five. Aidan Hadaway led LHS with 27 points, DeCameron Porter scored 21 and Asa Deal added 15.
GHS is 11-10 overall and hosted Northwest Whitfield for senior night at Tuesday’s press deadline.