The Gilmer High School Bobcats completed their busy week on the basketball court with a victory last Saturday.
GHS played its fourth game in eight days and came away with a victory over the Fannin County Rebels, 70-52.
The win was a welcome sign for the Bobcats who entered the contest with one victory over its previous seven games.
“It’s not a region win, and you always want to get region wins, but in a season like this, you want to get wins where you can, especially when you’re down in the region and coming off a loss,” coach Jordan Hice said.
The theme of the game was fouls. Fifty were called in the game, which saw four Rebels and two Bobcats foul out. GHS converted 28/39 free-throw attempts while the Rebels shot 17/27.
“Free throws were a big part of winning the game,” Hice noted. “If we had only shot 50 percent, it would have been a much closer game. We went though a spell where we missed some, but as they kept fouling, we kept hitting to extend the lead.”
Gilmer concentrated its offense inside early where Cade Carter scored eight points. But the sophomore post player picked up his second foul four minutes into the game.
Bobcat sophomore Lewis Mulkey stepped in for Carter, and GHS kept pounding the ball inside. Mulkey scored seven of his team-high 18 points in the first quarter and the Cats opened an 18-14 lead.
“I had to do a lot more subbing than I normally do, and I’m really happy with our bench players,” Hice said. “The speed and tempo wasn’t how we normally play, so we were able to sub and get a little more depth.”
Mulkey added four more points in the second quarter, and Brady Sanford was there for a pair of three pointers. The Cats’ remaining six points came from the foul line.
The bulk of the Rebels’ points came from the free-throw line as they made just one shot from the field, and GHS led 34-21 at halftime.
Fannin hit a trio of three pointers in the third to give its offense a boost. Both Carter and Mulkey scored a basket in the post while Gilmer’s remaining six points were scored at the free-throw line.
Fannin cut Gilmer’s lead to 44-38 entering the fourth. FCHS drew within four points, 50-46, with 4:45 to play, but the Rebels never got any closer. GHS shot 9/12 from the line over the remainder of the game to secure its victory.
Aside from Mulkey, Carter scored 15 points, Sanford had 11, Ethan Banks added nine, Luke Wimpey posted eight, Braden Jenkins scored six and Bryson Sisson totaled three.
The Bobcats faced region foe Northwest Whitfield a day earlier, and the Bruins’ strong second half allowed them to pull away from GHS to earn a 77-45 victory.
“They’re an athletic and quick team, and we were only down by six at halftime,” Hice said. “We hit that third quarter — and I only went with five players in the first half — and we kind of died out and couldn’t keep up with the tempo.
“I ended up subbing early, and we didn’t play any starters in the fourth quarter.”
NHS led 17-14 after a quarter and 32-26 at halftime. The Bruins made three from beyond the arc in the first half. They got hot in the third quarter and added five more three pointers. The Bruins were also able to find success in the lane and opened a 62-37 lead before Hice rested his starters in the fourth.
Sanford scored 11 points for GHS, Banks had eight and Carter added seven. Wimpey finished with six points and Jenkins tallied five.
Gilmer is 8-8 overall, which includes a 2-4 record against region opponents.
The Bobcats played at Southeast Whitfield for their only game of the week at Tuesday’s press deadline.
GHS will have more practice time this week than it normally does, and Hice discussed their plans, saying, “We want to focus on pressure situations. Like tonight (against Fannin), we were up by 13 at the half and let our lead get cut to four.
“We need to understand pressure situations and make sure all five players on the floor are all playing their game at the same time.”
Cats finish Christmas tourney with 1-2 record
Before Friday and Saturday’s games, the Bobcats wrapped up the Carpet Capital Christmas Classic Monday in Dalton against the Boyd Buchanan (Tenn.) Buccaneers.
Both teams started slowly before the Bucs’ offense started rolling, and they came away with a 60-26 victory.
The Bobcats were plagued by turnovers and a rough shooting night. Boyd was able to take advantage of offensive rebounds for second chances when they were not knocking down three-point shots.
The Bucs led 8-7 after a quarter and sank four of their nine threes on the night in the second quarter. Defensively, Boyd focused their efforts on Carter in the post, and GHS had difficulties finding offense elsewhere.
The Cats fell behind 26-15 at the half. The Bucs went on a 14-4 run to begin the second half and their lead ballooned to 54-23 headed into the fourth.
The final quarter was cut to six minutes because of point differential. Hice played reserves over that span as Boyd put the game away.
Carter scored eight points for GHS, Jenkins had six and Sanford added five.
A day prior, the Bobcats defeated Tennessee’s Collegedale Academy, 55-49.
Hice noted that Gilmer’s issues with turnovers and giving up offensive rebounds still persisted, but they were able to get the win.
GHS trailed 27-26 at halftime and 41-36 with a quarter to play.
Carter scored 11 of his team-high 26 points in the fourth and GHS managed a 7/11 performance from the free-throw line to overtake Collegedale for the win.
Jenkins finished with 16 points on the day and Sanford added eight.