The Gilmer Bobcats were in Dalton last Friday for the opening round of the Carpet Capital Christmas Classic.
The eight-team event was held on the campus of Christian Heritage School, and GHS met the Hebron Christian Academy Lions.
After a closely-played opening half, HCA started to distance itself from the Bobcats as the second half progressed.
Strong offensive rebounding and three-point shooting performances, coupled with GHS turnovers, allowed the Lions to come away with a 73-47 win.
“In the first half, we were only down by six points even with giving up so many offensive boards,” coach Jordan Hice said. “Most of their points came off second-chance opportunities.
“Then we’d have those one-minute spurts of committing stupid turnovers, and that kind of ruins the momentum of anything you have going on and gives them all of the momentum.”
The Lions’ perimeter oriented offense churned out 13 three pointers on the day, which accounted for over half of their points. HCA made six threes in the first half.
GHS was able to keep pace with Cade Carter scoring 10 post points in the first half while Braden Jenkins made two threes and Luke Wimpey added another.
HCA jumped to an 8-3 lead to begin the game and led by as much as eight points in the first quarter.
Gilmer entered the second quarter down 20-14 before Wimpey scored eight straight points to even the score at 22-all.
The Lions pulled down seven offensive rebounds in the quarter for multiple scoring opportunities and enjoyed a 34-28 lead at the half.
GHS came out of the locker room and committed three turnovers on consecutive possessions. Over a three-minute span late in the third, the Bobcats turned the ball over on four separate instances after gathering defensive rebounds.
“Coming out in the third quarter, the whole halftime we talked about things we can’t do, which is give so many second-chance opportunities,” Hice said. “We went out there and had turnovers right at the beginning (of the third quarter).
“We got down by 13 points and cut it down to seven, but then just had a bunch more turnovers where they extended the lead. It’s stuff we work on every single day, but being able to put it into a game is a different story.”
After cutting the deficit to seven, GHS fell behind 49-37 with a quarter to play.
Lion Sam Hutto made six three pointers on the day, and three came in the fourth quarter. GHS was able to score 10 points over the final eight minutes while HCA tallied 24 to extend its lead.
Carter finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for GHS. Jenkins added 13 points and six rebounds, while Wimpey and Brady Sanford scored 10 and nine points, respectively.
Hutto led HCA with 31 points.
Gilmer met Collegedale Academy, Tenn., in the consolation bracket Saturday and won, 55-49. The Bobcats played their final game of the tournament at Monday’s press deadline.