DALTON — West Hall coach Bobby Pless was wondering what his Spartans could do with a fully healthy roster.
He found out Saturday night as the Spartans shocked Region 6-4A champion Southeast Whitfield 76-75 on the road in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.
“I have been proud of them staying together through an up and down year. We played 24 games with one or more of our first seven players out of lineup this year, so i was happy to see the team experience this win together,” Pless said.
Noah Edmondson poured in 26 points, Sawyer Passmore added 16 points, and Braden Martin had 15 points for West Hall, which now moves on to play Cartersville in the second round.
West Hall (9-19) led most of the way taking a 15-10 lead after the first quarter and a 32-30 lead into the intermission. The Spartans turned it on in the third quarter running out to a 52-44 lead and then Edmondson and Passmore kept the Raiders at bay from the free throw line.
Edmonson was 8-of-10 and Passmore a perfect 6-of-6 from the line in the fourth quarter alone. Southeast was just 9-of-14 from the line in the final period.
Austin Brock paced the Raiders with 28 points.
But Pless said their defensive work was the key.
“Hunter Rainey, Devon Williams, and Quincy Holcomb really worked hard to defend their inside game. We made them earn their points,” he said.
DAWSON COUNTY 58
RINGGOLD 27
Dawson County (24-5) exploded for a 27-point third quarter en route to a blowout win over Ringgold (13-17) in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs at home Saturday night.
Jasper Gibson led the Tigers with 19 points while Luke Chism scored 11. Chism eclipsed the 2,000-point mark in the win.
The Tiger offense was shooting, but not making in the first half, only leading by 10 at the half, 30-20. But, the second half was a much different story, especially the third period.
Dawson turned up the defensive pressure in the third quarter outscoring Ringgold 27-0 to blow open the game.
The Tigers will host Westminister Thursday at home. Time to be determined.
WESTMINSTER 53 OT,
JEFFERSON 50
CALHOUN 76
EAST HALL 60
It was an up and down game for the Vikings (13-15) Saturday night in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs at Calhoun.
Calhoun’s zone defense gave the Vikings trouble early on and East Hall’s 3-point game was nonexistent. But, the offense finally came around in the second quarter.
Kylan Curry gave the Vikings their first lead, 31-28 on a 3-point bucket with 30 seconds left. The Viking rush in the quarter gave them a 31-30 lead at the half.
Curry finished the night with a team-high 19 points. Cam Cheeks had 13 and TJ Campbell scored 12.
Curry opened the second half with a drive to the basket, giving the Vikings a 33-30 lead, but Calhoun’s Jake Prather pushed the Yellow Jackets back on top, 34-33, one minute later.
Calhoun (16-10) outscored East Hall 42-27 in the last 13 minutes to take the win.
Gage Maffetone led the Yellow Jackets with 19 points.
CALLAWAY 86
BANKS COUNTY 83
Callaway shocked Banks County (19-10) in overtime Saturday night at home in the first round of the Class 2A tournament.
Callaway (12-10) outscored the Leopards 17-14 in the extra period to eliminate the Leopards and move on to the second round.
Carl Cleveland had a monster night for the Leopards, pouring in 55 points and ripping down 14 boards.
Banks trailed at the half 31-20 but rallied in the third quarter to close the gap 51-48 going into the final quarter of regulation.
In the fourth, the Leopards outpaced Callaway 16-13 to tie the game in regulation.
Pierce Martin scored 8 points. Dakota Orr pulled 11 rebounds in the loss.
NORTH MURRAY 61
LUMPKIN COUNTY 40
The Indians (8-21) struggled on offense as they fell to North Murray (24-4) Saturday night in the first round of the Class 3A state tournament on the road.
North Murray outscored the Indians 43-21 through 24 minutes. In the stretch, the Indians failed to reach the double-digit scoring mark in three quarters, including a five-point third period.
Lumpkin’s best scoring quarter came in the final frame when the Indians outpaced North Murray 19-18.
Peyton Polk scored 12 points and Jake Granger had 10 in the loss.
Ladd McConkay scored 12 points to lead North Murray.
SATURDAY'S FIRST ROUND BOYS SCORES
(Except where otherwise noted)
(Area teams in bold)
Class 6A
Gainesville 73, Langston Hughes 69
Class 4A
West Hall 76, Southeast Whitfield 75
Class 3A
Calhoun 76, East Hall 60
Dawson County 58, Ringgold 27
Jefferson girls 53, Cedar Grove 40
North Murray 61, Lumpkin County 40
Westminster 53, Jefferson boys 50
Class 2A
Bremen 51, Rabun County 47
Callaway 86, Banks County 83 OT
SECOND ROUND MATCHUPS
(Area teams in bold)
Class 6A
Gainesville boys at Cambridge, 7 p.m. Thursday
Class 5A
Carrollton girls at Buford, TBA
Villa Rica boys at Buford, TBA
Class 4A
St. Pius girls at Flowery Branch, TBA
West Hall boys at Cartersville, TBA
Class 3A
Dawson County girls at Lovett, TBA
Jefferson girls at Greater Atlanta Christian
North Hall girls at Hart County, TBA
Westminster boys at Dawson County, TBA
Class 2A
Banks County girls at Douglas-Atlanta, TBA
Chattoga girls at Rabun County, TBA
Class A Private
Darlington girls at Lakeview Academy, TBA
North Cobb Christian boys at Lakeview Academy, TBA
Walker boys at Riverside Military Academy, TBA
Class A Public
Towns County girls at Calhoun County, TBA
