MT. AIRY, Ga. — Habersham Central's game plan was simple: slow down Gainesville's outside shooting and rebound more.
Not only did they complete those two key points of the plan, but the Raiders also shot the ball well en route to a 76-68 win over No. 4 seed Gainesville in the first round of the Region 8-6A tournament on Tuesday.
The win advances the Raiders to the semifinals on Thursday against No. 1 seed Lanier. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. at Habersham.
The Raiders came out on fire, knocking down seven straight shots to grab a 14-3 lead to shock the Red Elephants with 3:55 to go.
"I thought the guys came out with a lot of energy, and they kind of turned that defensive energy into a couple of easy buckets on offense," Habersham coach Tommy Yancey said. "I felt like once we saw the ball go through a couple of times, we suddenly started making a bunch of shots.
In only his fourth game back since Christmas, Senior guard Bryce Pittman was tough to stop, scoring a game-high 27 points, 17 in the first, to lead the Raiders.
Sophomore post Josiah McCurry also was a huge factor inside the paint for the Raiders. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound big man turned in a double-double performance, scoring 19 points and ripping down 11 rebounds.
The Raider tandem combined for 12 of the 18 first-quarter points. Habersham outrebounded the Red Elephants 33-26.
"They played huge," Yancey said. "Jo was huge inside for us, and Bryce was big, just made big shot after to be shot. Every time we needed a bucket or a foul shot, Bryce just made huge plays for us all night. I thought Cole (Gary) also had a good night for us."
Gary finished with 13 points, including eight big points in the second half.
Gainesville, however, made a push in the fourth quarter, rallying from 14 down at the end of the third quarter to cut the game to seven points, 57-50, with 6:30 left thanks to five straight points from Isaiah Rico.
"Fortunately, we built a big enough lead that we could hold on because we tried to give it away a couple of times late," Yancey said.
McCurry calmed his coach's nerves on the next two possessions, scoring back-to-back buckets to break the Gainesville press and push the lead back to double-digits, 61-50, with 5:35 to go.
Gainesville tried to jumpstart another rally with a pair of Dre Raven free throws, but the Raiders answered again on the back of Pittman, McCurry and Gary, scoring eight straight points to take total control, 68-52.
"We came out with enough energy, limited their 3-point shots, contained ourselves, played a little defense, and didn’t turn it over down the stretch to get the win," Yancey said. "I'm proud of the way all of our guys played."
Dre Raven led Gainesville with 24 points. Cade Simmons turned in 13 points, Charlie Reisman netted 11, and Ellis Pitts added 10.
Gainesville ends its season with a 14-11 overall record.
Meanwhile, Habersham Central will play Lanier on Thursday for a trip to the region title game.
"It's a bear," Yancey said about Lanier. "They are the most talented team in the region by far. "We'll put together a game plan. I think the guys will come out with energy. It's tournament basketball; we'll see where we are at."
