RABBITTOWN, Ga. — Cherokee Bluff opened defense of its Lanierland title with a 73-41 win over West Hall on Thursday at East Hall High School.
Bluff (10-1) move on to face Lakeview Academy in the semifinals. The two teams met in the first round in the 2023 tournament.
“A lot of our kids know their kids,” Cherokee Bluff Coach Josh Travis said. “I replaced (Lakeview Coach Benji Wood) here. It will be a lot like fighting your brother. There is a lot of familiarity.”
Cooper Glover’s dunk capped an 8-0 Bears’ run in the first two minutes of the second half to take a 43-24 lead and break open the game.
Tyler Underwood led the Bears with 16 points. Conner Robinson scored 15 and Boston Kersh and Glover scored 11. Alex Burton added 10.
The Bears hit 11 3-pointers to kick-start their offense.
Cherokee Bluff took an 8-0 lead on baskets by Kersh, Glover and Robinson. After Xavier Felix scored five straight points, the Bears went on an 8-2 run for a 16-7 lead.
Tyler Underwood’s 3-pointer and two Kersh baskets started a 12-2 run that put the Bears ahead 28-12. West Hall was able to close to 35-24 at the half.
Six first-half 3-pointers kick-started the Bears’ offense.
Ethan Clifford led West Hall (5-6) with 16 points.
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 57,
FLOWERY BRANCH 55
The Lions needed a late block by Kyari Burch to fend off the Falcons in the first round at East Hall High.
“First of all credit Flowery Branch, they played hard,” Lakeview coach Benji Wood said. “We were fortunate to win. We will have a tough game tomorrow. We have to focus on getting better.”
The Lions led 56-51 with 1:55 left, but like they had all night, the Falcons kept fighting. Brayden Lee and Jack Huey scored to cut the lead to 1 point with 1:28 to play. After Tayden Ware’s free made the lead 57-55, the Lions had possession with 1:06 left.
Flowery Branch created one last chance for itself when Brady Barrett stole an inbounds pass with eight seconds left. However, the Falcons last shot was blocked by Burch.
Ware led Lakeview with 17 points and Jude Ellis scored 15. Huey scored 14 points to lead the Falcons. Nathan Corcoran and John Osorio scored nine each for Flowery Branch.
Lakeview led 28-27 at the half. The Lions used a run midway through the second quarter to take a 28-20 lead. Sadler, who scored 7 first-half points, had a block and a 3 -pointer to start the run. After a Falcon turnover.
The Falcons scored the last seven points of the half. Nathan Corcoran and John Orsorio each hit a 3-pointer in the run.
GAINESVILLE 74,
CHESTATEE 33
The Red Elephants held the War Eagles to just 13 second half points en route to a lopsided win in the opening round.
Gainesville (9-3) moves on to the semifinals to take on arch-rival East Hall on Friday at East Hall.
Chestatee (1-9) will take on North Hall in the consolation bracket at North Hall.
Gainesville exploded for a big 23-10 first quarter behind and took a 44-20 lead into the break. But the defense was the story in the second half.
The taller, quicker Red Elephants held Chestatee to just 3 points in the third quarter while building a 63-23 advantage.
Five players scored in double-figures for Gainesville, led by 14 from KJ White. Brandon Nelson had 12, Jason Jones 11, and Luke Nordholz and Charlie Gersmehl each had 10 points for the Red Elephants. Quintin Manfield added 7 for Gainesville.
Chestatee was led by 10 points from Cody Couch. Ethan Dunn added 8 for the War Eagles.
EAST HALL 82,
NORTH HALL 71
Jordan Richerson scored 19 points, had nearly half a dozen assists, and hit three big free throws in the final minute to help propel the Vikings to a first round win over North Hall on Thursday in the Lanierland Tournament.
“He’s steady,” Dix said of Richerson. “He made some big shots right there in the third and fourth quarter and he takes so much pressure off (Jamarcus Harrison), it's probably one of the big differences in our team this year.”
The Vikings used a 19-7 run in the third quarter to take control and then held off a late North Hall charge at the free throw line, hitting 6-of-8 down the stretch.
“We had to make some plays in some crucial moments, and we finished well enough to win it,” Dix said. “We’ve had some games where we shot 90-percent and we’ve had some games where we shot 40-percent. I guess that's part of coaching.”
East Hall (7-1) moves on to take on the Gainesville-Chestatee winner in Friday’s semifinals. The Trojans (5-4) will play the Gainesville-Chestatee loser in the consolation bracket.
The teams traded the lead four times with five ties in the opening quarter before the Vikings closed out the period with an 8-2 spurt for an 18-16 lead. East Hall continued its surge into the second with another 7-2 run for a 25-18 lead.
A pair of baskets by Chasen Jones pushed the Vikings lead 34-26 late in the second but North Hall’s Cole Hulsey scored 5 straight points to pull the Trojans within 39-34. East Hall took a 40-34 lead into the break.
They opened the third with a 7-0 run and then extended it to 59-43 at one point. But North Hall, behind Hulsey, battled back to within 59-51 late in the period.
Hulsey, who poured in a game-high 30 points, scored 10 of 12 points for the Trojans during one stretch, and they got a 3-pointer from Gunner Spain to trail just 75-69 with 56 seconds left.
But East Hall was able to hold on at the free throw line for the win.
Jones finished with 25 points to lead East Hall. Harrison and Braydon Langston each had 15 points for the Vikings.
Cooper Payton had 14 points and Spain finished with 13 points for North Hall.
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