GAINESVILLE — East Hall, West Hall, and Lumpkin County all took wins Thursday in the Region 7-AAA Tournament at the East Hall gym to join Banks County in advancing to the Class AAA boys state tournament.
Banks County got an automatic berth into the state tournament by virtue of winning the regular season title.
In Friday’s semifinals, the Leopards will take on Lumpkin County, which held off rival Dawson County 45-37 in the quarterfinals, when the tournament moves to Lumpkin County.
East Hall and West Hall will take on each other in the other semifinal. The Vikings held off Franklin County 76-63 while the Spartans beat Fannin County 56-40 in the other quarterfinal matchups.
LUMPKIN COUNTY BOYS 45,
DAWSON COUNTY 37
Jeff Steele’s first season at Lumpkin County will be extended at least one more week.
The Indians rallied from a of pair deficits and held off their arch-rivals down the stretch to advance to the semifinals.
“We knew it would be a tough game,” Steele said. They are a tough matchup for us, especially with No. 50 (6-foot-8 sophomore Gabe Bryant). He’s a beast for them.
“But we tried to hold down their guards and just try to grind out a win. I’m proud of how the guys responded.”
Lumpkin County (17-9) trailed 14-7 early in the second quarter after a series of six lead changes in the first six minutes of the game. But Dawson County (13-13) went scoreless over the final six minutes of the first half while Lumpkin County used a 10-3 second quarter to grab a 17-14 halftime lead.
The Indians opened a 24-19 lead midway through the third quarter but Jeremiah Crumley capped a 6-0 run for the Tigers to give Dawson County a 25-24 lead. The Tigers pushed their lead to 29-26 heading into the fourth quarter.
Lumpkin County took the last of 12 lead changes for the game on a pair of Brandon Zarate free throws with 4:47 left, and the Indians hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 1:26 to pull away for the victory.
Now, they will get Class AAA No. 10 and regular season champion Banks County (22-3) in the semifinals
“Our goal was to get in the playoffs and we’re here so that is good,” Steele said. “We’re going to need to be a lot better than we were (Thursday). Banks County is solid and they beat us twice already, so....”
Zach Pulley led Lumpkin County with 15 points. Zarate and Jack Howard each had 10 points for the Indians.
Bryant led Dawson County with 14 points and he added six rebounds and two blocks. Cullen Reed had 11 points, Crumley seven, and Ryan Gallenkamp had five as the only four players to score for the Tigers.
WEST HALL BOYS 56,
FANNIN COUNTY 40
First-year West Hall coach Zac Swansey told his group he expected them to make a run at the state playoffs.
They did not disappoint.
The Spartans never trailed against Fannin County opening the game with a 13-0 run and then cruising to the victory. It’s the first playoff appearance for West Hall (13-12) since 2011 and the accomplishment wasn’t lost on Swansey.
“The seniors had never been to the playoffs so for them to get this chance is awesome,” he said. “I told them from Day 1 our goal was the playoffs so I feel happy for them.”
Senior forward Esteban Ulloa, who led West Hall with 22 points against the Rebels, said it’s a dream come true.
“Never been to the playoffs so this is a great feeling,” Ulloa said. “We feel confident right now that we can beat anyone when we play our game.”
The Spartans held Fannin County (11-14) scoreless the first 4:38 of the game and built a 15-2 lead. They took a 20-9 lead into the second quarter. West Hall led 25-11 midway through the second quarter but the Rebels closed out the first half on an 8-4 run to pull within 29-19 by halftime.
The Spartans put things away in the third quarter opening the second half with a 13-4 run for a 42-23 lead. They would lead by as many as 20 three times in the fourth quarter. Fannin County did not get closer than 15 thew rest of the way.
“It’s just awesome to get this win. We’ve fought a lot of adversity this year so it means a lot to us,” Swansey said.
EAST HALL BOYS 76,
FRANKLIN COUNTY 63
East Hall turned five Franklin County turnovers in the first three minutes of the third quarter into a 14-2 run to blow open a close game en route to the win.
Vikings coach Joe Dix said their defensive posture in the third quarter was the difference.
“We were sloppy in the first half but the guys came out and made some plays on defense and got some shots to fall (in the third quarter),” Dix said. “We knew the game was not over at halftime. But we’ll need to play better tomorrow.”
The Vikings (18-7) led by as many as 20, 51-31, late in the third quarter before taking a 55-38 advantage into the final eight minutes. They did not let up in the early minutes of the fourth quarter pushing their lead to 65-38 at one point.
The Lions, however, cut it to 74-63 in the final seconds after both teams pulled their starters with four minutes to go.
Dix said they will need a better effort against West Hall if they want to advance to the championship game for a second consecutive season.
“We beat West Hall twice but you can throw all that out now. It’s just one game to get to the (region) finals,” he said. “(Tyquan) Statham is a man and Esteban (Ulloa) has been carrying them lately. Those guys will need our full attention.”
The Lions hung tough the entire first half. They led 11-8 late in the period early before East Hall went on a 10-2 run to take an 18-13 lead into the second quarter.
The Vikings opened a 24-14 lead only to see Franklin County climb to within 24-18. East Hall answered back pushing its lead to 29-16 midway through the period.
But the Lions (7-19) did not go away. They closed out the first half on a 10-4 run to pull within 33-26 by halftime.
Tylor Brown paced East Hall with 18 points. Mahki Brown added 16, Luke Holtzclaw had 10, and Andy Lara nine for the Vikings.
KeAndre Morrison led Franklin County with 18 points. Phoenix Roberts had 14 points and Tyrique David 10 for the Lions.
