HOMER — The Seth Thompson era got off to a good start Friday night for East Hall as the Vikings used a big fourth quarter rally to knock off Banks County 62-58 in both teams' season openers at the Banks County gym.
Banks County (0-1) opened with a 22-17 first quarter but East Hall (1-0) cut the lead to 32-30 by halftime. The Leopards pushed their lead back to 51-45 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Vikings, however, outscored Banks County 17-7 in the final period to pull away for the victory.
Jay Rucker had 18 points to lead East Hall. Imre Earls and T.J. Campbell each added 9 points for the Vikings.
Junior Carl Cleveland paced Banks County with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists. Sophomore Clay Gosnell had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists and senior Noah Rylee chipped in with 6 points and 6 rebounds for the Leopards.
Banks County will take on Clarke Central Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in the Andy Landers Classic at North Oconee High School.
East Hall will take on Class 7A Mountain View on Saturday in the Tabo's Tip-off Classic.
