Boys basketball scoreboard: Gainesville, Bluff, Dawson Co., LA, Towns, NoFo win; Commerce, Jackson, NHall fall

HOSCHTON, Ga. — The Gainesville boys held Jackson County scoreless for nearly 10 minutes in the second half en route to a 54-42 win on the road Tuesday. 

Jackson County's Adam Thomas scored a basket with 2:33 left in the third quarter to close Big Red's lead to two points, 40-38. The Panthers' (8-10, 2-3 Region 8-6A) next bucket came with 50.3 left in the game. 

(GIRLS BASKETBALL SCOREBOARD)

Gainesville (6-12, 4-1 Region 8-6A) took advantage, slowly pushing their lead to 51-38, thanks to baskets from Ellis Pitts, Jay Walls, and Xavier Griffin. Griffin led the Red Elephants with 13 points. 

The first half, however, was a back-and-forth battle. Jackson County set the past early, going up 8-4 on a Logan Tullis 3-pointer with 3:45 to go in the opening quarter. 

Gainesville responded behind Pitts and Xavier Griffin, rallying to the lead, 10-8. Gainesville held on to a 14-11 at the end of the first quarter. In the second, Gainesville extended the lead to seven points, 29-21, on a pair of free throws from Xavier Griffin. But the Panthers ended the quarter on a 9-3 run, cutting the lead, 31-30, at the half. 

Zekyle Amir finished with 10 points, and Pitts had nine in the win. RJ Knapp led the Panthers with nine, and Adam Thomas finished with eight points. 

CHEROKEE BLUFF 58, 
WALNUT GROVE 56

Boston Kersh scored 30 points and pulled 15 rebounds to lead the Bears (14-5, 4-1 Region 8-4A North) past Walnut Grove at home on Tuesday.

KT Thompson added seven points, Cooper Clover had six and four rebounds, and Takana MuKono chipped in five points and seven boards.

LAKEVIEW 71,
GEORGE WALTON 68

The Lions (15-4, 2-0 GIAA) held off a second-half rally by George Walton to escape with a three-point road win on Tuesday. 

Lakeview led 19-17 after the first, and 35-31 at halftime. But George Walton outpaced Lakeview 20-13 in the third quarter to tie the game 64-64.

The fourth quarter turned defense, with the Lions outscoring George Walton 7-4 to seal the win. 

Mekhi Barber led Lakeview with 25 points, Justyce Sadler had 18 points, and Eli Mayfield finished with 10.

DAWSON COUNTY 68,
WESLEYAN 52

Trey Harvey scored a game-high 31 points and pulled his 500th-career rebound to pace the Tigers (10-8, 3-3 Region 7-3A) past Wesleyan (8-11, 3-3 Region 7-3A) at home on Tuesday.

The Tigers finished the first quarter on an 8-3 run, behind an 11-point output from Harvey to take control 23-15, and extended the lead to 30-15 in the second quarter.

The Tigers opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run and pushed the lead 44-27 with 5:44 left in the period. Harvey was huge in the quarter, pouring in 12 points.  The Tigers extended their lead to 27 points in the fourth quarter. 

Caden Reed also reached a career milestone, hitting his 1000th career point. He finished the night with 17 points. 

The win lifts the Tigers into a tie for third place in the standings. 

TOWNS COUNTY 78, 
GREENE COUNTY 77

The one-point win over Greene County made the ride home from Greensboro much better for Towns County on Tuesday.

The win lifted the Indians (12-4, 7-0 Region 8A D2) into sole possession of first place in the region standings. Greene County controlled most of the first half, leading 36-23 at halftime, and stretched the lead to 20 points in the third quarter. The Indians, however, used a trapping full-court defense to chip away at the 18-point lead and finally pushed ahead with two minutes left in the game.

Tanner Cunningham nailed the game-winning free throw with 4.6 seconds left.

Zane Floyd led the Indians with 26 points, including his 1000th point for his career. Cunningham pitched in 21 points, and Connor Chastain pitched in 13 points in the victory. 

NORTH FORSYTH 52, 
APALACHEE 40

Brogen Casey scored 13 points, and Brayden Turner and Michael Akinrinmade added 10 points each to lead the Raiders (5-14, 2-4 Region 8-6A) to a much-needed Region 8-6A win Tuesday night on the road.

ELBERT COUNTY 54,
COMMERCE 52

Elbert County nailed a game-winning shot at the buzzer to get past the Tigers on Tuesday.

Tyler Sorrells led the Tigers (7-12, 2-1 Region 8A D1) with 18 points, while Maki Mitchell added 14. Evan Peters chipped in 13. 

MADISON COUNTY 87,
NORTH HALL 74

Despite having three players in double figures, the Trojans fell behind in the first quarter and couldn't overcome in the loss to No. 4 Madison County on the road Tuesday.

Matt Ray led the Trojans with 23 points, Cole Hulsey scored 17, and Andrew Bales added 13 in the loss.

The Trojans fell behind 20-11 in the first quarter and trailed 44-35 at halftime. 

The Red Raiders outscored North Hall 31-22 in the third quarter.