Jeff Hart

All East Hall girls basketball coach Joey Rider wants for Christmas is some consistency. At times Friday night against Class AAAAA Milton in the Achasta Challenge at the North Georgia College gym he got it. However, the inconsistent moments outnumbered the consistent ones as the Lady Vikings eventually fell 54-44 to the Lady Eagles.

Seventeen was a lucky number for both the Gainesville basketball teams Tuesday night at the Gainesville gym. The Class AAA fifth-ranked Lady Elephants used a 17-0 run in the first half en route to a 56-33 rout of North Hall. In the boys game Gainesville used a 17-0 burst in the third quarter to blow open a close game in taking a 72-56 win over the Trojans.

Florida State senior Toney Douglas, playing in front of his own cheering section that included his brother, Atlanta Falcons receiver Harry Douglas, scored 23 points to lead the Seminoles to a 62-57 win.

Mike Bibby scored 24 points, Marvin Williams hit the clinching free throws, and Atlanta snapped the Cleveland Cavaliers' 11-game winning streak with a 97-92 victory Saturday night.

The smile on West Hall boys basketball coach Warren Sellers’s face Friday night was as wide as the Grand Canyon. And for good reason. The Spartans had just completed something no other West Hall boys team had been able to accomplish in its history. They won their first-ever Lanierland Tournament title with a 72-58 win over arch-rival Johnson at the Gainesville High gym.

Gainesville girls basketball coach Manson Hill said he has seen some great performances in his time from Mahogoney Hudson to Tasha Humphrey to Kita Waller. He can add one more to his list after watching junior Jaymee Carnes dominate East Hall in a 55-40 win 55-40 Friday night in the finals of the Lanierland Tournament at a packed Gainesville High gym.

Any other time over the past 49 years just the mere mention of a Gainesville-East Hall matchup in the Lanierland Tournament would require Fire Marshall approval to get into the gym. But Tuesday night’s showdown was like no other before. For the first time in the tournament’s history the two teams met in the consolation round after first round losses.

The final score Tuesday night showed Lakeview Academy 41, Johnson 25. But for the Lady Lions basketball team, it meant a lot more than just a win over a Hall County opponent. It was the first-ever win for Lakeview in the annual Lanierland Tournament.

Matt Ryan had a career day going 24-for-33 for 315 yards with one touchdown, but the Falcons came up short against the Saints, 29-25.

The Class AAA No. 3-ranked Gainesville girls basketball team turned up the defense in the third quarter outscoring Chestatee 12-3 en route to a 52-42 win in the first round of the Lanierland Tournament Saturday. Flowery Branch also advanced with 31-22 win over West Hall in the other first round game Saturday at the North Hall gym.