MURRAYVILLE - In typical Gainesville-East Hall fashion, no lead is ever safe.
The No. 1-ranked Vikings nearly blew a 19-point fourth quarter lead and then proved down the stretch why they have won nine of the last 10 Lanierland Tournament titles.
The Vikings withstood a 22-9 Gainesville run and then forced two turnovers and five straight Red Elephants misses from the field in the final minute to hold on for a 94-90 win Saturday night at the North Hall gym.
"It was a typical game between two good rivals and two good teams," East Hall coach Seth Vining said. "I knew they would make a run. We were able to hold on.
East Hall's Frank Davis, who finished with 16 points, was named the C.W. Davis MVP for the tournament.
Shanquise Glenn led the Vikings with 19. Marquez Jackson added 14.
Fourth-ranked Gainesville was led by Brent Benson with 26 points, 12 in the fourth quarter. Kenji Cobb added 21 and Corey Wilmont 16 for the Elephants.
With the lead whittled down to 91-89 with 41 seconds left, Lee Coleman missed two free thtows and Gainesville had a chance to tie. But the Vikings stole the ball to converted to make it 93-89.
Coleman got a chnce to redeem himself just seconds later with the score 93-90 and 18.8 seconds left.
"I wasn't really thinking about the misses. I just tried to focus and make sure we had at least a four-point lead," Coleman said.
He made one and then the Vikings defense pressured Gainesville into five misses in the final seconds to preserve the win.
East Hall raced out to a 21-2 lead in the first quarter and led 55-43 at halftime. The Vikings then used a 16-4 run to open the second half to take a 71-47 lead.
But Gainesville battled back to cut it to 80-61 to start the fourth quarter. The Elephants used a 28-11 run to cut to 91-89 but could get the lead.
Saturday
July 5th, 2025
12:29AM
