GAINESVILLE - Jamie Evans hit five 3-pointers and sparked an 11-2 run in the first quarter to lead Class AAA No. 2-ranked East Hall to an 85-53 win over Johnson Friday night in the semifinals of the Region 7-AAA boys tournament.
The win for the Vikings (25-2) puts them in the championship game for the second straight year.
"It's always nice to be in the championship game. It's one of our goals every year," East Hall coach Seth Vining said.
Last year the Vikings were upset in the title game by Gainesville but still went on to win their second state championship in three years.
Are they looking for a measure of revenge this year?
"We don't think about those things. We don't worry about who we play. We just try to win every time we go out there, no matter who it is," Vinning said.
East Hall jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead but Johnson (14-12) used an 11-5 run to get within 15-13 with about three minutes left in the first quarter.
That's as close as the Knights would get as Evans, who finished with 21 points, hit the second of his 3-pointers as the Vikings finished the quarter with a 26-15 lead. They extended it to 33-16 on another Evans 3-pointer to put the game out of reach.
East Hall lead 44-24 at halftime and the Knights got as close as 19 once in the second half.
Keldrick Coleman dominated the inside for East Hall with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Walter Hill finished with 10 points.
Johnson was led by Tarik Smith's 13 points, but A.J. Young and Sam Greavu, who combined for 46 in Wednesday's win over North Hall, had just 20 - 14 for Greavu and 6 for Young - and just 10 in the first half while East Hall was pulling away.
Sunday
July 6th, 2025
3:38PM
