Prep basketball: Lady Vikings win thriller over Chestatee; East Hall boys win in rout

GAINESVILLE -- With a huge Region 7-AAA opener against Dawson County looming next week, East Hall girls coach Justin Wheeler found out his Lady Vikings are a resilient bunch.<br /> <br /> East Hall trailed by 11 early, rallied to take the lead in the third quarter, and then held off a furious rally by Chestatee to pull out a 34-32 win on the road Friday night at the Chestatee gym.<br /> <br /> Sophomore Kylah Mize hit two free throws with 2.1 seconds left to lift the Lady Vikings (4-1) to the victory. The game-winning shots came moments after Mize gathered in an offensive rebound after Jenny Edwards had missed a pair of free throws with 3.5 second left.<br /> <br /> "Kylah has been playing well and continues to get better," Wheeler said. "We are expecting some big things from her as the season goes along. What I liked most was that we did not play well in the first half but kept playing. This group is showing it won't quit."<br /> <br /> The final 1:13 was a free throw shooting contest between the two teams, who displayed tough defensive postures the entire game. Trailing 32-31, Chestatee had three opportunities to grab the lead and add on but hit just 1-of-5 from the line for a 32-32 tie with 35 seconds left.<br /> <br /> The teams traded turnovers in the final seconds before Edwards was fouled on a stick-back attempt off her own miss.<br /> <br /> Despite not being able to convert, Edwards, East Hall's leading scorer early in the season, helped the Lady Vikings control the boards in the second half. She finished with eight rebounds -- all after halftime.<br /> <br /> "She was in foul trouble most of the game but she did a great job in the fourth quarter," Wheeler said.<br /> <br /> Neither team could get into any offensive rhythm against the two trapping defenses. East Hall had 17 turnovers while Chestatee (1-4) had 23 turnovers.<br /> <br /> The Lady Vikings did not take their first lead until a 3-pointer by Chelsea Dale put them up 19-17 midway through the third quarter. It was the first basket by either team over the first four minutes as both teams went a combined 0-for-12 from the field with six turnovers in that span.<br /> <br /> Chestatee would use a 6-3 run over the next three minutes to retake the lead 23-22 on a Kayla Watson 3-pointer but East Hall took a 24-23 lead into the fourth quarter on an Ashlyn Ellison basket with 16 seconds left in the third quarter. <br /> <br /> The Lady Vikings opened up their biggest lead, 28-23, early in the fourth quarter. But The Lady War Eagles fought back behind Watson, who hit two free throws, assisted on a Stephanie Briseno 3-pointer to tie the game, and then converted a traditional three-point play for a 31-30 lead with 2:10 left to cap an 8-2 run.<br /> <br /> Wheeler said defensively his group is already in midseason form. But he said they will need to find some more offense against Dawson County, which is considered a favorite to win 7-AAA.<br /> <br /> "That will be a tough game on the road," Wheeler said. "I like how we're playing defense but we need to be more consistent and efficient on offense. I don't think 34 will be enough to beat Dawson."<br /> <br /> Ellison and Dale each finished with 11 points to lead East Hall. Mize added five points, all in the second half.<br /> <br /> Watson paced Chestatee with 12 points. Tyler Bennett had seven points for the Lady War Eagles but none after halftime.<br /> <br /> The defenses dominated the early part of the action to start the game. The two teams combined for more turnovers (10) than field goals (6) and were a combined 0-for-12 from 3-point range.<br /> <br /> The Lady War Eagles took advantage of the early East Hall mistakes using a 12-1 run in a 8:41 span of the first half to builf a 14-3 lead. Bennett led the early run with six points and four rebounds.<br /> <br /> The Lady Vikings would fight back behind Ellison. The junior Ellison sparked the offense with three straight assists and capped a 13-3 run over the final 5:33 with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull East Hall within 17-16 at halftime.<br /> <br /> <b>East Hall boys 76<br /> Chestatee 33</b><br /> <br /> East Hall (3-1) opened the game with a dunk by Kyvon Davenport and led 7-0 in the first 90 seconds and never trailed in taking the win.<br /> <br /> Chestatee (2-3) would use an 8-6 run to pull within 13-8 but would get no closer the rest of the way. The Vikings closed out the first quarter with a 9-3 run for a 22-11 lead.<br /> <br /> East Hall blew the game open with a 10-4 run to start the second quarter for a 32-15 lead. But the War Eagles rallied late in the second quarter and got a running 3-pointer at the buzzer by Rylee Camp to cut the lead to 34-24.<br /> <br /> The Vikings blew the game open for good in the third quarter. East Hall outscored Chestatee 21-5 for a 55-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Vikings defense was the story in the second half holding Chestatee to just nine points after halftime.<br /> <br /> Davenport finished with 18 points to pace East Hall. Jacquen Hopkins added 14 and Triston Cooper 13 points for the Vikings. Hopkins and Cooper combined for five 3-pointers. <br /> <br /> However, East Hall will need to work on its free throw shooting. The Vikings were just 10-for-30 from the line for the game.<br /> <br /> Camp led Chestatee with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.