OAKWOOD — It may not have resembled some of the great defensive teams of the past, but East Hall got the stops when they mattered most Monday night in the first round of the 56th annual Lanierland Tournament.
The Vikings rallied from behind four separate times to take a hard-fought 61-54 win over Lakeview Academy to move into Tuesday’s semifinals against North Hall.
The win also avenged an 87-69 loss to the Lions earlier in the season.
“It didn’t look anything like those old East Hall teams but we got some stops and forced some turnovers at some key times,” East Hall coach Joe Dix said. “I don’t know if (losing to them before) had anything to do with it but it was a better effort this time.”
Neither team led by more than seven until East Hall (8-3) answered an 8-0 Lakeview run with a 12-1 spurt midway through the fourth quarter for a 57-47 lead with just 3:14 left in the game.
It was during that decisive run that the Vikings forced four big Lakeview turnovers. Lions coach Todd Cottrell said too many mistakes were the difference.
“We had way too many defensive breakdowns, which was uncharacteristic of this group. The turnovers hurt us big in the fourth quarter,” Cottrell said.
Lakeview (8-2) opened the game with a Drew Cottrell 3-pointer but East Hall responded with a 13-5 run the rest of the first quarter. The Lions answered that with an 11-1 run to take a 22-17 lead late in the second quarter and took a 28-25 lead into the intermission.
Lakeview led 33-28 early in the third quarter but East Hall, behind 10 points from Markese Jackson, went on a 17-5 spurt to retake the lead 45-38.
The Lions did not go away. They used an 8-0 run, powered by a pair of Josh Randolph baskets, to go back in front 46-45 with 6:35 left.
The East Hall defense then went to work over the next five minutes to help the Vikings roll out to its biggest lead of the game, 59-49, with 1:09 left.
Lakeview got within 60-54 with 8 seconds left but could not get any closer.
Tylor Brown paced East Hall with 16 points and Jackson finished with 15 in his first game of the season since returning from an injury. Tristan Cooper added eight points for the Vikings.
Randolph had 14 points to lead Lakeview. Evan Pitts added 12 and Daniel Fadool 11 points for the Lions.
East Hall next will take on North Hall in the semifinals at East Hall at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
“I expect it to be a war,” Dix said. “But we’re playing at home so maybe that will help us.”
Lakeview will receive a bye in the fifth place game on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at East Hall.
WEST HALL 81
JOHNSON 46
Tyquan Statham scored 14 of his 18 points in a dominating three minute stretch to help the Spartans cruise to the first round victory.
Statham’s effort helped turn a 30-21 West Hall halftime lead into a 51-30 advantage with 2:54 left in the third quarter and essentially put the game out of reach.
“Tyquan showed why he is a Division I athlete,” West Hall coach Zac Swansey said. “We stressed at halftime doing some things better and he and the whole team came out and did that. Overall it was probably our best game of the season.”
The Spartans (5-5) next will take on Flowery Branch at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the semifinals.
West Hall took the last of five lead changes in the first half with a 13-2 run to close out the second quarter and never trailed again.
The two teams jockeyed back-and-forth in the early going with the game being tied at 7, 10, and 12. West Hall got a 5-0 run to go ahead 17-12 but the Knights (3-8) answered with a 7-0 run behind two consecutive baskets by Ahmad Harrison to take a 19-17 lead with 5:21 left in the first half.
The Spartans exploded for a 13-0 run getting 3-pointers from Bryson Jones, Dylan Curry, and Xzavier Reid and pushing their lead to 30-19 lead with 24 seconds left. Harrison cut the lead to 30-21 at the half with a running floater with 14 seconds left.
Statham got things going in the third quarter with a pair of free throws and then a monster dunk, two more free throws, and then two baskets in a 3-second span after a steal. When the third quarter ended the Spartans led 58-34 after closing out the final 5:09 of the period with a 20-8 spurt.
West Hall led by as many as 39 in the fourth quarter.
Reid finished with a game-high 22 to pace the Spartans. Esteban Ulloa added 13 and Curry had nine for West Hall.
Yaz Hagins and Qua Butler each had 11 points to lead Johnson. Harrison finished with eight but did not score in the second half for the Knights.
Johnson will take on Chestatee at noon in the consolation bracket Tuesday at East Hall.
FLOWERY BRANCH 61
CHESTATEE 50
Flowery Branch used a 20-0 run in the fourth quarter to erase a 10-point Chestatee lead to rally for the win in the first round.
The Falcons (6-5) next will take on the winner of the West Hall-Johnson matchup Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the semifinals.
Junior John Mills led the barrage pouring in 13 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter. Mills hit a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to cap the run to give the Falcons a 51-41 lead after Chestatee (0-9) had taken its biggest lead, 41-31, early in the fourth quarter.
Mills started the run with a 3-pointer and then Trey Bailey converted two consecutive three-point plays to pull the Branch within 41-40. Mills drained another 3-pointer for a 43-41 lead and the Falcons never trailed again.
The Falcons opened the game with a 6-0 run but the War Eagles battled back to within 25-24 by halftime outscoring the Branch 10-6 in the second quarter. Chestatee looked liked it was taking control using an 11-0 run to end the third quarter for a 39-29 lead.
Bailey finished with 13 points for the Falcons.
Chestatee was paced by Donovan Hernandez’s 13 points. Logan Cates added 12 for the War Eagles.
Chestatee will play the loser of the West Hall-Johnson game at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at East Hall.
2015 LANIERLAND TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Dec. 29 at East Hall High, Second Round
Semifinals
North Hall girls vs. Flowery Branch, 3 p.m.
North Hall boys vs. East Hall 4:30 p.m.
East Hall girls vs. Gainesville, 6 p.m.
Flowery Branch boys vs. West Hall, 7:30 p.m.
Consolation bracket
Lakeview Academy girls vs. West Hall, 10:30 a.m.
Chestatee girls vs. Johnson, noon
Chestatee boys. vs Johnson, 1:30 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 28 results
East Hall girls 48, Chestatee 39
Flowery Branch boys 61, Chestatee 50
North Hall girls 67, Lakeview Academy 56
Flowery Branch girls 67, West Hall 44
East Hall boys 61, Lakeview Academy 54
Gainesville girls 56, Johnson 21
West Hall boys 81, Johnson 46
(The North Hall boys received a first round bye after the Gainesviile boys were forced to withdraw after being involved in a fight in a tournament in Kentucky last week. The Red Elephants were suspended for two games, as per GHSA rules.)
