Region 7-AAA: East Hall boys, Dawson Co. girls take titles

By Jeff Hart Sports Reporter

Posted 6:59PM on Sunday, February 15, 2015

CARNESVILLE -- Whether the East Hall boys were trying to make a statement or not, it will be hard not to notice the Vikings after they put a 83-62 shellacking on Banks County Saturday night in the Region 7-AAA finals at the Franklin County gym. East Hall (22-5) took two modest victories over the Leopards (23-5) during the regular season. At times Saturday, they bore some semblance of their state title teams in the mid-2000s with suffocating pressure defense, 3-point shooting, high-flying rebounds, and blink-of-an-eye runs. Senior Kyvon Davenport even did his best Walter Hill impersonation with 37 points, including two 3-pointers, and set the tone early with 14 first quarter points. He nearly outscored Banks County in the first half finishing with 23 points as the Vikings led 58-25 at intermission. "I came out and wanted to set the tone for us," Davenport said. "I wanted to help us win our first (region) title since I've been here. This feels great." East Hall coach Joe Dix said the first half was as good as they've been all season. They opened the game with a 27-7 run and never looked back. It was the first region title for the Vikings since snaring the Region 8-AA crown in 2011. "That first half was probably our best all year," Dix said. "The kids were fired up to begin the game and came out with a lot of energy. I'm just real proud of their effort. "It's been a while since we've been able to celebrate like this so we're enjoying it. I'm happy for the kids because this is the first one for all of them." Banks County answered a quick East Hall basket to start the game with a pair of Austin Venable baskets, including a thunderous dunk, to take a 4-2 lead. It was all East Hall after that. Andy Lara, Jacquen Hopkins, and Davenport would all hit 3-pointers over the next three minutes and two Tylor Brown free throws capped an 18-3 run in a 4:05 span for a 20-7 lead. Davenport would close out the quarter scoring eight of the Vikings next 10 points for a 30-11 lead after the first quarter. The second quarter was no better for the Leopards. East Hall opened the period with a 12-2 run, capped by four more points from Davenport. The quarter would end with a pair of Tristan Cooper 3-pointers in the final 14 seconds for a 58-25 halftime lead for the Vikings. Banks County coach Mike Cleveland said the lopsided loss may be a blessing in disquise for his Leopards. "This was a new experience for our program," Cleveland said. "You have to play in a couple of these kinds of games to really understand. They were a little nervous at the beginning. But hopefully they see what they need to do now and we got that out of our system. I feel good about moving forward." Banks County chipped away in the third quarter holding the Vikings to just 11 points. The Leopards got within 69-45 by the end of the period but the Vikings opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run for a 77-45 lead to dash any hopes of a miracle comeback. Banks County climbed within 81-59 midway through the fourth quarter in a battle of reserves but could get no closer until the final score. The loss also snapped the Leopards' six-game winning streak. Brown finished with 14 points and Hopkins and Cooper each had 12 points for East Hall. Will Ledford and Kahmal Wiley had 11 points apiece to lead Banks County. Venable finished with eight points for the Leopards. GIRLS FINAL DAWSON COUNTY GIRLS 51 EAST HALL 44 One day after watching his No. 1-ranked team do a poor job of closing out a win over Franklin County, Dawson County coach Steve Sweat was feeling much better about things Saturday night. The Lady Tigers were able to get two critical baskets and a key turnover late to hold off a furious fourth quarter rally to take the Region 7-AAA title. "That's probably the best we've played in a while," Sweat said. "Defensively we changed a couple of things and got some turnovers on our press. This is a great group of girls that love to play basketball. I'm real proud of them and happy for them." Dawson County (27-0) led 37-23 heading into the fourth quarter and saw its lead slip to 40-35 with 3:19 left. But Ashley Parker converted two layups and assisted on a Sheyenne Seabolt three-point play in just over a minute to push the lead back to 10, 47-27, with 2:04 left. East Hall (17-10) got as close as six points, 49-43, with :09 seconds left but no further. Lady Vikings coach Justin Wheeler said he is encouraged about his team's chances in the playoffs despite the loss. They will play host to a first round game in the Class AAA playoffs. "We feel we can play with anybody," Wheeler said. "We started strong but (Dawson County) changed up some things and we had trouble adjusting in the second and third quarters. I like how we battled back in the fourth quarter. We just ran out of time." East Hall came out firing to start the game. Chelsea Dale hit her first three 3-pointers as the Lady Vikings hit four in the first quarter and used a 6-0 run to close out the period for a 12-7 lead. East Hall took advantage of the Lady Tigers zone defense even running out the final minute before Jatasia Bailey drained a 3-pointer to end the quarter. But Dawson County came out of its zone and used its height and defensive pressure to take control in the second quarter. The Lady Tigers opened the second quarter with an 11-2 run, powered by eight straight points from Seabolt. They held East Hall to just two field goals, including 0-for-5 on 3-pointers, and forced five turnovers in the period while running out to a 24-16 halftime lead. The Lady Tigers opened the third quarter with a 7-2 run to push their lead to 35-18 before East Hall began to mount a comeback. Carly Winters and Ashlyn Ellison hit 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter and the Lady Vikings converted 6-of-8 free throws to pull within 40-35. They could get no closer. Seabolt finished with 19 points to lead Dawson County. Karlie Bearden added 14 and Parker had eight for the Lady Tigers. Jenny Edwards paced East Hall with 14 points. Dale finished with nine points, but none after the opening minutes. Ashlyn Ellison added eight points and Jatasia Bailey was held to just five points for the Lady Vikings. The loss also snapped East Hall's season-high four-game win streak. CONSOLATION FINALS FRANKLIN COUNTY BOYS 56 LUMPKIN COUNTY 42 The Lions trailed just once, 3-2, but used an 8-0 run to take control in the first half to take the No. 3 seed from Region 7-AAA. Phoenix Roberts provided the bulk of the offense with 23 points, including seven 3-pointers. KeAndre Morrison added 10 points and Devin Vickery had six points and seven blocks for Franklin County (13-15). Franklin County led 21-16 at halftime but used a 12-3 third quarter run to push the lead to 44-30 heading into the fourth quarter. Lumpkin County (9-19) never got closer than 10 the rest of the way. Zach Pulley had 17 points and Jack Howard 11 for the Indians, who will be the fourth seed from 7-AAA. BANKS COUNTY GIRLS 57 FRANKLIN COUNTY 51 Banks County outscored Franklin County 24-15 in the fourth quarter to rally for a win to earn the No. 3 seed in Region 7-AAA. The Lady Leopards (23-5) trailed most of the game. The Lady Lions (15-13) led 16-10 after the first quarter and 30-23 at halftime. Banks County began to chip away in the third quarter. Banks County cut the lead to 36-33 heading into the fourth quarter and then Shelby Parson sparked the comeback with six of her eight points in the quarter. Kaitlyn Duncan led Banks County with 14 points. Abby Parks added 11 for the Lady Leopards. Kayla Russell had a game-high 21 points for Franklin County but just five after halftime. No other players scored in double-figures for the Lady Lions, who will be the fourth seed from 7-AAA.

Jeff Hart Sports Reporter