GAINESVILLE — The much-anticipated 2016 Lanierland Tournament brackets have been released.
First round action of the three-day tournament will be Wednesday, Dec. 28 at North Hall High School. The semifinals and finals will be on Thursday, Dec. 29 and Friday, Dec. 30 and will move to Gainesville High.
Action the first two days will begin at 9:30 a.m. Friday’s action will begin at 10 a.m. with the finals set for 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
The seedings are taken from the teams’ finish from the 2015 tournament. The Flowery Branch boys and girls will be the No. 1 seeds for the 2016 tournament.
In the girls bracket on Thursday at North Hall, the Lady Falcons (No. 1) will take on Johnson (No. 8); East Hall (No. 2) will play West Hall (No. 7); Gainesville (No. 3) will play Chestatee (No. 6); and North Hall (No. 4) will take on Lakeview Academy (No. 5).
In the boys bracket Thursday at North Hall, Flowery Branch (No. 1) will play Gainesville (No. 8); East Hall (No. 2) will play Chestatee (No. 7); North Hall (No. 3) will take on Johnson (No. 6); and West Hall (No. 4) will play Lakeview Academy (No. 5).
Action on Thursday and Friday will begin with consolation round action. On Thursday, consolation action will begin at 9:30 a.m. at Gainesville with the semifinals slated to begin at 4 p.m. On Friday, consolation action will begin at 10 a.m. at Gainesville with the finals slated to begin at 7 p.m.
In 2015, the Flowery Branch boys beat East Hall 62-56 for its first-ever boys title. North Hall beat West Hall for third. Lakeview Academy was fifth, Johnson sixth, and Chestatee finished seventh. The Gainesville boys did not participate in the 2015 tournament due to a two-game suspension imposed by the school and the GHSA because of an altercation in a Kentucky tournament the week before.
The Flowery Branch girls won the 2015 tournament with a 72-49 win over East Hall. The Gainesville girls finished third with North Hall fourth. Lakeview Academy was fifth, Chestatee sixth, West Hall seventh, and Johnson eighth.
