GAINESVILLE — Benjie Wood was adamant that his Class AAAAAA No. 1-ranked Gainesville squad was in no way trying to make a statement in the 2016 Lanierland Tournament.
However, after an 88-38 dismantling of East Hall in the finals Friday night at the Gainesville gym, it’s hard to argue with the numbers.
The Red Elephants (14-0) won their three games by 25, 37, and 50 -- an average margin-of-victory of 37.3 points a game -- for their first Lanierland title since 2011, and just the third for the program since 1992.
Wood said their dominating play had nothing to do with the team not being allowed to play in last year’s installment.
“Everyone wants to win Lanierland. But for us it’s more about effort and attitude and just trying to get better each game,” Wood said. “Last year had nothing to do with this year. I felt like we had a chance to win it, but we knew it would take us playing 32 minutes all three games. I think the guys did that. I was real proud of their effort (all three nights).”
An undersized East Hall squad managed to stay close with the taller, high-flying Red Elephants for a quarter and a half, trailing just 15-13 after a Luke Cooper basket with a minute left in the first quarter. The Vikings (8-5) pulled within 25-22 midway through the second on a Tony Martinez 3-pointer.
It was all Gainesville the rest of the way. The Red Elephants closed out the first half with an 18-4 explosion, including a whirlwind 9-0 run in a 30-second span fueled by three East Hall turnovers, for a 43-26 halftime lead.
Gainesville left little doubt, closing out the third quarter with a 25-0 burst for a 72-30 lead that triggered a 6-minute clock for the fourth quarter.
Junior Bailey Minor, named the tournament MVP, showed his versatility, hitting 3-pointers, stick-back baskets, rebounding, and blocking shots on the defensive end. He finished with a game-high 20 points to lead six players in double figures.
Jarrell Rosser added 12 points, Xavier Bledson 11, and 10 each for Jarred Rosser, Kajuan Hale, and Michael White for the Red Elephants.
“I thought the whole group showed its versatility, but Bailey has been playing well and he’s such a great person also. I’m happy for him (to get the MVP),” Wood said.
East Hall was paced by Cooper, who finished with 13 points. No other Viking had more than five.
CONSOLATION ROUND
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 68,
NORTH HALL 52
North Hall scored first but Lakeview Academy answered with a 20-6 first half run to grab the lead en route to a win in the third place game.
The win for the Lions (8-4) marked their best-ever Lanierland finish.
North Hall (9-6) rallied with an 8-2 run to pull within 22-16 but Lakeview Academy opened the second half with a 12-1 run capped by a Drew Cottrell 3-pointer to take a commanding 39-19 lead and the Trojans never recovered.
Lakeview took a 47-34 lead into the fourth quarter. North Hall climbed to within 60-50 on a 3-pointer by Griffin Neville but the Lions closed out the game with an 8-2 run.
Both teams did a lot of damage from the free throw line. North Hall was 21-of-27 from the line while Lakeview went 20-of-25 for the game.
Tre Gober provided a big second half spark for Lakeview pouring in 17 of his team-high 19 points after halftime. Cottrell finished with 17, 12 of his coming in the second half. Evan Pitts added eight for the Lions.
Evan Easton had a game-high 24 points to pace North Hall.
FLOWERY BRANCH 58,
CHESTATEE 35
After allowing 15 first quarter points, the Flowery Branch defense held Chestatee to 20 total points over the final three quarters combined to take control en route to the win in the fifth place game.
The two teams were tied at 15 after the first quarter but the Falcons (12-3) exploded for 20 points in the second quarter to take a 35-24 lead into halftime. Chestatee (5-11) was held to just nine points in the second half as Flowery Branch used a 16-point third quarter to blow the game open.
John Mills paced Flowery Branch with 15 points. Brannon Clark added 10 and Justin Quick nine for the Falcons.
Chestatee was led by 10 points from Cameron Gwyn. Donovan Hernandez, who had scored in double figures in the first two Lanierland games, was held to just six points against the Falcons.
WEST HALL 63,
JOHNSON 52
Xzavier Reid poured in 21 points to lead West Hall to the win in the seventh place game.
The Spartans (5-9) trailed 14-10 in the first quarter but outscored Johnson (6-9) 16-7 in the second quarter to take a 26-21 halftime lead.
Both teams found their offensive rhythm in the third quarter as Johnson outscored the Spartans 19-17 to pull within 43-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
West Hall exploded in the final eight minutes outscoring the Knights 2012 to pull away.
Noah Edmondson added 14 points for West Hall. T.J. Howard added nine and Jacob Satterfield eight for the Spartans.
Marcus Jones and Qua Butler each had 15 points to lead Johnson. Dwayne Wilson added nine for the Knights.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP: Bailey Minor, Gainesville
Sportsmanship Award: Tre Gober, Lakeview Academy
Xzavier Reid, West Hall
Xavier Bledson, Gainesville
Donovan Hernandez, Chestatee
Evan Easton, North Hall
Dee Evans, East Hall
Dwayne Wilson, Johnson
Josh Randolph, Lakeview Academy
Brannon Clark, Flowery Branch
