GAINESVILLE — North Hall basketball's outside shooting prowess is well-known throughout northeast Georgia. But the Trojans showed on Wednesday that opponents better be ready inside too.
North Hall got big games in the paint from Evan Easton and Nathan Kinney, as the Trojans ran away from Johnson 53-33 in the quarterfinals of the Region 8-AAAA tournament in Gainesville.
Easton scored a game-high 12 points, while Kinney provided six points (a career high) and several key rebounds to help North Hall clinch a state playoff berth and a spot in Friday's 8-AAAA semifinals at Stephens County High in Toccoa. The Trojans will take on North Oconee in the contest after the sixth-seeded Titans upset third-seeded White County on Wednesday in Gainesville. Friday's other boys semifinal will feature Buford against Monroe Area after the Wolves took out Madison County and the Purple Hurricanes edged Stephens County.
NORTH HALL BOYS 53,
JOHNSON 33
Early on it looked as though this contest was set for a photo finish, as the two teams struggled to find their offensive rhythm and traded leads until midway through the second quarter.
That's when the Trojans (20-6) began to work their way inside.
Carson Heinen and Kinney each hit from close-range -- including a buzzer-beater from Heinen to give North Hall an 18-13 halftime advantage.
Easton continued that work after the interval, scoring two quick baskets, as the Trojans capped an 11-0 run that yielded a 24-13 advantage. Johnson never pulled closer than seven points the rest of the way, North Hall increasing its advantage over the final eight minutes.
"We were getting stops there early and then we finally got a shot or two to fall and that really got everyone else going," said Trojans coach Tyler Sanders, who led his team to a second straight state playoff berth with the win. "Whenever you can get some easy baskets it just makes things so much easier."
North Hall finished the game with just four 3-pointers but never needed to rely on the deep-ball once it established it could score inside -- most often via penetration and quick passes. Yet Easton also proved capable of making his own shots near the basket.
"He's worked so hard to get that way," Sanders said of Easton. "It's great to see."
Sam Jackson also scored nine points for North Hall, while Heinen finished with 11 as the hosts cruised down the stretch and began thinking of Friday's foe.
"(North Oconee) is much healthier than when we played them in January (a 69-56 Trojans win), so it's not going to be an easy game at all," Sanders said. "But I can say these guys in our locker room have been through it; they have experience, and that really helps this time of year."
Johnson's season came to an end with the defeat, as Ahmad Harrison and Yaz Hagins each scored seven points to lead the Knights (7-18). Andrew Sims and Chan Jones also each scored six points.
NORTH OCONEE BOYS 60,
WHITE COUNTY 46
The Warriors never could get their offense going with any consistency, as the Titans pounced for an early lead and never turned loose.
Whit Mauney put up 19 points, including seven in the second quarter. Desmond Mataro also added 14 points, but White County managed just just four 3-pointers as a team and found a hard time scoring in transition against a North Oconee team that slowed the pace of the contest.
Matthew Quint scored a game-high 23 points to pace the Titans (7-19), while Jack Chambers added 12 and Saajan Patel nine, as they fought their way into the state tournament and a region tournament semifinal berth.
The Warriors (17-9) pulled as close as 36-30 midway through the third quarter after Mataro buried one of his two 3-pointers during the quarter. But North Oconee scored the next seven points to regain a 43-30 lead early in the fourth quarter.
White County's season is now complete.
BUFORD BOYS 61,
MADISON COUNTY 52
After a sluggish first quarter, Brandon Iverson gave Buford just the spark it needed against the upset-minded Red Raiders and secure a spot in the state playoffs.
Iverson hit four straight 3-pointers as part of 13 consecutive points scored for the senior guard to erase a 26-15 Madison County lead to give the Wolves a lead they would not relinquish.
“We were very tentative in the first quarter and Brandon got us going with some energy and those shots got us going,” Buford coach Eddie Martin said. “We really hadn’t done much of anything up to that point.”
Iverson’s explosion sparked an 18-4 overall run for Buford (14-11) who had led just once, at 2-0, until the last of his 3-pointers gave them a 31-30 lead with 43 seconds left in the first half.
Madison County broke a 5-5 tie with a 9-0 run sparked by five straight points from Keith Gantt. The Red Raiders took an 18-11 into the second quarter.
Madison County extended their lead to 26-15 with 3:31 left in the half on a pair of free throws from Trevon Daniel. Then Iverson took over,
The Wolves turned to their defense in the second half forcing three quick Madison County turnovers to push their lead to 37-30 in the opening minute. The Red Raiders rallied to within 37-36 on a Cade Hancock stick-back but the defense locked down Madison County the rest of the way.
“We did a much better job defensively in the second half and that turned the game around for us,” Martin said.
Buford closed out the third quarter with a 15-5 spurt, highlighted by a apir of Elam Rothweiler 3-pointers. The Wolves opened up a 56-43 lead in the fourth quarter on a Sahil Patel stick-back basket and the Red Raiders could only get as close as the final score.
Iverson finished with 16 points to lead Buford. Patel added 12 points and 10 rebounds and Alex Jones had 15 points for the Wolves.
Hancock paced Madison County (15-12) with 15 points. Gantt added 11 points and Golston Gillespie had 10 for the Red Raiders.
MONROE AREA BOYS 60,
STEPHENS COUNTY 59
Monroe Area came from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to pull off the upset win.
Stephens County led 51-37 early in the fourth quarter but the Purple Hurricanes (14-11) answered with an 8-0 run to cut the lead to six and then kept chipping away.
Alfred King hit a pair of 3-pointers in a 30 second span to get Monroe Area within 55-54 with 1:24 left and then Kevon Debose converted a fastbreak layup to tie the game at 57 with 52 seconds left.
On Stephens County’s next possession, King stole the ball and hit a layup with 41 seconds left for a 59-57 lead. The Indians tied the game on their next possession but King got another steal and layup and converted a three-point play with 16.8 sec left for what turned out to be the game-winner.
Stephens County had a chance to win it at the end but committed a turnover with 3 seconds left.
Monroe Area opened the game with an 8-2 run and led the entire first half. The Hurricanes led 19-10 after the first quarter and took a 31-25 lead into halftime.
But Stephens County (16-9) exploded coming out of the break going on a 17-0 run and taking a 48-37 lead into the fourth quarter. The Indians could not hang on, however.
Emory Sheats paced Monroe Area with 17 points. King added 13 and Kevon Debose had 12 for the Hurricanes.
Tay Jones had a game-high 20 points to lead Stephens County. Deundra Singleton added 15 points and Chaz Bridges nine for the Indians.
Monroe Area next will take on Buford in the semifinals at Stephens County on Friday.
