Thursday March 28th, 2024 10:01PM

(VIDEO) Lanierland boys: GHS, East Hall roll into finals

By Jeff Hart Sports Reporter

FLOWERY BRANCH — It almost wouldn’t seem like a proper Christmas vacation without a Gainesville-East Hall boys showdown on the hardwood.

And with both teams seemingly playing their best basketball of the young season the last week, the two teams obliged Friday night in the semifinals of the Lanierland Tournament.

East Hall dispatched Lakeview Academy 75-62 and Gainesville later followed with a 81-44 whipping of Flowery Branch at the Flowery Branch gym. The two teams will tip off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Flowery Branch for their second straight finals showdown. The Red Elephants won 88-38 in the 2016 finals.

East Hall coach Joe Dix said he never tires of the traditional rivalry.

“It’s always fun when we play Gainesville and I expect it will be a typical Gainesville-East Hall game,” Dix said. “But they are very talented and it will be a tough matchup for us.”

Gainesville coach Benjie Wood said he too always looks forward to a showdown between the arch-rivals.

“There always seems to be a little extra juice when the teams meet in Lanierland,” Wood said. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity.”

 

EAST HALL BOYS 75,
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY  62

Dix has been wanting Mon Prather to shoot more.

Prather answered the call Friday night against the Lions.

The sophomore guard dropped in 17 points, including five 3-pointers, to help lead the Vikings to the win. Prather was the outside complement to junior inside post Jayvion Rucker, who muscled up 21 points and 8 rebounds.

“Mon is starting to grow up on the court,” Dix said. “We told him in practice to look for his shot more. We think he can be an outstanding shooter and he showed that (tonight).”

East Hall (6-5) led from start to finish and Prather’s first trey capped a 22-7 run to open the game. Lakeview (5-4) climbed back within 22-15 with a 6-0 spurt to open the second quarter but the Vikings exploded for a 17-3 run over the next four minutes to blow the game open.

It is the third consecutive finals appearance for the Vikings, who are looking for their first title since 2010 despite owning 24 titles overall, the most of any school.

“Gainesville in my opinion is the best (Class) 6A team,” Dix said. “We have a tough road ahead.”

Luke Cooper scored 14 points and Qua Butler added 9 for East hall.

Lakeview, playing without its leading scorer in Drew Cottrell, who was out with an injury, was led by 23 points from Blake McIntyre, who was a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line. Arturo Varela added 17 points for the Lions, who were looking for their first-ever finals appearance.

 

GAINESVILLE BOYS 81,
FLOWERY BRANCH 44

Gainesville (5-6) never trailed and the game was never tied after Bailey Minor and Jarred Rosser opened the game with 3-pointers for the Red Elephants. Gainesville ran out to a 13-3 lead in the first four minutes but the Falcons battled back.

Justin Quick started and ended a 10-2 Flowery Branch run to pull the Falcons (8-5) within 15-13 late in the first quarter. But the Red Elephants answered with a 16-4 run capped by a Minor 3-pointer and Flowery branch never got closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

The Red Elephants put the game out reach in the third quarter holding the Falcons to just one field goal in the third quarter while exploding for a 32-4 run and a 72-29 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Wood, who is just know getting the full complement of players back after injuries and suspensions, said it may have been their most complete game to date.

“I thought we did a good job overall,” he said. “Everyone is playing pretty well right now. That’s a good problem to have but it also makes it tough to find enough minutes for everyone. But I liked our effort.”

KJ Buffen led 12 Gainesville scorers with 16 points. Jarred Rosser and Xavier Bledson each had 12 points and Minor finished with 11 for the Red Elephants.

Quick paced Flowery Branch with 13 points. Patsheko Lutumba was held to just 7 points for the Falcons.

Flowery Branch will take on Lakeview Academy at 4:30 p.m. in the third-place game.

 

NORTH HALL BOYS 69,
JOHNSON 66

Noah Holman converted a three-point play with 3.4 seconds left to give the Trojans the nail-biting win in the consolation round.

North Hall (5-6) had led by as many eight points in the third quarter before Johnson (6-7) began to chip away. The Knights pulled within 49-43 by the end of the third quarter and eventually pulled even with North Hall at 66 on a three-point play by Danny Garcia with just under 10 seconds left.

Holman finished with 22 points, including hitting 9-of-10 free throws in the fourth quarter, to lead North Hall.. Taylor Hanson added 15 points on five 3-pointers and Luke Gunter had 11 points for the Trojans.

Chandler Jones paced Johnson with 22 points. Will Richter scored 14 points and Garcia finished with 12 for the Knights.

North Hall will play West Hall at 1:30 p.m. in the fifth-place game on Saturday. Johnson will battle Chestatee in the seventh-place contests at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.

 

WEST HALL BOYS 74,
CHESTATEE 68

The Spartans outscored Chestatee 27-21 in the fourth quarter to break a third quarter tie to take the win in the consolation round.

West Hall (6-8) was just 20-of-30 from the free throw line but hit them when they mattered most going 11-of-13 from the the line in the fourth quarter to hold a late chargeby the War Eagles (4-10).

Noah Edmonson led five West Hall players in double figures with 17 points. DJ Buffington had 16 points, Tae Reid 11, and Jeremiah Prather and Brden Martin each added 10 points for the Spartans.

Chestatee was led by Jarrett Gray and Cooper Wilson with 17 apiece. Wilson poured in 13 in the fourth quarter keep the War Eagles in the game. Cameron Gwyn added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, for the War Eagles.

West Hall will take on North Hall in the fifth-place game at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Chestatee will play Johnson in the seventh-place game at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

 

2017 LANIERLAND SCHEDULE

Finals and consolation round - Saturday at Flowery Branch
9 a.m. - Gainesville girls vs. Johnson (7th place game)
10:30 a.m. - Chestatee boys vs. Johnson (7th place game)
Noon - Chestatee girls vs. Lakeview Academy (5th place game)
1:30 p.m. - West Hall boys vs. North Hall (5th place game)
3 p.m. - Girls third place game - West Hall vs. North Hall
4:30 p.m. - Boys third place game - Lakeview Academy vs. Flowery Branch
6 p.m. - Girls championship - East Hall vs. Flowery Branch -- Radio: 550 AM/102.9 FM
7:30 p.m. - Boys championship - East Hall vs. Gainesville -- Radio: 550 AM/102.9 FM

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