FLOWERY BRANCH — History was made Saturday night at the 58th annual Lanierland Tournament.
The Gainesville boys, by way of a tougher-than-the-score-indicates 96-73 win over arch-rival East Hall, took home their second straight Lanierland crown. It is the first back-to-back titles for the Red Elephants since the 1991-92 seasons.
That came on the heals of the Flowery Branch girls capturing their third consecutive Lanierland crown with a 64-44 victory over East Hall. The Lady Falcons became the first team to win three straight titles since West Hall took four straight from 1997-2000.
Gainesville's Jarred Rosser was named the CW Davis Tournament MVP for the boys while Flowery Branch's Taniyah Worth won her second straight Sally Bell Tournament MVP award.
In the boys game, Gainesville had six players score in double figures, led by Xavier Bledson's 19 points. East Hall stayed with the high-powered Red Elephants for three quarters but a 26-10 Gainesville run in the fourth quarter help propel them to the title.
In the girls game, Flowery Branch grabbed the last of four first half lead changes and then pulled away in the second half behind Worth's team-leading 20 points.
In the boys third-place game, Flowery Branch used a 20-6 second half run to erase a Lakeview Academy lead en route to a 58-49 victory. Justin Quick finished with a game-high 23 points to lead Flowery Branch.
In the boys fifth-place game, West Hall held off North Hall 56-53 behind 21 points from Noah Edmondson and 16 from DJ Buffington. In the seventh-place game, Johnson beat Chestatee 72-54 getting 19 points from Will Richter.
In the girls third-place game, North Hall beat West Hall 63-56 behind Camilla Howell's 22 points. The Lady Trojans led from virtually start-to-finish.
In the girls fifth-place game, Chestatee knocked off Lakeview Academy 56-38 behind 23 points from Lindsey Caudell. In the girls seventh-place game, Gainesville routed Johnson 81-38 getting 25 points from Tija Blackwell and 21 from Tia Shelton. Johnson's Chelsea Reece continued her torrid scoring with 21 points, including six 3-pointers.
2017 LANIERLAND
Finals and consolation round resuts from Saturday
Gainesville girls 81, Johnson 38 (7th place game)
Johnson boys 72, Chestatee 54 (7th place game)
Chestatee girls 56, Lakeview Academy 38 (5th place game)
West Hall boys 56, North Hall 53 (5th place game)
North Hall girls, West Hall 56 (3rd place game)
Flowery Branch boys 58, Lakeview Academy 49 (3rd place game)
Flowery Branch girls 64, East Hall 44 (Championship game)
Gainesville boys 96, East Hall 73 (Championship game)
BOYS ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
CW Davis MVP: Jarred Rosser -- Gainesville
Curt Lance Sportsmanship Award: Blake Coxworth -- Flowery Branch
Noah Holman -- North Hall
Noah Edmondson -- West Hall
Jack Blackburn -- Lakeview Academy
Justin Quick -- Flowery Branch
Chandler Jones -- Johnson
Cooper Wilson -- Chestatee
Luke Cooper -- East Hall
Xavier Bledson -- Gainesville
GIRLS ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Sally Bell MVP: Taniyah Worth -- Flowery Branch
Curt Lance Sportsmanship Award: Jenny Lopez -- East Hall
Camilla Howell -- North Hall
Anna McKendree -- West Hall
Sadie Thrailkill -- Lakeview Academy
Tija Blackwell -- Gainesville
Chelsea Reece -- Johnson
Lindsey Caudell -- Chestatee
Carly Winters -- East Hall
Lexie Sengkhemmee -- Flowery Branch
