DAWSONVILLE — While the East Hall boys did not clinch a state playoff berth, their 74-49 win over Dawson County Tuesday night perhaps moved them one step closer to that goal.
The victory for East Hall (14-10, 9-2 Region 7-AAA) clinched no worse than second place in the region and also affords them the opportunity to play host to the first round of the Region 7-AAA Tournament next week with a chance to clinch a playoff berth on its home floor.
“Hopefully that will be a good thing for us. You would probably rather play at home if given the chance,” said East Hall coach Joe Dix, whose Vikings have won five straight at the East Hall gym.
Tuesday’s win was the third straight for East Hall, which may be starting to peak at just the right time. A win over Fannin County Friday night in the season-finale at Valhalla would give the Vikings their longest win streak of the season.
“Tonight was a great step in the right direction,” Dix said. “I thought we played very well defensively. We’ve been talking about being locked in more on defense and they are really starting to get things.”
East Hall never trailed as Luke Cooper opened the game with a 3-pointer and a driving layup in the first minute and Jayvion Rucker dropped in a 3-pointer for an 8-0 lead before Dawson County’s Jeremiah Crumley got the Tigers on the board.
Consecutive 3-pointers by T.J. Campbell and Luke Holtzclaw pushed the Vikings lead to 14-4 midway through the period. The Tigers clawed back within 15-9 by the end of the first quarter on a trey by Campbell Reed.
Dawson County pulled within 17-13 on a Wyatt Haase 3-pointer early in the second quarter but the Vikings answered exploding for a 15-3 run in just under two minutes for a 35-18 lead. The Tigers answered that with a 10-0 burst with East Hall taking a 37-28 lead into halftime.
The Vikings opened the third quarter with a 10-4 run to push the lead to 47-32. The Tigers (15-8, 7-4) never got closer than 12 the rest of the way and East Hall put the game out of reach with an 18-5 run to start the fourth quarter for a 72-45 lead.
“We got the lead early and what I liked was that we responded when (Dawson County) made runs,” Dix said. “That is an area we’ve been addressing as well.”
Cooper paced four East Hall scorers in double figures with 18 points. Holtzclaw added 14, Rucker 13, and Kylan Curry 10 for the Vikings, who had 10 different players score.
Dawson County, which has now lost four of its last five, all in the region, was led by Crumley’s 11. Haase finished with 7 points for the Tigers. Leading scorer Cullen Reed was held to just 6 points by an East Hall defense that also forced 14 turnovers.
DAWSON COUNTY GIRLS 68,
EAST HALL 53
The Lady Tigers used a hot shooting hand coupled with a cold night night from the floor for East Hall in taking a big region win at home.
Dawson County trailed just once in the first, 8-7 following an Ivey Shadburn basket late in the first quarter, and then took control in the second quarter.
The Lady Tigers outscored East Hall 23-10 in the period to run out to a 32-18 halftime lead. Dawson County got hot from the field going 9-of-12 in the second quarter while the Lady Vikings were cold most of the half shooting just 6-of-25 in the opening 16 minutes.
Things did not change after the intermission as the Lady Tigers (13-10, 5-6 Region 7-AAA) hit 10 of their first 18 shots in the second half while East Hall (13-11, 6-5) was just 5-of-21 during the same stretch. Dawson County opened up a 53-29 lead after the third quarter and led by as many 28 in the fourth quarter.
Dawson County coach Steve Sweat, whose team has battled injuries and endured several lineup changes during the season, said that was the kind of game they have been looking for.
“That was one of our best games of the season for sure,” Sweat said. “We found some combinations we like, shot the ball well, and took advantage of some things that (East Hall) gave us.”
Dawson County double- and triple-teamed East Hall’s Carly Winters holding the senior sharp-shooter to just 3 points on one field goal and no 3-pointers in the first half. She finished with 15 points but never found a rhythm. Shadburn finished with 13 points off the bench for the Lady Vikings.
Meanwhile, the Lady Tigers got balanced scoring Kaylee Sticker poured in 7 points and Abi Chatham and Calli Watson each had 13 points.
The loss for East Hall (13-11, 6-5 Region 7-AAA) creates a logjam for second place in the region. The No. 2 seed will play host to the first round of the region tournament next week.
The Lady Vikings are now tied with Union County (15-8, 6-5) and the Lady Panthers swept the season series against East Hall. But North Hall (11-11, 5-5) is just a half-game back and plays Fannin County on Thursday and could create a three-way tie with one game left. The Lady Trojans swept Union County but were swept by East Hall.
