GAINESVILLE — The 2018 Lanierland Tournament, at least on paper, could be one of the best in its 59th edition.
The three-day event gets under way Thursday with a full slate of games beginning at 9:30 a.m. at Chestatee High School. Friday's and Saturday's action will move to West Hall High School with the semifinal rounds slated to begin at 3 p.m.
Both the boys and girls sides offer nearly every team with a chance to grab the title. The tournament in recent years has been dominated by the Gainesville boys, who have won two straight titles, and the Flowery Branch girls, who have captured three in a row.
While the Lady Falcons (8-3) come into the 2018 tournament as the favorites once again, this could be the toughest field they have faced during their current run of titles. A rejuvenated Gainesville squad (6-4) has shown tremendous early progress over last season’s 8-win campaign while both North Hall and Lakeview Academy share 9-3 records, the most wins of any teams coming into the tournament. The Lady Trojans also own a win over ranked Dawson County.
Chestatee (7-7), Cherokee Bluff (7-6), East Hall (6-8), and West Hall (4-7) all have shown they are capable of competing with anyone. The Lady Vikings, who finished second in 2017, come in having won 5 of their last 8 after a slow start.
All four opening round matchups for the girls offer some intrigue. The Lady Falcons face Cherokee Bluff, who is coached by former Branch assistant Lindsay Justice.
Region 7-4A foes Chestatee and West Hall square off with the Lady War Eagles owning a 12-point win over the Lady Spartans two weeks ago. Lakeview and North Hall meet in the first round while an always entertaining Gainesville and East Hall showdown is on tap in the opening round as well.
For the boys, the Red Elephants (5-7) returned just three players from last year’s state championship game run and are still looking for their groove under new coach Chuck Graham. They will face a tough, and interesting, opener against newcomer Cherokee Bluff (8-5) which is being guided by former Gainesville coach Benjie Wood. The Bears come in with the most wins in field.
Lakeview Academy (7-4) has played a tough schedule and already has wins over Class 5A Starr’s Mill, Class 7A North Forsyth, and Region 7-4A teams Flowery Branch and White County.
East Hall (7-6) also has played a tough schedule, including three losses in last week’s Carolina Forest tournament, two by just three total points. The Vikings, who finished second in 2017, however, own wins over North Hall (4-9) and Cherokee Bluff in Region 7-3A play.
Johnson (5-5) will open against East Hall and the Knights sport a new coach in Brandon Pickell, who has them competitive. Two of their losses have been by three points or less.
A young West Hall (2-9) team has struggled but the Spartans have one of the best players in the field in Noah Edmondson. They face a tough opener, however, against Lakeview.
Flowery Branch (1-10) is rebuilding under first-year coach Chezley Watson and has faced a tough schedule as well with five of its losses coming to ranked teams. The Falcons open against North Hall (4-9).
The Trojans are much better than their record with three losses by just five total points and another in overtime to East Hall.
Thursday, Dec. 27
(Seeds in parenthesis)
Chestatee girls (5) vs. West Hall (4), 9:30 a.m.
West Hall boys (5) vs. Lakeview Academy (4), 11 a.m.
Lakeview Academy girls (6) vs. North Hall (3), 12:30 p.m.
North Hall boys (6) vs. Flowery Branch (3), 2 p.m.
Gainesville girls (7) vs. East Hall (2), 3:30 p.m.
Johnson boys (7) vs. East Hall (2), 5 p.m.
Cherokee Bluff girls (9) vs. Flowery Branch (1), 6:30 p.m.
Cherokee Bluff boys (9) vs. Gainesville (1), 8 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 28
Brackets TBD
Saturday, Dec. 28
Brackets TBD
