Thursday March 28th, 2024 11:34AM

Basketball: West Hall boys, Chestatee girls march on, clinch state berths in 7-AAAA tourney

GAINESVILLE — West Hall came into Tuesday's Region 7-AAAA tournament showdown at Chestatee expecting a dogfight.

Instead the Spartans turned it into a track meet, sprinting away early en route to a 77-65 victory that clinched a state playoff berth and moved West Hall into the 7-AAAA semifinals Thursday on its home court.

"This was our fourth game against (Chestatee), and while we won the first one in Lanierland we lost two close ones in region play. But we had leads in both and just didn't execute, so we felt we could be successful if we just executed," Spartans coach Bobby Pless said.

Keyed in from the opening tip, West Hall built an immediate cushion, and while Chestatee closed to within 12-8 midway through the first quarter it was as close as the War Eagles (7-19) could claw, as the Spartans (11-14) edged further ahead before eventually establishing a 20-point second half advantage.

"Everybody contributed tonight offensively, and we never let their perimeter shooters get comfortable," Pless said. "The last couple of times we played they got comfy out there and got in a rhythm."

On Tuesday the rhythm belonged to West Hall's Noah Edmondson, as the guard lit up Chestatee for a game-high 22 points, including six made 3-pointers. His early play proved critical, as he scored 11 1st quarter points, including three treys, as the Spartans took an immediate 8-0 advantage. Chestatee charged back into the game on a pair of Cameron Gwyn treys, but West Hall maintained a 26-19 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Spartans continued to inch away before the half, Edmondson drilling another trey, while Jesse Mallak, Devon Williams and Jeremiah Prather took turns dropping in lay-ups. Meanwhile, the West Hall defense continued its stellar play, forcing 11 first half turnovers from the War Eagles. And as impressive as Edmondson was, the War Eagles could not simply zero in on the guard, as Prather added 15 points and Mallak 10. Braden Martin and Tae Reid also scored nine apiece.

The Spartans kept Chestatee at arm's length throughout the second half. And while Donovan Hernandez did his best to drag the War Eagles level, scoring 12 of his 16 points after the interval, there were simply too many West Hall answers, including a lay-up from Mallak that made it 67-47 with 5:58 to play and a four-point play from Martin to give the Spartans a 71-53 advantage with 4:00 remaining.

"I thought they may pull it close there down the stretch, but our guys did a great job finishing it out," said Pless, whose team will now face 7-AAAA No. 1 seed Blessed Trinity at 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals. "We're just going to have to grind and play tough, but we'll be on our home floor, and we're confident in what we can do."

Nick Lyles also scored 16 points for Chestatee, which saw its season come to an end on Tuesday. Jarrett Gray also scored 11 and Gwynn nine.


CHESTATEE GIRLS 49,
BLESSED TRINITY 27

The Lady War Eagles persevered through a turbulent start to the season and are right back in familiar territory after clinching a state playoff bid on Tuesday on their home court.

"You look at the faces in (the locker room) -- it's been a long year for various reasons -- but they were pumped," said Chestatee coach Chris Guthrie. "I think they expected it though, especially the seniors."

The Lady War Eagles seniors, including leading scorer Lindsey Caudell, who had 11 points on the night, have now reached the playoffs in three of four seasons.

"I don't think they were ever worried about this one -- even if I was," Guthrie said. "They executed the gameplan to perfection and played great defense. And offensively we did enough."

Chestatee moves on to face Marist at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Region 7-AAAA semifinals.

Chestatee left no doubt to its playoff credentials, using a 13-0 run over the end of the first quarter and start of the second to take full control over the Lady Titans. 
Christina Garcia kickstarted the run with her second 3-pointer of the first period, and by the time Maggie McNair scooped in a lay-up with 2:53 remaining in the first half, Chestatee held a 21-6 advantage.

The Lady War Eagles (11-15) stepped up their defense before the half, forcing eight turnovers in the second quarter and out-rebounding Blessed Trinity 6-4 in the quarter after the Lady Titans held the advantage on the boards in the first quarter.

Chestatee continued to press its advantage after the interval, completing a 12-0 run. Lindsey Caudell's lay-in just two minutes into the third quarter yielded a 35-13 lead, and while Blessed Trinity battled to within 42-25 at the start of the fourth quarter Chestatee was in no mood to let the visitors any closer, maintaining a 20-plus-point advantage through most of the remaining eight minutes.

Garcia finished with 10 points, while McNair added eight, as nine different Chestatee players scored.

Jourdyn Crowl scored seven to lead Blessed Trinity.

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