GAINESVILLE — "When you look over and see their starting point guard cramping, you know you're making the most of your depth."
Gainesville boys basketball coach Benjie Wood knows nothing will be easy from here on out, but the Red Elephants' suffocating pressure defense and frenetic offensive pace ended up making it look that way on Wednesday as they ran past Alexander for a 82-57 victory in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs in Gainesville.
The win carried the Red Elephants (22-6) back into the state quarterfinals for a second straight season, where they await the winner of Richmond Hill vs. Lakeside, Evans.
"The farther you go the harder it's going to get, and we played a tough team tonight," Wood continued. "I'm proud of my guys for keeping their composure and pecking away."
The Red Elephants made the Cougars work for just about everything on Wednesday, rotating wave after wave of fresh legs onto the court until Alexander wilted in the second half after trailing 36-23 at the interval.
"We certainly don't wish for injury to anyone, but the way we're able to play causes some attrition, and we feel like our depth can wear people down," Wood said.
Gainesville tested Alexander's resolve in the first half, turning up the heat to force 16 of the Cougars' 26 turnovers and embarking on a 16-3 run that yielded a 26-10 Red Elephants advantage. But Alexander drained a pair of 3-pointers to halt the runaway and claw back into the contest.
It was only temporary, however, and Gainesville continued to tighten its grip in the third quarter, extending its advantage to 19 points before Alexander made one final push. Trailing 64-45 with almost seven minutes remaining Alexander's Corey Smith scored five straight points, including a three-point play to close within 66-52 -- only to watch Gainesville's Xavier Bledson respond with five straight of his own, including a three-point play that restored a 19-point advantage and set the Red Elephants cruising to the quarterfinals.
Jarrell Rosser paced Gainesville with 16 points, while KJ Buffen scored 14 and Ka'Juan Hale added 12. Bledson also finished with 10 and Bailey Minor 8.
"Our guys are locked in right now; they want to win a state title, and they know that to do that they have to be unselfish," said Wood, who watched his team dish out 14 assists on the night.
Gainesville also shot 20 of 24 from the free throw line to help its own cause while also out-rebounding the Cougars 27-17.
The Red Elephants' work on the glass was aided by a determination to challenge Alexander forward Brady Spence. And while the rangy, 6-foot-8 junior made his presence felt with a pair of first quarter blocks, he was also saddled with two early fouls that sent him to the bench for much of the half.
"(Spence) might be leading the state in blocks, but you can't fade away against a shot blocker, so we decided to attack and go right at him," Wood said. "I thought KJ (Buffen) did a great job in the first half of really attacking him."
Gainesville started to distance itself late in the first quarter, as Hale converted a three-point play to take a 13-7 advantage. Bledson kept the momentum going with a 3-pointer and then a steal and lay-up for a 16-point advantage early in the second quarter. It wasn't all Red Elephants from there; Chris'shaun Lunsford's 3-pointer with 4:20 left in the half pulled the visitors within 29-18. But the Cougars pulled no closer than nine points and never trimmed the deficit below double digits in the second half.
Sidnie White led Alexander with 16 points, while Jaylon Brown scored 12 (all in the second half), and Lunsford added 11.
Gainesville must await the Richmond Hill-Lakeside game on Thursday to determine when it will play in the quarterfinals -- Tuesday or Wednesday.
