GAINESVILLE — Benjie Wood knew he didn't need to say much, so he mentioned it and then closed his mouth.
Wood then watched as his players erupted in a veritable primal scream via their play, as the Gainesville boys basketball team crushed Lakeside, Evans 111-66 on Tuesday in the Class 6A quarterfinals.
The victory banished the demons of last season's gut-punch Elite 8 loss to eventual champs Langston Hughes -- a season-long motivating factor -- and set the Red Elephants sailing into Saturday's 6A semifinals at West Georgia in Carrollton.
"We actually had a silent practice earlier today where the coaches said nothing and only the seniors spoke," Wood said. "I said one thing earlier on about it (last year's quarterfinal). But I knew I didn't really need to. They knew what it felt like to come into the locker room and feel like they should have won. And when I saw the look in their eyes before the game tonight, I just told them, 'you got it.' "
What Lakeside got was crushed by a typically-intense Gainesville defensive press and dominant inside game that had the Panthers chasing shadows and doing their best just to stay in the gym.
After falling behing 7-4, the Red Elephants (23-6) ripped the lid off, starting with a 3-pointer from Brent Kelly, a KJ Buffen dunk and then a Xavier Bledson lay-in off a Lakeside turnover. The sharp and precipitous momentum shift ended the first quarter with a 27-15 Gainesville lead. And by the time Bledson drained a 3-pointer with 4:19 remaining in the half, the Red Elephants were already pulling out of sight, 42-21.
"All the seniors came together before the game and said, 'this is our last time playing at home together; let's go out with a bang,' " said Bledson, who finished with a game-high 23 points. "We're all locked in and focused right now. Last year's quarterfinal loss just made us stronger. We didn't want to feel that pain again."
Gainesville's defense ensured that the Panthers (15-13) found success in small spurts only, especially in the first half when the Red Elephants stamped their authority on the contest by forcing 21 turnovers -- they finished with 24 takeaways -- en route to a 62-38 lead at the interval.
When Gainesville wasn't scoring off turnovers it was looking to Buffen inside. The senior forward's height advantage paid off early with 12 of his 18 points coming in the first quarter.
Bledson and Ka'Juan Hale grabbed the offensive reins in the second quarter, with Bledson draining two 3-pointers and scoring 15 points in the period, while Hale put up 11 of his 22 over the eight-miute span in which the Red Elephants put up 35 points.
Gainesville refused to drop its intensity in the third, as Raphael Rubel and Jarrell Rosser scored to extend the lead to 70-40 just minutes into the restart. And Gainesville's deep bench kept up the pace in a six-minute fourth quarter, as reserve players like Jashad Dabney scored seven points. Thirteen Red Elephants scored in all as they turned their sites toward Saturday's Final Four in Carrollton.
"We're taking tomorrow off and just going to scout; we're going to let them decompress," Wood said of his players. "We've seen every defense there is and just about every offense there is, and now we just want to keep them fresh."
Gainesville will play the winner of Wednesday's North Atlanta vs. Heritage, Conyers contest at 4 p.m. Saturday at West Georgia.
Kalen Williams led Lakeside with 22 points, while Tucker Gilbert added 18 and TyShun Briscoe 16.
