DAWSONVILLE – TJ Campbell and Cam Cheeks helped the East Hall Vikings to their 10th-straight state playoff appearance.
The Vikings (12-13) rallied to eliminate Cherokee Bluff 64-63 Wednesday night in the first round of the Region 7-3A tournament, extending their 43-year record in state tournament qualifier games to 42-1.
East Hall will play Greater Atlanta Christian for a trip to the title game Friday night at North Hall. Tip is 8:30 p.m.
Campbell scored 10 of his 23 points from the foul line and 9 from the 3-point line in the win. Cam Cheeks added 12 points and Mon Prather chipped in 10.
"TJ was huge for us - his free throws, he shot the ball well and played good defense," East Hall coach Seth Thompson said. "Defensively, we did so much to get this win - Kylan (Curry) did great tonight and (Clete) Cooper took a couple charges. It took so much for us to get this win tonight. I'm tickled to death – real pleased."
Griffin Neville dropped a game-high 30 points for the Bears (15-11).
After going down 26-17 at the end of the first quarter, Campbell guided a 23-10 spurt in the second to give the Vikings a 40-36 lead with 55 seconds to go in the first half. Campbell scored eight-straight points, including a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
Later in the second half, Neville's 3-point bucket with 5:37 left in the game rallied the Bears back to the lead, 56-53, but Prather answered the Bear basket with a 3-pointer a minute later, tying the game at 56.
The two teams traded the lead for the next minute when Campbell stepped up to take the charge. Campbell traded the Bears' offensive foul for a deuce to swing the lead in East Hall's favor, 61-60 with a minute left.
Corey Thomas hit two foul shots eight seconds later to push the Bears back to a short-lived advantage, 62-61. Campbell, however, played spoiler again with 17 seconds left stroking a jumper to give the Vikings the lead for good 64-62. The Bears had a chance to tie the game from the foul line with 2.5 seconds to go but only hit 1-of-2 shots.
"It's a huge win for us with the up and down season we've had," Thompson said. "It's so special for us - for East Hall."
LUMPKIN COUNTY 42
NORTH HALL 39
The No. 6 seeded Indians held on to upset No. 3 seed North Hall Wednesday night in the first round of the Region 7-3A tournament.
Matt Seabolt scored 11 points and was 9-for-10 from the foul line to lead the Indians (8-18). Gus Faulkner added 9 points.
“I was so proud,” Lumpkin coach Jeff Steele said. “We’ve been through so much this year and for us to get to go to state. I told them before the game we’re better now than we’ve been all year and that’s the time we want to be the best when it’s tournament time.”
Ty Smith led the Trojans (11-14) with 10 points.
“It’s not the way we wanted to end the season,” North Hall coach Tyler Sanders said. “Lumpkin did a good job tonight. We never could get over the hump tonight.”
Lumpkin will play Dawson County Friday at North Hall. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
Lumpkin pushed its lead up to 14 twice in the third quarter, 26-14 with 2:48 left and 28-18 with seconds remaining, but Brock Cooper sparked a Trojan run that extended into the fourth quarter with a long 3-pointer horn. The momentum swing fueled the Trojans final-period comeback, eventually tying the game 36-36 with 35 seconds left.
A late Trojan turnover with 8.5 seconds left gave Lumpkin the ball and forced North Hall to foul. Gus Faulkner’s two free throws lifted Lumpkin to a 40-36 lead with 7.3 seconds left, but JT Fair’s long 3-pointer provided the Trojans some hope until two Indian foul shots and a Jacob Cumbie steal sealed the Indian win.
DAWSON COUNTY 81
FANNIN COUNTY 38
The No. 2 seed Tigers (22-4) strolled past the No. 7 seeded Rebels Wednesday night in the first round of the Region 7-3A tournament.
Eli Burruss scored 15 points and Luke Chism had 13 to lead the Tigers. Jasper Gibson hit for 12 points in the win.
"I was proud of the energy and intensity that we brought tonight," Dawson coach Chad Pittman said. "I was just really proud of the guys because a lot of the higher seeds played tense and it gave other teams opportunities, so I was glad we came and played from the tip and didn't mess around."
Joel Kinser led the Fannin with 11 points.
Dawson outpaced the Rebels 20-1 in the first quarter and led 48-10 at the half.
The Tigers will play No. 6 seed Lumpkin County Friday at North Hall. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
