GAINESVILLE — Gainesville senior guard Brent Kelly’s smile could have said it all. But his one-word answer sealed what most everyone in red in the Gainesville gym was already thinking: “Finally!”
Kelly was instrumental in helping the Red Elephants erase two-years worth of frustration at the hands of Langston Hughes Saturday night scoring 17 points, including four 3-pointers, as they knocked off the two-time defending Class 6A state champions 73-69 at a raucous Gainesville gym.
“I’m just happy for the seniors and the team and everybody. A great feeling,” said Kelly, who was the only member of the current roster to suffer through a gut-wrenching loss in last year’s state championship game and an overtime loss to the Panthers two years ago on the same floor as Saturday.
The game was similar to the previous two meetings with Gainesville (19-9) controlling the game for most of the first half, leading Hughes 20-17 after the opening period and 38-31 at halftime.
The third quarter was the issue in the two losses and it reared its head again on Saturday as the Panthers (16-13) closed out the third with an 11-0 run to take their first lead at 54-52. They forced five Gainesville turnovers for 9 points over the final 1:53 to erase a 52-43 deficit.
Senior Tyrel Morgan and junior Patrick Carter were the instigators combining for 14 of their next 16 points, highlighted by a pair of Carter 3-pointers and capped by two Morgan free throws for a 59-56 lead early in the final period.
This time, however, the Red Elephants responded in the fourth quarter as Maurice Hector hit a pair of huge 3-pointers, his second tied the game at 59, and then he turned it over to Rafael Rubel and Kelly, who combined to hit 9-of-10 free throws for a 68-65 lead with 57 seconds left. Twice Hughes pulled within a basket but each time Gainesville answered as Rubel converted on fastbreak baskets breaking the Panthers’ press, the final one coming with 3 seconds left to seal the game.
“We weathered that storm and just tried to stay focused,” Kelly said. “We know free throws have been a problem sometimes so we just tried to stay focused on those as well.”
“We did the little things offensively and defensively necessary to win the game,” Gainesville coach Chuck Graham said. “We hit free throws, which our recent history has been a problem, but the big key was that we rebounded the ball well against a taller team.
“Maurice hit those two dagger 3-pointers but that’s his role on this team and he came through. We had a few rough spots but Hughes is a great team so you know you’re going to have to overcome those things.”
Graham also couldn’t contain a smile when asked about breaking the Hughes jinx.
“It feels great for the guys, the school, the fans, to finally put this behind us,” he said.
Gainesville will now turn its attention to Cambridge, an 80-65 winner over Creekview, in the second round. The Red Elephants will travel to Milton for a 7 p.m. tip on Thursday.
“We’ll enjoy this for a little bit but it’s back to work on Monday,” Graham said. “But I like our team on the road so we’ll be ready.”
The Red Elephants are 6-5 in true road games but they’ve won 4 of their last 5 road contests, with the only loss a 78-77 loss to Lanier in overtime.
Against Hughes, the Red Elephants never trailed until late in the third quarter.
Rubel, who finished with 19 points, including 9 in the fourth quarter, opened the game with a 3-pointer and Kelly capped a quick 8-2 run with another trey just over a minute into the game. The Panthers got as close as 10-8 midway through the first quarter and 20-17 at the end of the period.
Gainesville exploded to open the second quarter with a 10-2 run as Eli Pitts and Julio Santana hit 3-pointers and a basket by Markuis Scott gave the Red Elephants a 30-19 lead. Hughes answered again, however, with a 10-3 spurt to get within 33-29 with 1:18 left in the half. A three-point play by Jordan Williams and a basket by Santana in the final 45 seconds pushed Gainesville’s lead to 38-31 by halftime.
The contrasting styles was on display as the defensive quickness of the Red Elephants produced 13 Hughes turnovers and Gainesville hit 12 3-pointers to just 4 for the Panthers. But the height of Hughes helped them get to the foul line 12 times for 9 points in the first half. They were just 7-for-11 in the second half.
Meanwhile, Gainesville was 11-for-14 from the line in the fourth quarter alone.
Morgan finished with a game-high 27 points in his final high school game and Carter had 15 points.
SATURDAY'S FIRST ROUND BOYS SCORES
(Except where otherwise noted)
(Area teams in bold)
Class 6A
Gainesville 73, Langston Hughes 69
Class 4A
West Hall 76, Southeast Whitfield 75
Class 3A
Calhoun 76, East Hall 60
Dawson County 58, Ringgold 27
Jefferson girls 53, Cedar Grove 40
North Murray 61, Lumpkin County 40
Westminster 53, Jefferson boys 50
Class 2A
Bremen 51, Rabun County 47
Callaway 86, Banks County 83 OT
SECOND ROUND MATCHUPS
(Area teams in bold)
Class 6A
Gainesville boys at Cambridge, 7 p.m. Thursday
Class 5A
Carrollton girls at Buford, TBA
Villa Rica boys at Buford, TBA
Class 4A
St. Pius girls at Flowery Branch, TBA
West Hall boys at Cartersville, TBA
Class 3A
Dawson County girls at Lovett, TBA
Jefferson girls at Greater Atlanta Christian
North Hall girls at Hart County, TBA
Westminster boys at Dawson County, TBA
Class 2A
Banks County girls at Douglas-Atlanta, TBA
Chattoga girls at Rabun County, TBA
Class A Private
Darlington girls at Lakeview Academy, TBA
North Cobb Christian boys at Lakeview Academy, TBA
Walker boys at Riverside Military Academy, TBA
Class A Public
Towns County girls at Calhoun County, TBA
