CARNESVILLE — Franklin County outscored Gainesville 29-17 in the second and third quarters to blow open a close game en route to a 66-52 win over the Red Elephants at the Franklin County gym on Thursday.
It was the seventh-straight loss for the injury-depleted Red Elephants (2-8), who have been without starting point guard Dre Raven for the past two weeks.
It was a close affair early as the Lions (5-5) led just 21-18. But the Gainesville offense sputtered the next two quarters as Franklin ran to a 50-35 lead heading into the final period.
The Red Elephants outscored Franklin 17-16 but could not get any closer.
Franklin County was led by David Witcher with 21 points, 14 in the second half. Keylan Rutledge had 18 points and Cam Maxwell had 15 for the Lions.
Chamarion Bush paced Gainesville with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Julius Jackson and Ellis Pitts each had points, while Charlie Resiman was held to just 6 points on a pair of 3-pointers.
Gainesville will be back in action on Monday against Southwest Atlanta Christian in a pre-Christmas tournament.
