FLOWERY BRANCH — Cherokee Bluff clinched a Class 3A state playoff berth with a big 76-63 win over Dawson County on Tuesday at home.
The two teams came in tied for second in Region 7-3A behind White County, which already has clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Region 7-3A tournament. The top two seeds earn first-round byes and automatic state playoff berths.
Dawson County (17-7, 8-3 Region 7-3A) had its six-game win streak snapped with the loss but still will take the No. 3 seed into the tournament.
The Tigers led early, taking a 15-13 lead after the first quarter. But the Bears (14-10, 9-2 Region 7-3A) exploded for a 24-14 second-quarter run to grab the lead and go into halftime with a 37-29 advantage.
The teams played to a standstill in the third quarter and Bluff outscored Dawson County 20-15 in the fourth quarter to pull away.
Dre Raven led four Bluff players in double figures with 18 points. Corey Thomas poured in 15 points and Shad Dabney and Cade Simmons each had 14 points for the Bears.
Jake Craft scored a game-high 21 points to lead Dawson County. Jaden Gibson had 15 and Tyler Lane 10 points for the Tigers.
SOUTH FORSYTH 67,
GAINESVILLE 51
The Red Elephants had their five-game win streak snapped and lost a golden opportunity to climb into a first-place tie in Region 6-7A with a lackluster performance on the road in a battle of top 10 teams.
No. 10 Gainesville (15-7, 6-3 Region 6-7A) never led against the seventh-ranked War Eagles (18-3, 8-1 Region 6-7A) and dropped into third place behind Denmark in the standings.
The game was tight early when Eli Pitts scored for the Red Elephants to make it 6-4. But South Forsyth answered with a 9-2 spurt for a 15-6 lead and Gainesville never got closer than six the rest of the way.
The War Eagles, who have now won 11 straight, led 18-9 after the first quarter and opened up a 37-21 halftime lead. Gainesville managed to get within 10 early in the third quarter but a 13-3 South Forsyth run to end the period gave the War Eagles a 58-36 advantage.
Pitts led Gainesville with 20 points but leading scorer Robert Reisman was limited with an ankle injury and had just 8 points. Ced Nicely and Dylan Bobga each had 9 points for the Red Elephants.
ST. FRANCIS 67,
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 52
Lakeview saw its two-game Region 6-A Private win streak come to an end against the defending state champion Knights.
St. Francis (4-8, 4-5 Region 6-A Private) could not shake the Lions leading just 15-11 after the first quarter. Lakeview (13-6, 8-4 Region 6-A Private) was in a solid position trailing just 34-29 at halftime.
But the Knights outscored Lakeview 17-10 in the third quarter to open up a 51-39 lead and the Lions could not close the gap.
Declan Weidner paced Lakeview with 17 points. Conley- Millwood added 13 points and Ben Montgomery had 8 points for the Lions.
Lakeview next will travel to fifth-ranked Mt. Pisgah on Friday in another big region showdown.
