FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — After the first quarter, North Hall's defense went to work en route to a 73-55 win on the road Friday.
The win leaves the Trojans (15-3, 7-1 Region 7-3A) tied with White County for the top spot in the region.
The Trojans led 17-14 after the opening frame then held the Bears (7-10, 3-5 Region 7-3A) to 20 points over the next two quarters to grab a 55-34 advantage.
Robert Terry was key in the offensive surge as he scored 16 points in the second and third quarters. He had a game-high 27 points. Sam Gailey added 15 for the Trojans.
The Bears finished strong, offensively, outpacing North Hall 21-18 in the final period.
Carlos Marlow, who was a perfect 12-of-12 from the foul line, was the high scorer for the Bears with 18 points.
JEFFERSON 61,
NORTH OCONEE 42
JT Fulkrod scored 18 points and Riley Holliman added 9 in the fifth-ranked Dragons (16-1, 6-0 Region 8-4A) win over North Oconee (11-7, 2-4 Region 8-4A) on Friday at The Arena.
The win keeps the Dragons one game ahead of Madison County in the standings. Madison knocked off East Hall, 57-45, to remain in second place. Jefferson travels to Madison County on Tuesday.
GILMER 54,
WEST HALL 51
The Spartans (5-12, 2-6 Region 7-3A) could not hold a halftime lead in a tough loss to the Bobcats on Friday night in region play.
West Hall led 34-28 at halftime but was held to just 20 second half points. The game was tied at 44 going into the fourth quarter after Gilmer (13-5, 5-3 Region 7-3A) hit a 74-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Bobcats outscored the Spartans 10-7 in the final period.
West Hall was led by Owen Jenkins with 19 points. Xavier Felix added 17 points and Stephen Clark had 7 points for the Spartans.
Gilmer was paced by 17 points from Lewis Mulkey. Ethan Banks had 11 points for the Bobcats.
RABUN GAP 73,
RABUN COUNTY 66
The Wildcats (13-5) cut Rabun Gap's lead to five points with less than 3 minutes and missed three good looks on consecutive trips down the floor in the non-region loss to Rabun Gap on Friday at home.
Connor McKay had a game-high 35 points. He also pulled eight rebounds, dished out five assists and grabbed two steals. Gus Hood and Bear Old added 13 points each. Hood also had six rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Old ended the night with two boards and two assists.
Nate Brafford led Rabun Gap with 30 points, while Theo Antinori had 10.
JACKSON COUNTY 67,
JOHNSON 50
The Knights struggled in two quarters in the loss to Jackson County on Friday.
Johnson was outscored 14-8 in the first and 15-8 in the third. In the second and fourth quarters, the Knights found the rhythm on offense, losing the second by three, 18-15, and winning the fourth, 19-18.
Alex Flores led the Knights with 13 points. Jaiden Riley added 12, and Jake Shaw chipped in 9.
CEDAR SHOALS 62,
CHESTATEE 43
Colton Wilbanks scored 18 points to lead the War Eagles (7-11, 0-6 Region 8-4A) in the loss to Cedar Shoals (5-8, 3-2 Region 8-4A) on the road Friday. Josh Bull and Peyton Phillips added 8 each.
EAST FORSYTH 73,
LUMPKIN COUNTY 55
Jones Harris and Cal Faulkner scored 14 points each to lead the Indians (6-12, 3-5 Region 7-3A) in the loss to East Forsyth (6-12, 3-5 Region 7-3A) on the road Friday.
Preston Cox scored his first career varsity double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Jack Carroll added 10 points.
Bryce Bracco led the Broncos with 17 points, while Davey Hyams had 16 points, Matthew Rouse with 14, and Cannon Hunter with 10 points. The win lifted the Broncos into a tie with Lumpkin County and Cherokee Bluff for fourth place in the region standings.
LAMBERT 77,
GAINESVILLE 50
After the first quarter, Lambert (12-7, 4-2 Region 6-7A) went on a 20-2 run that included five Gainesville (5-12, 1-5 Region 6-7A) turnovers in a two-minute span to blow open the game at home on Friday.
Niko Wilson, who was a hand full for Gainesville all night, and Tommy Morris both swished 3-pointers down late in the first half to push the Longhorns ahead, 34-15, and by the end of the half, James Tyre's 3-pointer extended the lead 41-25.
Wilson led the Longhorns with 22 points, while Tyre had 16.
Charlie Reisman led Gainesville with 14 points.
The second half was much of the same as the Longhorns poured it on in the third, outscoring the Red Elephants 31-10 to take a 56-35 advantage. The 30-point lead invoked the mercy rule in the fourth quarter (6-minute quarter) as Lambert rolled to the blowout win.
SOUTH FORSYTH 40,
NORTH FORSYTH 37
Ethan Underwood scored 19 points and surpassed the 1,000-career-point mark to lead the War Eagles (10-9, 4-2 Region 6-7A) past North Forsyth (8-10, 2-4 Region 6-7A) at Raider Arena on Friday.
The War Eagles led 24-20 at the half and 34-29 after the third. North Forsyth went on a 9-0 run in the third to cut the lead to five points but couldn't get past the War Eagles in the fourth.
Cole Kirouac led the Raiders with 12 points, 10 in the first half, and Aidan Kudlass chipped in 9.
