RABBITTOWN — East Hall rallied from an 8-point halftime deficit and then held on in the final minute to beat Chestatee 65-63 in a key Region 8-4A game at home on Tuesday.
The win for the Vikings (16-5, 5-4 Region 8-4A) was their third straight and kept them in third place in the standings.
East Hall came out hot opening the game with a 15-4 run. But the War Eagles (9-12, 1-7 Region 8-4A) answered with a 26-7 run into the second quarter and took a 30-22 lead into halftime.
The Vikings reclaimed the lead late in the third quarter after a 20-10 spurt. East Hall maintained a lead the rest of the way but Chestatee cut the lead to the final score in the waning seconds and had the ball with a chance to tie or win it. But an inbounds pass went askew and the Vikings held on for the victory.
East Hall maintained its lead at the free-throw line hitting 13-of-18 for the game and 5-of-7 in the final minute.
Christian Torres led East Hall with 21 points, 16 coming in the second-half surge. Luke Barton had another big game with 18 points, Levi Holtzlaw added 12 points and Clete Cooper 10 for the Vikings.
Chestatee was paced by 24 points from Colton Wilbanks. Hugh Pruitt added 13 for the War Eagles, who saw their two-game win streak snapped with the loss.
NORTH HALL 79,
LUMPKIN COUNTY 72
The Trojans used a monster third quarter to rally from a halftime deficit then held off a furious Indinas rally in a big Region 7-3A matchup for both teams.
Robert Terry poured in 11 of his 22 points in the third to help North Hall (18-4, 9-2 Region 7-3A) erase a 35-34 Lumpkin lead at the half. The Trojans led 64-47 after the explosion and looked in control. But the Indians (7-14, 4-7 Region 7-3A) stormd back in the fourth quarter.
The Indians ralled back to within 75-72 with 1:20 left and had a 3-pointer rim in-and-out that would have tied the gam. North Hall put the game away in the final minute at the free throw line.
Luke Sanders had 15 points and Elijah Gaddy added 13 points for North Hall, who hit nine 3-pointers for the game.
Freshman Cal Faukner had 28 points 4 rebounds, and 4 assists to lead Lumpkin County. Faulkner has scored 73 points (24.1 points/game) in his last three region games. Junior Hunter Cooper with a double-double 14 points and 11 rebounds, and senior Jones Harris also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Indians.
WEST HALL 80,
EAST FORSYTH 68
The Spartans got back on the winning track with a solid road win in Region 7-3A action.
West Hall (6-15, 3-8 Region 7-3A) had four players in double figures. Owen Jenkins led the way, pouring in 19 points while Stephen Clark had 14 points for the Spartans. Calvin Norman added 13 points and Isaiah Holder 11 points for West Hall.
Matthew Rouse led East Forsyth (7-15, 3-8 Region 7-3A) with a game-high 26 points. Davy Jhyams had 10 points for the Broncos.
JEFFERSON 78,
FLOWERY BRANCH 38
The Class 4A fifth-ranked Dragons maintained its lead in Region 8-4A after a blowout win over the Falcons on Tuesday at The Arena.
Jefferson (18-2, 8-1 Region 8-4A) opened the game with a 25-8 run, powered by 11 points from Dalen Gales, including three 3-pointers. The Dragons continued the offensive attack in the second quarter running out to a 45-17 halftime lead.
For the Falcons (11-11, 3-6 Region 8-4A) it was their fourth loss in a row and dropped them into sixth place in the standings.
Gales finished with 24 points to lead Jefferson. JT Fulkrod had 15 points and Kadin Bailey 10 for the Dragons.
Tyleek Worth paced Branch with 14 points. Trey Shaw added 12 for the Falcons.
DENMARK 58,
GAINESVILLE 49
Everything was looking up for the Red Elephants (5-14, 1-8 Region 6-7A) at halftime. Then the second half started.
After leading by 12 in the first half, up 28-19 at the half, Denmark (10-11, 4-4 Region 6-7A)rallied past Gainesville at home on Tuesday.
Denmark outscored Gainesville 39-21 in the second half, 20-10 in the third quarter to take a 39-38 lead. In the fourth, the Danes upped their lead, 49-41 with 5:45 to go, and 55-44 with less than a minute remaining.
The Danes had four in double digits. Stefan John Davidov led the Danes with 18 points, while Kourtland Tolbert had 14. Avery Barnett and Maksim Vinogradav had 10 points each.
Chamarion Bush led Gainesville with 15 points. Charlie Reisman was second-best with 10.
RABUN COUNTY 74,
BANKS COUNTY 57
The Class 2A eighth-ranked Wildcats used a huge first half run to take control en route to a Region 8-2A win on the road.
Rabun County (15-5, 3-0 Region 8-2A) opened the game with an 18-7 first quarter run and extended the lead to 33-14 by halftime.The Wildcats took a 57-29 lead into the fourth quarter and led by as many as 29 before both teams put in the reserves.
Connor McKay had double-double to pace Rabn County with 30 points and 14 rebounds and added 4 assists and 2 blocks as well. Gus Hood had 12 points and 5 assists, and Grayson Carver scored 17 points, including five 3-pointers, and added 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Clayton Dixon had a solid all-around game with 6 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 6 steals for Rabun County.
WALNUT GROVE 100,
JOHNSON 15
Walnut Grove was well in control after the opening period, up 30-2, en route to the blowout win over the undermanned Knights on Tuesday.
