GAINESVILLE — The North Hall boys held off a fierce attack from Dawson County to get the win, 63-58, at Lynn Cottrell Court on Friday.
It was an insurance win for the Trojans (19-4, 10-2 Region 7-3A) with two games left in the regular season against Gilmer and East Forsyth to remain in second in the Region 7-3A standings. If the Trojans would have lost the game, they would only be a game out of third place heading to Ellijay on Tuesday.
As for the Tigers (4-19, 3-9 Region 7-3A), they remain in a tie with West Hall with a pending showdown in Dawsonville against Cherokee Bluff on Tuesday and a big game against West Hall on Friday.
Regardless of the standings, the struggling Tigers rolled into North Hall with upset on the mind and almost came away with it. But thanks to Edward Doig's 18 points, including a massive trey with 1:03 to go to break the 56-56 tie and go up 59-56. He also hit one of two foul shots to push the lead up four points with 37 seconds to go.
The Tigers got key play out of Caden Reed, whose 2-point bucket set the Tigers on a 6-2 run to close the Trojans' lead to 44-42 off a Trey Harvey basket with 3:04 to go in the third. Later in the fourth quarter, the pair would rally the Tigers to the lead again on back-to-back shots. Harvey's score midway through the final period gave the Tigers a 53-52 advantage.
Robert Terry, who led the Trojans with 21 points, gave the Trojans back the lead on the next trip, but Dawson answered to grab the lead, 55-54. It was the final time the Tigers would lead.
Terry, again, hit two foul shots to push the Trojans in front 56-55, but Luke Mulberry answered back on one of two free throws to tie the game, 56-56, with just more than a minute remaining.
Reed led the Tigers with 14 points, while Mulberry had 12. Elijah Gaddy added 15 points for the Trojans.
JEFFERSON 70,
CHESTATEE 51
The fifth-ranked Jefferson boys rolled past Chestatee on the road at the Lynn Cottrell Complex on Friday.
JT Fulkrod and Kaden Bailey combined for 37 points in the Region 8-4A win. Dalen Gales added 11.
Fulkrod had 19, and Bailey hit for 18 points.
The Dragons (19-2, 9-1 Region 8-4A) jumped out to a 22-11 lead after the opening eight minutes of play. Bailey and Fulkrod accounted for 13 of the 22 points.
Jefferson's defense in the second quarter smothered the War Eagles (9-13, 1-8 Region 8-4A), holding them to just five points while taking a 38-16 halftime lead.
But the War Eagles didn't fold up the tent, outscoring Jefferson 20-11 in the third period to close the gap, 49-36. Colton Wilbanks had seven points in the quarter and led all scorers with 26 points. Jarvis Weaver also helped out in the third quarter with six points, and Hugh Pruitt had five. Weaver finished with 12 points, while Pruitt ended with five points.
Jefferson won the fourth quarter, 21-15, to seal the win.
The Dragons remain atop the region standings one game ahead of Madison County.
ST. FRANCIS 51,
LAKEVIEW 40
Harrison Cooper scored 15 points to lead the Lakeview boys in the 51-40 loss to St. Francis on Friday.
The Lions were tied with St. Francis, 23-23, at the half but was outscored 18-7 in the third quarter to fall behind, 41-30, and couldn't recover in the fourth quarter.
Liam Weidner added 9 points for Lakeview (7-13, 4-7 Region 6-A Private.
The loss leaves the Lions in fifth place in the region standings.
APALACHEE 72
JOHNSON 15
Apalachee's Tavion Brooks led the Wildcats to the 72-15 win over Johnson (1-20, 0-10 Region 8-5A) at home on Friday.
Brooks scored 13 points as Apalachee outpaced Johnson, 26-4 in the first quarter and 24-4 in the second.
Demetri Moon led the Knights with 5 points.
CHEROKEE BLUFF 81,
LUMPKIN COUNTY 66
Carlos Marlow scored 22 points to lead the Bears (11-11, 6-6 Region 7-3A) past Lumpkin County in a big Region 7-3A road win on Friday.
The Bears needed the win to stay ahead of the Indians in the region standings. Bluff is now two games ahead of Lumpkin County (7-15, 4-8 Region 7-3A).
Cade Simmons added 15 points, while Underwood had 11. Jones Harris scored 22 points and pulled four rebounds to lead the Indians in the loss.
Gus Faulkner added 15 points, four rebounds and three assists for Lumpkin County.
COMMERCE 70,
LINCOLN COUNTY 52
Jackson Morris scored a career-high 37 points, while Cayden Lord added 18 points to lead the Tigers (8-11, 5-3 Region 8A) past Lincoln County on Friday.
WHITE COUNTY 61,
WEST HALL 49
The Warriors (15-7, 11-1 Region 7-3A) ran their win streak to 8 with a region win at home on Friday.
White County (15-7, 11-1 Region 7-3A) held West Hall (7-16, 3-9 Region 7-3A) to just 12 points in the first half building a 22-12 lead. The Spartans closed to within 42-34 by the end of the third quarter cut the lead to 44-40early in the fourth.
But the Warriors closed out the game on a 17-9 run to pull away.
Jadon Yeh paced White County with 21 points, 14 in the second half. Silas Mulligan added 13 points for the Warriors.
Andrew Malin led West Hall with 13 points. Owen Jenkins had 10 points and Isaiah Holder and Stephen Clark each chipped in with 7 points apiece.
