COAL MOUNTAIN, Ga. — The effort was there, but the shots didn't fall as the Lady Red Elephants ended their season in the Region 6-7A tournament with A 45-27 loss to Forsyth Central on Friday.
Gainesville's shooting woes led to a 23-5 halftime deficit, trailing by as many as 23 points in the fourth period in the play-in game at North Forsyth's Raider Arena.
But there were a couple of bright spots for Gainesville in their finale.
In the second, the Lady Red Elephants (8-16) cut the lead to 27-13 powered by a 6-0 run from Kinsleigh Teasley and ZeKe Jones. And in the fourth quarter, Gainesville outpaced Forsyth Central, 7-4, to end the game.
Jones led Gainesville with 11 points, while freshman Julia Payne chipped in seven points.
Jillian Bretz and Taylor Jackson scored 11 points each to lead the Lady Bulldogs.
FORSYTH CENTRAL BOYS 54,
GAINESVILLE 45
Forsyth Central went on a 20-0 run to grab a 22-4 lead in the first half that turned out to be a back-breaker for the Red Elephants on Friday.
Eli Chol -- 6-foot-10, 170 pounds -- scored a game-high 35 points, 18 from the 3-point line to pace the Bulldogs.
He also was instrumental in the offensive explosion in the first and second quarters, scoring 18 points in the first half that helped the Bulldogs to a 29-11 lead at the half.
Gainesville tried to chip away at the Bulldogs' lead in the third quarter, but Chol continued his dominance, scoring 10 points in the quarter. Forsyth Central led 45-26 at the end of the quarter.
In the fourth, the Red Elephants found a rhythm, thanks to Dre Raven, Charlie Reisman, Ellis Pitts and Octavion Demory. Demory hit five straight points to cut the Bulldogs lead to nine points, 49-40 with 3:17 left.
Chol, however, stalled the run with back-to-back baskets to seal the game.
Reisman led Gainesville with 14 points, while Julius Jackson added 10. Raven finished with eight points.
