CLEVELAND, Ga. — West Hall took advantage of a depleted White County squad in taking a huge 61-42 Region 7-3A win on Friday on the road.
The win moved West Hall (12-10, 6-3 Region 7-3A) just one-half game behind both White County (12-9, 6-2 Region 7-3A) and Wesleyan (14-6, 6-2 Region 7-3A) in the region standings.
The Warriors were playing their second game without leading-scorer and last year’s Region 7-3A Player of the Year, Jadon Yeh. The offense struggled.
The Spartans jumped on White County quickly, running out to a 22-2 lead in the first quarter. White County never recovered.
West Hall, which has now won four straight overall, eventually took a 34-19 lead into halftime. The Spartans, behind Quintavous Reid, extended the lead to 46-28 heading into the fourth and held on for the win.
Reid finished with a game-high 26 points to pace West Hall. Isaiah Holder added 10 points, Owens Jenkins 9 points, and Xavier Felix 8 for the Spartans.
Zach McCoy and Tripp Nix led White County with 9 points each. Noah Futch and Dawson Oliver had 8 points apiece for the Warriors.
Both teams have huge region matchups on Tuesday. West Hall plays host to Wesleyan, while White County will travel to Gilmer.
UNION COUNTY 78,
ATHENS ACADEMY 63
The Panthers remained atop the Region 8-2A standings after taking an impressive win at home on Friday.
Union County (15-7, 6-1 Region 8-2A) led almost the entire way. The Panthers built a 37-29 lead by halftime and blew the game open in the third behind Hayden Hughes.
The sophomore forward poured in 12 of his team-high 25 points in the third quarter as they extended the lead to 61-44 heading into the fourth. Union maintained the lead the rest of the way.
Jade Ellis added 15 points, Houston Henry 11, and Eli Underwood 10 for the Panthers, who have another huge region game on Tuesday, traveling to always-tough Banks County.
Kymel Williams paced Athens Academy with a game-high 30 points. Ben Shar added 11 for the Spartans (13-8, 3-4 Region 8-2A).
NORTH HALL 55,
SECKINGER 50
The Trojans outscored the Jaguars 20-10 in the fourth quarter to rally for their third straight win in a Region 8-4A crossover game at Lynn Cottrell Court.
North Hall (12-10, 4-4 Region 8-4A North) got 17 points from Cole Hulsey to lead the way. Sam Gailey added 11 and JT Chester 10 points for the Trojans.
Seckinger (15-7, 4-3 Region 8-4A South) was led by Akivo Walker with 13 points. IV Redmond added 11 points for the Jaguars.
WINDER-BARROW 65,
FLOWERY BRANCH 54
An 18-9 third-quarter run for the Bulldoggs proved to be the difference in a key Region 8-5A game for both teams.
The Falcons (15-6, 5-4 Region 8-5A) were hoping to inch closer to one of the top three spots but instead dropped their second straight game in the region. They dropped both regular season games to the Bulldoggs.
Winder-Barrow (15-8, 8-2 Region 8-5A) led just 13-11 after the first quarter and took a slim 30-27 lead into halftime. But the big run pushed the Bulldoggs’ lead to 48-36 heading into the fourth, and the Falcons could not recover.
Tyleek Worth poured in 20 points to lead Flowery Branch. Jeremiah Ware added 17 points for the Falcons. But Fe Honors was held to just 2 points.
Jeremiah Holloway paced Winder-Barrow with 24 points, 14 in the second half. Tyrin Sims had 12 points, and Brian Arnold had 10 points for the Bulldoggs.
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 70,
BETHLEHEM CHRISTIAN 61
The Lions led early, lost an 18-point lead to fall behind, then rallied in the fourth quarter to take a GIAA AAAA/AAA District 4 win at home on Friday.
Lakeview (10-11, 3-2 GIAA AAAA/AAA District 4) jumped out to a 20-13 lead after the first quarter and led 38-29 at halftime. But the Knights (7-12, 1-4 GIAA AAAA/AAA District 4) stormed back with a 22-point third quarter to grab a 51-49 lead.
But Lakeview held Bethlehem to just 10 points down the stretch while getting a 21-point fourth quarter to pull away.
Justyce Sadler paced the Lions with 19 points. Tayden Ware added 17 points, Jack Collins 15, and JR Thompson had 8 points for Lakeview.
Lakeview will be back in action on Tuesday at home against Cross Keys in a non-region game.
HABERSHAM CENTRAL 57,
GAINESVILLE 50
Ellis Pitts's bucket with 1:04 left in the game gave Gainesville hope.
But Habersham's Justus Gober quickly took it away when he scored with 42 seconds remaining, pushing the lead to five points, 55-50.
Big Red (11-8, 4-2 Region 8-6A) actually had a few chances to cut the lead in the last 40 seconds of the game, but an intentional foul called on Cade Simmons, and two made foul shots from Brighton Paul pushed the game out of reach.
The loss drops the Red Elephants into a tie with North Forsyth of the No. 3 seed with four region games remaining, including a Tuesday showdown at home against NoFo.
As for the Raiders, they remain in the fourth spot, two games out of third.
The Raiders (13-7, 3-5 Region 8-6A) opened with a solid first quarter, jumping out to a 13-8 lead off a Jalen Davis basket with 1:04 left. They lead by as many as eight points in the quarter.
Gainesville rallied back in the second quarter on a 15-4 run to take a 25-20 lead. Charlie Reisman had 8 points during the run. Big Red led 27-24 at the break.
The third quarter was a quarter of runs. Habersham opened on a 7-0 run, sparked by Gary, to grab a 31-27 advantage.
Gainesville answered with a 6-0 spurt to take the lead back on a Dre Raven score, 33-31.
The two traded baskets over the next 3 minutes, but Habersham's Josiah Mccurry scored six straight points to give the Raiders a 43-40 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Mccurry finished with a game-high 13 points, while Jalen Davis and Gary added 9 each.
Simmons led Gainesville with 11 points, Reisman had 10, and Raven added 9.
CHEROKEE BLUFF 71,
CEDAR SHOALS 50
Boston Kersh scored 28 points and pulled eight rebounds to help lead the Bears (15-7, 7-1 Region 8-4A North) past Cedar Shoals on Friday at home.
Carlos Marlow, who finished with 15 points, scored his 1,000th career point in the win. He also had five rebounds and three steals.
Bluff led 43-29 at the half and held Cedar Shoals (8-12, 3-3 Region 8-4A South) to eight points in the third quarter to take a 58-37 advantage.
