GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Cherokee Bluff boys coach Josh Travis was worried about a Lanierland hangover coming into their crucial Region 8-4A North showdown with North Hall on Tuesday.
And why not, after the Bears needed overtime to beat the Trojans on the way to the Lanierland title last week.
(GIRLS SCOREBOARD FOR TUESDAY, JAN. 2 HERE)
(BOYS SCOREBOARD FOR TUESDAY, JAN 2 HERE)
North Hall once again pushed the Class 4A 10th-ranked Bears to overtime, but once again, Bluff was able to survive, this time getting a 79-73 win at the North Hall gym.
“We were kind of worried about this one because they played us tough the first time, and coming off such an emotional tournament, you never know how kids are going to respond,” Travis said. “But like I said last week, we’ve learned how to win the close games.”
The Bears (11-4, 3-1 Region 8-4A North) scored the final eight points in overtime after North Hall (6-10, 2-2 Region 8-4A North) had taken a 73-71 lead on a pair of Cole Hulsey free throws.
But Bryce Horton and Logan Holmes answered with 3-pointers in a 20-second span, and Holmes hit two free throws with 18 seconds left to seal the win for Bluff.
Horton was one of three Bluff players to finish with career highs on Tuesday. Tyler Underwood had 22 points, Cooper Glover 17, and Horton had 16 points to spark a second half rally.
For Glover, a sophomore, it may be the breakout game he’s been close to having. He added 8 rebounds and 3 assists and, at one point, scored 7 points, pulled down 2 rebounds, and dished out an assist in a 12-0 fourth-quarter run to erase an 8-point North Hall lead.
“Cooper has a super upside with his size, and he can shoot it,” Travis said. “But as you can see, we have a lot of weapons when our guys play well.”
After the Bears’ big run to grab the lead, North Hall took advantage of six missed free throws by Bluff to eventually catch the Bears at 66 on two Matt Ray free throws with 14 seconds left.
Bluff then looked to have put it away with two Underwood free throws with 3.7 seconds left, but Ray was fouled with 0.7 seconds left and hit both free throws to send it to overtime.
It was a nip-and-tuck affair most of the game. After the teams traded baskets until Bluff took an 8-6 lead on an Underwood 3-pointer, North Hall went on a 13-6 run to grab a 19-14 lead, capped by a Ray 3-pointer early in the second quarter.
The Trojans led 23-17 on a Ray free throw, but the Bears rallied to tie the game at 23 on another Underwood trey. North Hall answered that with an 8-3 spurt to close out the first half, with Will Rogers, Andrew Bales, Luke Sanders, and Hulsey all scoring in the final two minutes for a 31-26 lead at the break.
North Hall maintained its lead through the third quarter, with Rolan Imai’s 3-pointer giving them a 41-33 advantage at one point. But Bluff closed out the third quarter with a 7-2 run on baskets by Boston Kersh, Horton, and Holmes to catch the Trojans at 47 heading into the fourth quarter.
Kersh finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists for Bluff. Holmes added 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, and Underwood dished out 7 assists for the Bears.
Hulsey led North Hall with 29 points, 14 coming in the fourth quarter and overtime. Ray had 18 for the Trojans.
CHEROKEE BLUFF GIRLS 62,
NORTH HALL 38
The Class 4A sixth-ranked Lady Bears (12-2, 4-0 Region 8-4A North) closed out the game on a 16-4 run to stay unbeaten in Region 8-4A North play.
It was a welcome sight for Bluff coach Kassie Scott, whose group needed a strong start to a four-game stretch against the region’s top teams.
“We’re in the gauntlet now with North Oconee, Chestatee, and East Forsyth coming up,” Scott said. "We talked about coming out and using this game as a stepping-stone for the next few games. This was a bounce-back we needed after not playing that well in Lanierland. Our focus has been playing four quarters, and I thought we did that tonight.”
Cherokee Bluff was able to use 9 first-quarter turnovers to run out to an 18-7 lead. The Lady Bears turned the miscues into 8 points, with Claire Carlson (8) and Bristol Kersh (6) combining for 14 points and Kersh dishing out 3 assists as well.
Bluff never trailed as Kersh and Carson DeMars scored in the opening 75 seconds for a 4-0 lead. A Carlson 3-pointer made it 7-2 before Braelyn McCall hit a 3-pointer to pull North Hall within 9-7.
The Lady Bears took control with an 11-0 run from there, with Carlson and Kersh scoring all 11 points in the run for a 20-7 lead early in the second quarter. The Lady Trojans got within 23-13 on an Athena Vachtsevanos basket, but a Kersh 3-pointer and a Carlson stick-back basket pushed the Bluff lead to 28-13 midway through the second.
Carlson’s third 3-pointer of the half made it 31-14, but McCall hit her second moments later to get North Hall within 31-17 by halftime.
“Claire needs to be more aggressive out there. That’s been our challenge to her this year and she did that (tonight),” Scott said. “Her not taking shots hurts us more than it helps.”
Sloppy play plagued the 10th-ranked Lady Trojans the entire first half, as they finished with as many turnovers (17) as points. Bluff turned those into a dozen points overall.
Twice in the third quarter, North Hall (10-5, 2-2 Region 8-4A North) got within 10 points at 31-21 on a Zara Gosse free throw and at 42-32 on two Genesis Satterfield free throws.
But the fourth quarter was all Bluff as they held the Lady Trojans to just six points.
“We pride ourselves on defense. We probably spend more time on that than the offense,” Scott said.
Carlson paced Cherokee Bluff with 23 points, including five 3-pointers. Kersh finished with 18 points.
Gosse led North Hall with 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Satterfield had 8 points and Athena Vachtsevanos 7 points for the Lady Trojans.
