BLAIRSVILLE — East Hall boys basketball coach Joe Dix always had faith that Sedrion Morse would develop into a consistent scoring threat.
On Friday, the junior forward rocketed beyond consistent into outright star -- in the process making the Vikings' Region 7-AAA semifinal with Dawson County that much easier than their two regular season showdowns, as East Hall stormed to a 76-62 victory in Blairsville.
Morse scored a game-high 28 points and dominated inside, as the Vikings out-rebounded the Tigers 36-28 -- 19-10 in a pivotal first half that saw East Hall build a 20-point cushion that Dawson County could not overcome.
"Early on I think Sedrion was averaging around five points per game -- but I think he's been in double digits every game since the Christmas break," Dix said. "He came back a changed player."
Morse combined with Mahki Brown, who scored 15, to help the Vikings control the paint, while a clutch of swarming guards also made life tough on the Tigers, who managed just six first quarter points while East Hall exploded for a 23-8 lead just over a minute into the second quarter.
"That was a total team win," Dix said. "We were really dialed in, especially early, and then we stayed aggressive. They made a run at us; we knew they would. Their offense gave us fits in the first two games, and they're a great offensive team, but we really played well."
Despite trailing 36-16 just seconds before halftime, the Tigers kept themselves in the contest -- pulling within 55-46 early in the fourth quarter.
They did so thanks in large part to Cullen Reed, who caught fire to score 27 points -- 12 of that in the third quarter alone. Jeremiah Crumbly also chipped in with 17 points, 10 after halftime.
But Morse was there to answer almost every Tiger charge. After Reed's lay-in pulled Dawson with eight points, Morse responded with three straight baskets. Brown's breakaway dunk pushed East Hall's advantage back to 57-50 with three minutes to play.
Dawson County pulled no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
"We got that early cushion, and that proved big," Dix said.
Deonte Evans and Tony Martinez each drained 3-pointers in the first quarter to help the Vikings jump in front, while Morse and Brown helped East Hall to a 10-4 rebounding advantage. And by the time Luke Holtzclaw and Trevor Rider drained treys in the second quarter, the Vikings were looking very much like a team on a mission.
"I think we're playing well right now. But we're going to need to do that again tomorrow."
East Hall will take on Greater Atlanta Christian in the 7-AAA championship game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Blairsville. The two teams split regular season contests, each winning at home.
Dawson County will take on Lumpkin County for third place at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
DAWSON COUNTY GIRLS 58,
EAST HALL 42
Size certainly mattered for the Lady Tigers on Friday, as they took advantage of their advantage underneath the basket in the second half.
Anna Lowe and Kaylee Sticker dominated on the boards, helping Dawson County out-rebound East Hall 26-6, while also pouring in the bulk of the Lady Tigers' scoring,
Sticker put up a game-high 22 points, while Lowe added 18 -- 11 of that in the fourth and pivotal quarter -- as Dawson knocked off the top-seeded Lady Vikings and bounded into the 7-AAA title game against Greater Atlanta Christian.
Tied at 37-37 entering the fourth quarter, Dawson County turned to its inside game almost exclusively -- and the ploy paid off. Sticker and Emma Brown each scored on putbacks to yield a Lady Tigers lead that only grew as Lowe got more involved. The imposing post scored three straight baskets to turn the tide for good midway through the fourth quarter, her final basket handing Dawson a 50-40 lead that it would never relinquish.
The Lady Vikings did their best to keep pace, looking to the outside shooting that served them well for much of the contest -- East Hall drained seven 3-pointers in the first three quarters. But the Lady Vikings could not sink a trey in the fourth, as Dawson pulled away.
Jenny Lopez finished with 11 points to pace East Hall, while Maggie Griffin added nine and Carly Winters eight.
The game proved hard-fought and back-and-forth throughout the first three quarters, as East Hall led 15-12 after the first quarter, only to see Dawson County tie it at 23-23 at the half.
GAC GIRLS 59,
NORTH HALL 50
The Lady Trojans battled throughout, fighting back from a 19-point second quarter deficit to pull as close as 54-46 inside the final three minutes but could not pull off the comeback, as the Lady Spartans moved on to the 7-AAA championship game.
Natalie Nixon helped spark North Hall's late charge, scoring all 10 of her points in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers.
It was not enough to counter a game-high 21 points from Greater Atlanta Christian's Robyn Benton, however. Caria Reynolds also added 11 points and Tamiah Lewis 10, as the Lady Spartans turned a close first quarter into a domineering halftime lead.
Benton and Taylor Sutton each drained 3-pointers in the second quarter to spark a 18-3 run. GAC also took advantage of its size inside to out-rebound North Hall 10-6 in the quarter, as the Lady Spartans built a 32-14 lead at the interval.
The Lady Trojans refused to yield, however, as Taylor Anne Kelley, who also finished with 10 points, and Niki Carver (nine points) each drained treys in the third quarter to help North Hall pull as close as 10 points on two separate occasions.
Each time, however, GAC found an answer -- either through Benton or the free throw line. The Lady Spartans finished the game 19 of 25 from the stripe. North Hall hit 7 of 11 free throw attempts.
Trailing 45-30 at the start of the fourth quarter, Nixon found her range, and the Lady Trojans defense stepped up to help North Hall close within single digits. Kelley's lay-in made it 54-46 with just over two minutes to play, as the Lady Trojans held the momentum. But GAC held on to seal a championship game berth.
North Hall will play in the consolation game on Saturday in Blairsville.
GAC BOYS 56,
LUMPKIN COUNTY 39
The Spartans inched ahead in the first half and then broke the game open in the third quarter, taking a 45-26 advantage that sent them to the 7-AAA title game against East Hall.
Lumpkin County will now face Dawson County on Saturday in the 7-AAA third place game.
Zach Pulled scored 10 points to lead the Indians, while Austin Brooks added eight.
Hunter McIntosh scored a game-high 20 points for GAC, while Chris Hinton added 10
Pulley did his best to lead the Indians early on, pacing Lumpkin County with six points in the first half. Yet GAC's size inside proved more than an equalizer, as the Spartans inched ahead on putbacks and layups. Charlie O'Briant and Chris Hinton did plenty of damage, O'Brient scoring each of his seven points in the first half and Hinton all 10 of his points, as GAC built a 25-15 advantage.
Lumpkin County pulled as close as 25-18 early in the third quarter, only to watch the Spartans score six straight for a 31-18 advantage that built plenty of momentum for the No. 1 seed.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/2/500892/region-7-aaa-semifinals