WINDER — It took about 12 minutes for the rust to shake itself loose but once it did the Gainesville boys basketball team cranked things up in a 74-65 win over Dacula Friday in the semifinals of the Region 8-6A tournament at Winder-Barrow High School.
A week between games, early turnovers, sloppy ball-handling, and more than a few errant shots by the Red Elephants (18-8) helped Dacula (11-15) lead for most of the first quarter and take a 24-21 lead in the second quarter.
“The time off may have had something to do with that but really I just thought Dacula came out with a lot of intensity,” Gainesville coach Chuck Graham said. “But we just told the guys to stay with it and focus on doing what we do. We did a good of that after the first quarter.”
A pair of Rafael Rubel free throws following a Jordan Williams basket gave the Red Elephants a 25-24 lead with 5:16 left in the first half and they would not trail again.The Falcons tied the game at 32 but Gainesville closed out the first half with an 8-2 run for a 40-34 lead.
Only twice in the second half did Dacula manage to get within five points, the last time at 64-59 with 3:16 left in the game. But a Rubel three-point play sparked a 7-0 run for a 71-59 lead with just 1:53 remaining.
Dacula staged one last comeback attempt with a 6-0 run to get within 71-65 and Camron Carrithers missed a 3-point attempt with 40 seconds left. But a Rubel steal and layup with 24 seconds left and then a Falcons turnover sealed the win.
Now, the Red Elephants will turn their attention to trying for a fourth consecutive Region 8-6A title.
“Our goal all along has been to win the region,” Graham said. “It doesn’t matter to us who we play. We love that we’ll get to play at home but our real focus is the region title so that’s the only game we’re worried about right now.”
Rubel finished with 20 points, 11 coming in the fourth quarter, to lead Gainesville and help stave off the Falcons down the stretch. Datavian Buffington and Maurice Hector each had 12 points with Hector's all coming on 3-pointers. Julio Santana added 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists and Brent Kelly chipped in 8 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.
Mekhail Bethea had a game-high 23 points, 19 in the second half, to pace Dacula. Brenden Tucker had 18 points and 6 rebounds for the Falcons.
LANIER GIRLS 60,
GAINESVILLE 49
The Lady Longhorns depth proved too much for the Lady Red Elephants in the Region 8-6A semifinals.
Playing just seven Gainesville (12-13) still managed to stay close enough to pull within 48-44 heading into the fourth quarter. But Lanier (23-3) held the Lady Red Elephants to just 5 points over the final period and repeatedly broke down a tired Gainesville defense to pull away.
Gainesville had no answer for 6-foot-4 junior Christabel Ezumah, who had 10 points but she dominated the boards pulling down 20 rebounds and added 5 blocks, including two crucial ones late in the third quarter when Gainesville trimmed a 41-29 Lanier lead down to 48-44.
Tija Blackwell had another huge game for Gainesville with 29 points and 8 rebounds. But Tia Shelton was held to just 9 points as the Lanier defense clamped down on the rest of the Lady Red Elephants offense.
Lanier threatened several times to run away and hide. The Lady Longhorns built a quick 18-8 lead in the first quarter but Gainesville used a 13-5 run behind a pair of 3-pointers from Blackwell and a tying 3-pointer at 21 from Shelton.
Lanier held the Lady Red Elephants to just 6 second quarter points while pushing the lead to 39-29 but Gainesville answered with a 15-7 run to close out the third quarter.
Kalen Sorles led Lanie with 22 points and Mekala Fuller added 14 for the Lady Longhorns.
Lanier will take on Winder-Barrow, a 54-51 winner over Dacula in the other semifinal, at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Winder-Barrow. Gainesville will take on Dacula in the third place game.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2019/2/761775/basketball-playoffs-ghs-teams-in-8-6a-semis