FLOWERY BRANCH — For the second consecutive season, White County will play for the Region 7-3A title.
The Warriors pulled away from East Forsyth in the second half for a 72-45 win in the semifinals of the Region 7-3A Tournament on Saturday at Cherokee Bluff High School.
White County (17-8) will take on arch-rival North Hall for the title on Tuesday at Cherokee Bluff.
This time, Warriors coach Robbie Bailey is hoping for a better outcome than last year’s disappointing 59-50 loss to Dawson County for the title. They are still looking for their first-ever region title in program history.
“Our goal all year has been to get into the finals and play for the region title,” Bailey said. “A lot of these guys were here last year so the key will be just playing within themselves and the moment. We’re excited about the opportunity.”
White County blew open a close game in the second half with a 31-6 run. The Warriors led just 41-39 midway through the third quarter when Jadon Yeh ignited things with a 3-pointer. Silas Mulligan poured in 9 points, Noah Futch had three huge baskets as well, and Yeh finished it off with a pair of technical foul free throws with just 2:28 left.
Futch, a sophomore, had 12 of his 16 points in the second half and also pulled down 12 rebounds for a double-double.
“Noah did a heck of a job,” Bailey said. “We put him in the starting lineup and he played probably the best game of his career so far. I’m so proud of that kid right now.”
It was a series of runs in the first half as well for both teams. After a back-and-forth opening three minutes that saw the Broncos take an 8-7 lead on a 3-pointer by Davey Hyams, Mulligan capped a 13-1 White County run with a pair of baskets.
East Forsyth answered with a 9-0 run with Matthew Rouse scoring five straight points to cut the lead to 20-18. Hyams later capped an 8-1 run with another 3-pointer to give the Broncos a 27-25 lead with 4:22 left in the half.
But the Warriors answered right back with a 10-0 run and eventually took a 37-33 lead into the half.
The Broncos (10-18) hung tough until the Warriors used its defense to force half-a-dozen turnovers to fuel the big run.
Yeh poured in a game-high 30 points for the Warriors. Mulligan had 15 and Kenny Simpson 7 for White County.
Bryce Bracco had 15 points on 5 3-pointers to pace East Forsyth. Rouse finished with 12 points and Hyams 6 points for the Broncos.
East Forsyth will take on Gilmer in the third-place game on Tuesday.
NORTH HALL 84,
GILMER 74
North Hall used a 6-0 run to open the game and never trailed in the semifinals of the Region 7-3A Tournament on Saturday.
A 3-pointer by Sam Gailey and a three-point play by Elijah Gaddy in the opening minutes ignited an overall 15-4 run as the Trojans (22-4) beat the Bobcats (19-9) for the third time this season.
North Hall, which ran its current win streak to five straight, will take on the winner of the White County-East Forsyth semifinal in Tuesday’s final.
North Hall coach Miles Kendall said his group just tried to focus on themselves after an eight-day break.
“We didn’t even know who we were going to play until Thursday so our focus was just on improving our game,” Kendall said. “I thought we played pretty well.”
Gilmer used a 10-5 run to get within 20-14 late in the first quarter but North Hall exploded for a 14-4 run, capped by a Casen Payne 3-pointer, to run out to a 37-20 lead. North Hall eventually took a 43-27 lead into halftime and the Bobcats never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.
After an 8-0 Gilmer run cut the Trojans’ lead to 48-37 in the third quarter, North Hall got an Ajay Jones 3-pointer, a Gaddy three-point play, and an Austin Atha trey as part of an 18-4 run for a 66-41 lead to blow the game open.
The Trojans defense forced nearly two dozen turnovers using a high-pressure defense creating more than a dozen points.
“They are big and if you slow down and play their game they are hard to beat,” Kendall said. “We just tried to play with a lot of chaos.”
Gilmer made the game closer with a 33-point fourth quarter after both teams went to their benches. North Hall had led by as many as 28 points early in the fourth quarter.
Kendall said the win, which gives them at least one home game in the playoffs, was important.
“With the region we match up with [Region 5-3A, which has three teams ranked in the top 10] it was important to finish in the top two,” he said.
Robert Terry paced North Hall with 18 points. Gaddy had 15 and Gailey 14 for the Trojans, who had 11 different players score.
Jackson McVey had 16 points to lead Gilmer. Cade Carter had 15 points and Ethan Banks 11 for the Bobcats.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2022/2/1077749/region-7-3a-boys-tournament-north-hall-blows-past-gilmer-into-finals