RABBITTOWN, Ga. — Joe Dix has seen a lot of East Hall-Gainesville boys' basketball games.
The East Hall coach had a one-word description of his Vikings' 68-65 overtime win over the Red Elephants in Friday's Lanierland Tournament semifinal -- classic.
"It was two good teams going after each other with a lot of intensity," Dix said.
East Hall (8-1) can win its 26th Lanierland championship Saturday night if the Vikings can beat defending champion Cherokee Bluff. Will his team have anything left after the hard-fought win?
"They will be fine," Dix said. "They can sleep in. There is no school tomorrow, and we don't play until late."
The Vikings battled back from an 8-point fourth-quarter deficit to win through sheer will.
"We've been talking about fighting and finding a way," Dix said. "Just a bunch of kids dug in. It was not our best performance, but we kept making plays."
The two rivals and winningest boys teams in Lanierland Tournament history did play a classic at Seth Vining Gymnasium at East Hall. Fans stood most of the final minute of regulation and throughout overtime.
Tight throughout, Gainesville (9-4) took a 58-56 lead with 23.5 seconds left in regulation. With a chance to tie, the Vikings went to junior Jamarcus Harrison, whose floater in the lane beat the buzzer and sent the teams to overtime tied 58-58.
Chasen Jones started overtime with a basket and free throw for a 61-58 East Hall lead. K.J. White scored to get Gainesville within one, but Jones scored and was fouled. His 3-point play pushed the lead to 64-60 with 50.8 seconds left. White responded with a 3-point play. Jones and Gainesville's Jaxson Jones traded scores, and the Vikings led 66-65 with 4.1 seconds left.
East Hall's Kahlil Goss made one free throw. Teammate Bray Langston grabbed the rebound after a miss on the second, and he was fouled and added another free throw for a 3-point East Hall advantage with 2.1 seconds remaining. White's three-quarter court shot missed, and East Hall was headed to the finals.
Jones led East Hall with 18 points. Harrison scored 16 points and Langston 13.
White scored 19 to lead Gainesville. Brandon Nelson and Xavier Griffin scored 13 each, and Jones added 13.
CHEROKEE BLUFF 73,
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 53
The defending champion Bears started strong and finished stronger in an impressive semifinal win over the Lions.
Bluff will defend their title on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Gainesville against East Hall, which knocked off the Red Elephants 68-65 in overtime in the other semifinal at Valhalla.
(Check back later for details on the East Hall-Gainesville game.)
Bluff (11-1) opened with a 10-2 run, fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers from Cooper Glover, and would eventually push the lead to 26-12 by the end of the first quarter on a trey by Alex Burton.
Lakeview (7-5) battled back to trail just 36-26 by halftime, but that’s as close as they could get.
Bluff began the third quarter with an 11-4 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Connor Robinson for a 45-28 lead. The Bears led 48-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
Lakeview pulled within 53-41 on a Tayden Ware basket early in the fourth, but consecutive 3-pointers from Tyler Underwood and Boston Kersh extended Bluff’s lead to 67-45 with just over 3 minutes left in the game.
Kersh paced Bluff with 24 points. Glover added 19, and Underwood had 16 for the Bears.
Ware led Lakeview with 19 points. Jude Ellis and Eli Mayfield each had 11 points for the Lions.
Lakeview will take on Gainesville at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday in the third-place game.
NORTH HALL 78,
CHESTATEE 54
The Trojans held the War Eagles to just 14 points in the second and third quarters to erase an early deficit and advance to the fifth-place game on Friday.
Chestatee (1-10) led 20-19 after the opening period, paced by 9 points from Sebastian Spinelli. But North Hall (6-4) used a 23-6 second quarter to grab the lead and got a 19-8 run in the third quarter to blow it open for a 61-34 lead.
Cole Hulsey led the way for the Trojans, pouring in 23 points, including passing the 1,000-point mark for his career. Cooper Payton added 15 and Micah Jimerson 13 for North Hall.
Spinelli finished with a game-high 24 points to pace Chestatee. Ethan Dunn had 12 for the War Eagles.
North Hall will take on Flowery Branch in the fifth-place game at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at Gainesville. Chestatee will take on West Hall in the seventh-place game at 10:30 a.m. at Gainesville.
FLOWERY BRANCH 51
WEST HALL 48
The Falcons held off West Hall down the stretch to get a win in the consolation round.
Brayden Lee hit two free throws with 4.9 seconds left to push the Falcons' lead to 3-points and secure the win. West Hall had two possessions in the final minute with a chance to take the lead but could not convert.
Led Flowery Branch with 16 points. Jack Huey and Landon Mealor scored 11 points each.
Troy Smith led the Spartans with 20 points, and Landon Bennett scored 11.
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