Gainesville point guard Lance White flipped a behind-the-back pass to Deshaun Watson in the corner, and the sophomore coolly sank his second consecutive 3-pointer to put the Red Elephants ahead by 23 late in the first half.

This against a Franklin County team that crushed Gainesville by 39 points earlier in the season and knocked the Red Elephants out of the region tournament last season.

In the first half Friday night, Gainesville showed just what it’s capable of, and in the second half the Red Elephants showed their resolve in defeating the Lions 64-54 at Gainesville.

"We played a real good first half on both ends," said Red Elephants coach Todd Cottrell. "In the second half the defense missed some rotations and they made shots, but I was very pleased overall."

Junior Shaquan Cantrell led the Red Elephants (5-4, 2-0 Region 8-AAA South) with 21 points, Watson added 15 and forward Chase England controlled the paint and added nine points.

White finished with just two points but had a team-high eight assists, feeding what at times was an explosive offense.

"Lance is a great point guard," Cantrell said. "I love playing with him because I know he’s going to find the spots where I can score."

In the third quarter, it was a pass from White that hit high off the backboard that Cantrell buried in the basket on a two-handed dunk to stem a Franklin County rally.

His behind-the-back and no-look passes aren’t always successful, but they’re successful often enough for Cottrell.

"He’s a very talented point guard," the coach said. "So sometimes you have to take the good with the bad."

Tonight it was mostly good as he fed a high-flying attack.

The Lions (6-2) eventually mounted a comeback to get out of a 41-19 halftime deficit. Led by Braxton Shiflet and Jack McRee with 14 points apiece, Franklin County made it a 10-point game with 2:31 left in the fourth.

Gainesville wouldn’t let the visitors get any closer, finally getting a win against the team that defeated the Red Elephants 59-33 in the Region 8-AAA tournament semifinals last season.

"Getting beat the way we got beat last season, it always leaves a bad taste in your mouth," Cantrell said. "We had to get that bad taste out of our mouths and get back in the win column against Franklin."

Now Gainesville moves quickly to the next task; preparing to play Johnson in the first round of the Lanierland tournament on Monday at 1:30 p.m.

The Red Elephants, who have now had their football players, including Watson and England, back on the court for three games, are finally getting back into form at the right time.

"I like the way this team is starting to jell," Cottrell said. "I like this team, and I’d like to see a complete four quarters.

"Tonight I think in all we played two and a half."

Tonight that proved to be enough.

GAINESVILLE GIRLS 41, FRANKLIN COUNTY 19: Gainesville coach Brenda Hill-Gilmore has always emphasized defense.

Friday night the players showed just how much they’ve bought in.

"Defense is always going to be key for us; we have athletic kids and we want to take advantage of them," Hill-Gilmore said. "The team is starting to buy into loving defense."

Senior forward Rebecca Webster led the way with 10 points, all in the first half. Keke Harris’ jumper to start the second put the Lady Red Elephants ahead 21-8, and proved to be all the scoring they would need.

Angel Mickle added a team-high eight rebounds as Gainesville (6-3, 1-1 Region 8-AAA South) beat the Lady Lions (0-8) for the second time this season.

"They always bring a tough game, it’s kind of a rivalry here," Webster said. "Everyone brought a lot of effort tonight.

"The first half set the tone."

The Lady Red Elephants’ defense was suffocating in the first half, allowing just three points in the first quarter and five more in the second to take a 19-8 lead at the half.

Franklin County outrebounded Gainesville 20-17 in the half, but the Lady Lions couldn’t find the basket.

Webster alone outscored Franklin County 10-5 in the half. The senior scored seven straight points for Gainesville in the first quarter to build the lead. She sank a 3-pointer, converted a traditional three-point play after a layup, and then sank a hook shot to put the hosts ahead 12-3 late in the first.

Gainesville heads to East Hall on Monday for a 9 a.m. tip-off against Flowery Branch in the opening round of the Lanierland tournament.