The West Hall boys aren’t yet where coach Warren Sellers wants them to be. But with a record above .500 after losing the vast majority of last year’s contributors, Sellers is at least pleased with the direction in which the Spartans are heading.
A night after falling to Flowery Branch in the first round of Lanierland, West Hall bounced back and held off a feisty, if weary, Chestatee team for an 81-76 win in Tuesday’s consolation round.
“We’re improving,” Sellers said. “Sometimes slowly. Sometimes not as fast as I’d like. But we’ve played hard thus far for the most part, and we’re getting better. The War Eagles (0-10) made sure West Hall (6-5) played hard for the full four quarters Tuesday.
Despite trailing for most of the game by as many as nine points early in the fourth quarter, Chestatee never relented. In the first half, the War Eagles stayed within striking distance by sinking 13 of 15 free throws and 5 of 11 3-pointers. In the second half, it was the Chestatee press that forced six fourth-quarter turnovers and prevented the Spartans from pulling away.
But the press was also exploited by West Hall for easy layups on numerous occasions, most notably after Chestatee cut the lead to one point in the final two minutes.
After scoring only two points in the previous five minutes of game time, the Spartans re-established control when Rico Jones dished to Hunter Atkinson for an easy layup. On the ensuing possession, Atkinson returned the favor, giving West Hall a five-point lead with 1:14 remaining.
“I think a lot of it was fatigue,” Chestatee coach Gary Barnes said. His War Eagles were coming off a 101-97 loss in Monday night’s late game. “We weren’t able to sprint back like we needed to (on defense). And a lot of it has to do with West Hall is a good team and they do a good job. It wasn’t the best team to play after playing East Hall late last night.”
Atkinson was often the one making the War Eagles pay. The 6-foot-6 sophomore center finished with a game-high 28 points (12 of 16 from the field), including 19 points on 9-for-11 shooting in the second half.
“He stepped up,” Sellers said. “He really did. Flowery Branch did a good job of covering him up (Monday). But he played like we knew he was capable of and that was really the difference in the game.”
Both teams came out shooting well. West Hall sank its first six field goals and didn’t miss its first shot inside the 3-point arc until two minutes into the second quarter. Despite the Spartans’ hot shooting, and nine of their own turnovers in the first quarter, the War Eagles kept the pace with sharp shooting from the outside. The War Eagles hit 4 of 6 in the first quarter and finished 11 of 27 on 3-pointers.
Keelan Passmore led five War Eagles in double figures with 18 points. Cole Morgan added 17 points for Chestatee, and Jordan Degraff had 14, sinking 4 of 9 3-pointers.
Rico Jones scored 15 for West Hall on 7-for-9 shooting. Tyswon Cantrell added 12 for the Spartans, who will take on Lakeview winner at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Chestatee will meet the Johnson at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Both games will be played at Johnson.
JEFFERSON GIRLS 38, WEST HALL 35: Behind 16 points from Skylar Evanson, the Jefferson girls held off West Hall on Tuesday at East Hall High.
Both teams lost in the opening round of the Lanierland tournament, and are continuing play in the consolation bracket.
Jefferson will play Flowery Branch at 3 p.m. Wednesday, while West Hall will meet Johnson at noon Wednesday. Both games will be played at Johnson.
The Lady Spartans (3-9), who were led by Brooke Reed’s eight points, took the lead on three separate occasions in Tuesday’s fourth quarter, but each time the Lady Dragons (4-7) answered on the ensuing possession.
Brianna Whatley scored nine points for Jefferson.
FLOWERY BRANCH GIRLS 61, JOHNSON 42: The Lady Falcons took control early and never let Johnson into the game, cruising to a win Tuesday in the Lanierland consolation round at East Hall.
Tavia Sykes (27 points) and Cara Chilton (24 points) did the bulk of the damage for Flowery Branch (5-5), which led 19-6 after the first quarter.
Harlee Robson led the Lady Knights (1-9) with 15 points.
Johnson will host West Hall at noon Wednesday, while Flowery Branch will take on Jefferson at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Johnson.
LAKEVIEW BOYS 80, JOHNSON 61: The Lions responded nicely in the consolation round Tuesday after a first-round loss to North Hall.
Austin Montgomery led Lakeview Academy with 23 points and nine rebounds, including 11 points in the second quarter. Austin Pearson also had a big game for the Lions with 20 points and Matt Askounis added 11.
“This is always a hard game to prepare for in the consolation round,” Lions coach Seth Vining said. “But our guys came out and battled hard and played well.”
The Knights (4-5) were without leading scorer Matt Hollis, who suffered a meniscus injury riding on the bus after Monday’s game, according to Johnson coach Jeff Steele. They still aren’t sure how much time he’ll miss.
In his absence, Ty Odem led Johnson with a game-high 30 points.
Leading by five at the end of the first quarter, Lakeview took control of the game with the 6-foot-8 Montgomery’s play inside in the second period. Three times during the quarter, he hit a basket and foul shot to complete a 3-point play. Askounis and Reynolds also each hit a 3-point basket in the second quarter and the Lions took a 47-33 lead into halftime.
Lakeview faces West Hall at 4:30 p.m. today at Johnson. The Knights play Chestatee at 1:30 p.m. today.