Gainesville boys coach Todd Cottrell has stressed to players that the first three minutes and the final two minutes of every game are the most important. On Monday, against Johnson in the opening round of the Lanierland tournament at East Hall, the Red Elephants (6-4) conducted both to near perfection in a 69-60 win. 

The Red Elephants jumped to a 7-0 lead with a 3-pointer from sophomore Deshaun Watson three minutes into the game. Toward the end, Lance White capped off a fourth quarter in which Gainesville was 8 for 8 from the free throw line to seal the win. 

“I’m just really pleased with the way we played,” Cottrell said. “Against a quality team like Johnson, if you don’t come ready to play, they’ll embarrass you.”

With the win, Gainesville moves on to the semifinals against North Hall at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Johnson. Meanwhile, the Knights are in the consolation round to face Lakeview Academy at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at East Hall. 

Even though Johnson got as close as 60-52 midway through the fourth quarter, Gainesville was able to hold the Knights off with a balanced scoring approach throughout the game. Along with hitting key free throws down the stretch, White finished with a team-high 22 points. Shaquan Cantrell added 13 for the Red Elephants, including two big baskets early in the second quarter to keep Gainesville with a double-digit lead. 

Watson finished with 11 for Gainesville. 

“It’s a huge win for us to beat Johnson,” White said. “Since we’re in the same subregion, we’re going to be focused on playing them all year.”

Leading the way for Johnson was Ty Odem with a game-high 28 points. Matt Hollis added 14. 

Gainesville started the game particularly fast. After Watson’s 3-pointer early in the first quarter, White responded with another 3-point shot to build an 18-4 lead just seven minutes into the game. 

Still, Johnson managed to keep the game close in the second half. The Knights cut their deficit down to 34-28 with 3:10 left to play in the third period with consecutive baskets from Odem on rebounds of missed long-range shots. 

Hollis started the third quarter with a 3-pointer for Johnson that rolled around the rim, out and off the backboard and in for the basket. He finished the second half with four 3-pointers.

In the fourth quarter, White twice kept Gainesville up with baskets immediately to answer a score from Johnson.