The North Hall boys basketball team will receive a first-round bye in the 2015 Lanierland tournament following Gainesville’s recent withdrawal, according to an email sent by a Hall County offiical to media Wednesday morning.
The Trojans were originally drawn to play Gainesville, who stated Tuesday that they would not play after receiving a 2-game suspension from the Georgia High School Association.
Gordon Higgins, director of community relations and athletics for Hall County Schools, said in an email that officials “went through multiple phone calls, emails and text messages yesterday to seek the best scenario going forward on the boys side with the unexpected departure of Gainesville.”
Higgins said leaders considered bringing in another team to fill Gainesville’s spot, but with schools being closed and commitments already made, it was not a viable option.
“Ultimately, the majority of schools favored keeping the brackets as originally announced,” said Higgins in the email. “Those favoring this option said that teams had already invested practice time and game preparation by coaches based on scheduled opponent.”
Gainesville was handed a suspension for its part in an altercation with a team from Miami in an annual holiday tournament in Kentucky on Monday. The Courier-Journal of Louisville reported that a fight during a consolation round game broke out between the players, which prompted officials to suspend both teams.
This will be the first time in the 56-year long tournament history that the Gainesville boys will not participate in Lanierland.
With the revised bracket, North Hall will play the winner of Lakeview Academy/East Hall in the semifinals. The tournament will start on Dec. 28 at Johnson High and then move to East Hall High for the later rounds on Dec. 29-30.
All other previously arranged seedings and pairings will remain the same. The times have been adjusted for some games.
2015 Lanierland Tournament
Monday, Dec. 28 at Johnson High
First round
10:30 a.m. – East Hall girls (No. 4 seed) vs. Chestatee (No. 5 seed)
Noon – Chestatee boys (No. 4 seed) vs. Flowery Branch (No. 5 seed)
1:30 p.m. – North Hall girls (No. 3 seed) vs. Lakeview Academy (No. 6 seed)
3 p.m. – Flowery Branch girls (No. 2 seed) vs. West Hall (No. 7 seed)
4:30 p.m. – East Hall boys (No. 3 seed) vs. Lakeview Academy (No. 6 seed)
6 p.m. – Gainesville girls (No. 1 seed) vs. Johnson (No. 8 seed)
7:30 p.m. – Johnson boys (No. 1 seed) vs. West Hall (No. 8 seed)