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North Hall boys, East Hall girls get wins Saturday night
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North Hall High’s Shakelya Rucker attempts to stop East Hall High’s Jasmine Jenkins during a game at North Hall High School Saturday night. - photo by SARA GUEVARA | The Times

Saturday’s North Hall versus East Hall boys basketball game was the intersection of two programs on opposite ends of the momentum spectrum.

The Trojans (13-6, 6-0 Region 7A-AAA) kept their upbeat attitude going with a 63-56 win against the Vikings at North Hall. With the win, North Hall has won six of its last seven, and both games against the Vikings this season. The Trojans look to stay undefeated in the subregion with a game against Chestatee at North Hall on Tuesday.

On the other hand, East Hall (7-9, 1-3 Region 7B-AAA) is searching for answers after having to forfeit a game to Flowery Branch on Thursday that was played last week, lost by one point Friday night to West Forsyth and have now come up on the losing end of five-in-a-row. To make matters more difficult, East Hall will play without two previous starters (Kiante Young and Sterling Bailey) the rest of the season as result of injuries.

"It’s been a bad week," East Hall coach Joe Dix said. "But this is a great group of kids on our team.

"They haven’t quit on me, so I’m not going to be quitting on them."

In the girls’ game, the Lady Vikings jumped to an 18-2 lead after the first quarter and cruised to a comfortable 61-33 win. With the win, East Hall has seven wins in its last eight games.

North Hall’s boys led by 14 heading into the fourth quarter Saturday. East Hall’s plan of attack was to send the Trojans to the free throw line, trying to cut into their double-digit lead. North Hall responded by hitting 14-of-18 from the line to secure the win.

"I’m so proud of our team," North Hall coach Benjie Wood said. "They kept the lead and their poise late in the game."

Trevor Ross was North Hall’s leading scorer with 12 and Kanler Coker added 11.

The Trojans went on a 13-3 run late in the second quarter. Chris Barnes, Lance White, Chase Syfan and Coker all hit 3-pointers during a stretch when North Hall scored 12 straight points.

Dustin Duckworth led East Hall with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Kymmon Woods had 12 points and six rebounds for the Vikings and Greg Edwards scored 10.

North Hall plays host to Chestatee at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. East Hall plays host to West Hall on Tuesday.

East Hall girls 61, North Hall 33

Jasmine Jenkins was the catalyst behind East Hall’s (11-6, 3-1 Region 7B-AAA) big first quarter.

She scored three baskets in the final 1:34 of the first period, finished with eight total points in the first quarter and led the Lady Vikings with 11 on the night. Hannah Strickland added a 3-pointer for the Lady Vikings in the first quarter.

"That was a great first quarter for our team," East Hall coach Joey Rider said. "I thought we did a good job putting pressure on North Hall early."

Despite a 6-0 run by North Hall early in the third, East Hall rebounded quickly with baskets at the end of the quarter from Kristina Harris, Haley Chapman and Symone Hampton.

Kayneshia Maddox had nine points and 11 rebounds for East Hall. Harris scored 10, and Hampton had three points and six rebounds. The Lady Vikings finished the game with a 40-16 rebounding advantage.

Taylor Tate led the Lady Trojans with nine points and Mary Kate Rushton added seven.

East Hall plays host to West Hall at 6 p.m. on Tuesday night. North Hall plays host to Chestatee on Tuesday.

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