About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2018)
SPORTS Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com Sftncs gainesvilletimes.com Thursday, December 13, 2018 HIGH SCHOOL BASKCTBALL Lions hold off Indians COLLEGE BASKETBALL UNG basketball teams to be featured on national broadcast AUSTIN STEELE I The Times Lakeview Academy’s Arturo Varela goes up for a layup with Tallulah Fall’s Matthew Weidner, left, and Winston Davis covering him during the game on Wednesday, Dec. 12, in Gainesville. The national spotlight will shine on the Univer sity of North Georgia on Jan. 9. The Nighthawks women’s and men’s Peach Belt Conference basketball games against Colum bus State will be nationally televised on ESPN3. The Wednesday night doubleheader — dubbed Operation Nighthawks of Honor Night — will fea ture a ceremony honoring 12 University of North Georgia alumni who were killed during, or asso ciated with, the Korean War. The ceremony will be a part of the broadcast. The women’s game will tip off at 5:30 p.m., and the men’s game is set for a 7:30 p.m. start. ESPN3 is available online at WatchESPN.com and on the WatchESPN app. Compiled by Nathan Berg MLS JOHN BAZEMORE I Associated Press Atlanta United head coach Gerardo Martino paces on the sideline during the second half of the MLS Cup championship game against the Portland Timbers on Dec. 8, in Atlanta. Still no final Lakeview s Cottrell ices game from FT line in 49-45 win BY NATHAN BERG nberg@gainesvilletimes.com Lakeview Academy’s Adam Cottrell didn’t hit many shots in Wednesday night’s boys basketball matchup against Tallulah Falls, but when the Lions needed him most, his aim was true. After allowing the Indians to storm back from an 11-point Lakeview Acad emy advantage to start the fourth quar ter, Cottrell made it to the free-throw line for a pivotal one-and-one with under 30 seconds to play as the Lions clung to a two-point lead. Cottrell con nected on both attempts, pushing the lead back to four and icing the Lions’ 49-45 win in Gainesville. “That’s clutch,” Lions senior point guard Blake McIntyre said. “I know he didn’t shoot it the way he wanted to tonight, but just see ing those free throws go in is good for a shooter. It’s good for his psyche. I’m glad he made them.” McIntyre led the team with 17 points, including four 3-pointers in the first quarter that helped the Lions (5-2) build an early lead. Arturo Varela added 13 for the home team. Matthew Weidner dominated scoring for Tallulah Falls (4-6), putting up 24 in the Indians’ losing effort. Both teams struggled defensively to start the non-region contest. Weidner was dominant for the Indians in the post, scoring 10 in the opening eight minutes. Lakeview Academy fought back with constant ball movement and careful shot selection. The Lions managed to get McIntyre open looks from behind the arc on three straight possessions in the middle of the quarter, and he connected on all three. “We moved the ball really well in the first half,” Lakeview Academy coach Todd Cottrell said. “We were getting into a little flow and a rhythm.” The Lions faltered a bit to start the second quarter, but finished the frame strong. After yielding a pair of layups to Wei dner early in the period and struggling to get open looks, the team flipped a switch down the stretch. Lakeview Academy ended the quarter with a 10-0 run over the final four minutes before the break. Varela kicked things off with a pair of shots, and McIntyre finished the streak with an acrobatic layup he hit while going to the ground while drawing con tact. He converted the three- point play to give the Lions a six-point lead at halftime. “I know I’m small, so I’ve got to be able to do that, being small,” McIntyre said of the effort. “It’s just all coaching and training.” The Lions extended their lead throughout the third quar ter behind a strong start from Roman Yaskulka and an efficient finish from Varela. Yaskulka scored the first basket of the second half and made a couple more shots near the midpoint of the frame. His 3-pointer gave Lakeview Academy a nine-point lead with about two minutes left to play in the period. Varela took things from there, scor ing two of the last three baskets in the quarter, including the final shot at the buzzer that put the Lions up by 11 with only eight minutes left to play. Then, things started to go awry for the hosts. Weidner scored a quick two baskets to start the final quarter and hit a 3 that brought the Indi ans within four points with four minutes left to play. Sebastian Herrera connected on a layup a couple possessions later, mak ing it a two-point game. But Lakeview Academy’s defense tightened up from there. The Lions did not allow a single point over the final two minutes, and Cot trell’s free throws provided a safety net for the team as it finished off the home win. “We’re a good shooting team, but we didn’t shoot especially well tonight, especially in the second half,” coach Cottrell said. “... We’ve got to do a little better job. ... We’re better when we share, and we didn’t share very well in the second half. That’s something we can correct though, which is exciting. We found a way to win on a night that was tough.” LAKEVIEW ACADEMY GIRLS 57, TALLULAH FALLS 43: Sadie Thrailkill had a 14-point, 11-rebound double-dou ble for the Lady Lions (5-2), and Eliza Snyder scored 20 points with eight boards in the win. Joelle Snyder was also in double digits for Lakeview Academy with 14 points, while Savannah Kinsey contrib uted eight rebounds as the Lady Lions ran away with the home victory. The Lady Lions will be action in action on Friday at 6 p.m. when they take on Franklin, N.C. McIntyre Todd Cottrell agreement for Martino to lead Mexico Atlanta Journal-Constitution Gerardo Martino said that it’s possible that his next job will be leading the Mexico national soccer team, but a final agreement hasn’t been reached. Martino last week led Atlanta United to a league championship with a 2-0 victory over Port land in the MLS Cup at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Martino has long been rumored to be next in line to lead “El Tri,” but has consistently disputed the reports. Atlanta United announced in late October that Martino had declined to renew his contract with the club after its first two seasons. Martino, speaking exclusively to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in his final interview before flying home to Argentina on Monday for the first time since January, said he has no dead line to reach an agreement with the Mexican Federation. “I can’t say it’s totally official,” he said. Martino experienced great success as Atlanta United’s manager in leading it to a title as well as a berth in next year’s CONCACAF Champions League tournament. The team posted two of the greatest scoring seasons in league history, as well as two of the greatest goal-differences. Under Martino, the team had the 2017 Rookie of the Year Julian Gressel, as well as the 2018 MVP and Golden Boot winner Josef Martinez. “I really want to thank Arthur (Blank), Dar ren (Eales), Carlos (Bocanegra) and Paul (McDonough) for having confidence in me and a thank you to everyone at the club who has helped us,” Martino said. “A profound thank you to my coaching staff and a big thank you to my players. The success is a tribute to players from both last year to this season. ” COLLEGE FOOTBALL Georgia Tech players motivated to give Johnson 1 final win BY CHARLES ODUM Associated Press ATLANTA — Georgia Tech players say they’ll have extra motivation to send coach Paul Johnson out with a win when they play Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl. The 61-year-old Johnson announced on Nov. 28 he is step ping down after 11 seasons with the Yellow Jackets. Geoff Col lins was hired from Temple as Georgia Tech’s new coach on Friday, but Johnson will coach the bowl game. “Going out with your coach, that’s pretty cool, you know?” senior wide receiver Brad Stew art said Tuesday. “That’s not something people can say every day.... It’s unique to kind of go out with coach Johnson and be by his side.” Returning players will want to make a good first impres sion on Collins. But even they say their priority is a successful farewell for Johnson in the Dec. 26 game in Detroit. “We’ve had the honor to play for coach Johnson, for me the past four years,” said run ning back Nathan Cottrell, a fourth-year junior. “He’s been an awesome coach. When you hear someone is retiring, especially in this game, you want to send them out on the right note. We get a chance to do that in Detroit. Hopefully we’ll send him out with a win. It does put a lot more motivation in our heads, I think.” Johnson is 82-59 at Georgia Tech, including 7-5 this season. He said he needs a break but left open the possibility he could return to coaching. The Yellow Jackets began bowl practice on Saturday. Johnson has tried to keep players on their normal routine. “It’s only weird if you make it weird,” he said Saturday. “To me, it’s just like getting ready for any other game. You’re just getting ready to play a game.” On Tuesday, Johnson had a quick joke — aimed at his crit ics — when asked if he found it unusual to be freed of the nor mal recruiting duties leading up to the early signing period this month. “Shoot, I didn’t recruit for 11 years,” Johnson said, smiling. “That was the party line, right? I don’t know how we ever won any games.” Johnson relied heavily on such under-the-radar recruits as Stewart to play in his spread- option offense. That made those ■ Please see JOHNSON, 2B JOHN BAZEMORE I Associated Press Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson watches teams warm up before the first half of a 2017 game between Georgia Tech and Georgia, in Atlanta.
