About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2020)
SPORTS Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com Sftncs gainesvilletimes.com Wednesday, January 29, 2020 SCOREBOARD Trojans boys earn 57-44 win Clark Howell’s team-high 16 points paced the North Hall boys to a 57-44 win against Lumpkin County on Tuesday in Dahlonega. Samir Huete scored 15 for the Trojans (16-8,7-4 Region 7-3A). Up next, North Hall faces Cherokee Bluff on Friday. CHESTATEE GIRLS 51, BLESSED TRINITY 47: Emma Easterwood scored a game-high 17 for the Lady War Eagles to wrap up the regular season Tuesday. Logan Wiggins chipped in 11 points for Chestatee (14-11,6-6 Region 7-4A). Up next, Chestatee opens the region tournament next week. BLESSED TRINITY BOYS 56, CHES TATEE 46: Kyle Bowmar hit four 3-point- ers and scored a team-high 14 for the War Eagles on Tuesday. Ethan Popham had 11 for the War Eagles, while Jonah Bull scored 10. Up next, Chestatee faces White County to open Region 7-4 A tournament play Mon day in Roswell. WINDER-BARROW GIRLS 65, GAINESVILLE 55: Lauren Teasley had 19 points and Sadie Roach added 16 for the Lady Red Elephants on Tuesday. Up next, Gainesville visits Lanier on Friday in Sugar Hill. CEDAR SHOALS BOYS 69, JOHNSON 33: The Knights were unable to rebound after trailing 17-4 at the end of the first quarter on Tuesday. Buddha Johnson scored a game-high 11 points for the Knights. Up next, Johnson hosts Loganville on Friday. BUFORD GIRLS 65, LOGANVILLE 47: Ashyia Willis had 19 points, while Tate Walters added 17 for the Lady Wolves (23- 1,10-0 Region 8-5A) to wrap up the No. 1 seed to the upcoming region tournament. LAKE VIEW ACADEMY BOYS 59, ATH ENS ACADEMY 50: Holden Cooper scored 14 points — including a pair of clutch 3s in the final minute of the game — and Dylan Weidner added 15 to help the Lions past the Spartans. Lakeview Academy will fin ish off the regular season schedule Friday evening against Hebron Christian at 7:30 p.m. LAKEVIEW ACADEMY GIRLS 55, ATHENS ACADEMY 44: Joelle Snyder led the team with 15 points, while Eliza Snyder contributed 13 with five rebounds. Also in double-digits, Elise Roark and Maddy Towles added 12 and 11 points respec tively. Jackie Allen led the Lady Lions (18- 6,8-0 Region 8-A) with eight assists. LANIER CHRISTIAN ACADEMY GIRLS 55, Killian Hill Christian 25: A 30-11 lead at halftime sent the Lady Light ning on their way to victory Tuesday. Reece Montgomery had a team-high 17 points for Lanier Christian, while Lexie Robertson added 12. Up next, Lanier Christian opens its region tournament against Peachtree Academy on Feb. 6. KILLIAN HILL CHRISTIAN BOYS 51, LANIER CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 49: Trevin Last had 18 points and 13 rebounds on Tuesday for the Lightning. BANKS COUNTY BOYS 49, UNION COUNTY 39: Dakota Orr finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks on Tuesday in Blairsville. Carl Cleveland had 11 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Leopards (20-4,11-2 Region 8-2A), while Clay Gosnell chipped in 9 points and four boards. Up next, Banks County will host Social Circle to wrap up the regular season. Compiled by Bill Murphy and Nathan Berg HIGH SCHOOL BASKCTBALL Bluff girls pull region upset Photos by NATHAN BERG I The Times Cherokee Bluff’s Timber Gaither makes a basket while being defended by three Dawson County players Tuesday in Flowery Branch. Bears wrap up regular season against N. Hall BY NATHAN BERG nberg@gainesvilletimes.com The Cherokee Bluff girls basketball team got off to a bit of a rocky start Tuesday evening against Dawson County. But a pair of dominant stretches in the second and fourth quarters were enough for the Lady Bears (5-19,2-9 Region 7-3A) to fight their way to an upset victory over the visiting Lady Tigers on senior night, 56-53. Timber Gaither led the way for Cherokee Bluff with 17 points, while the team’s lone senior Madi Phillips scored 12 and grabbed a couple of key rebounds to help power the Lady Bears to the win. “We played a really tough schedule in the hopes that it would pay off about this time of year, so I’m just really proud of them and their effort,” Cher okee Bluff coach Lindsay Justice said after the game. “They locked in defensively and shared the basketball. I’m just super proud of our kids.” Dawson County got off to the quicker start between the teams, rattling off a 9-2 run early in the first quarter as the Lady Bears struggled to ■ Please see BEARS, 2B Jl ■■ I Jr Cherokee Bluff’s Bosko Norman prepares to go in for a basket against Dawson County on Tuesday. Kobe’s impact has been stamped on a generation Death of legend puts into focus the power he had to galvanize people Growing up, one prayer united my generation unlike any other - regardless of race, religion, nationality or gender. It was shouted every day in high school cafeterias and bathrooms, as mil lions of projectiles were launched toward millions of trash cans. Part declaration, part plea, a single word became a universal guide, leading objects to their proper destinations. “Kobe!” Sometimes, the shot would hit, making the shooter a temporary king among lunchroom peasants - a blessing from an all-time great. Sometimes it would fall short, forcing them to make the eternal walk of shame to the base of the bin and try again. The Mamba giveth, and the Mamba taketh away. Early Sunday morning, the world lost a sports icon. Kobe Bryant was an athlete that tran scended basketball. He was the embodiment of the one quality that has always sepa rated the goods from the greats: clutch. He was also a father and busi NATHAN BERG nberg@gainesvilletimes.com nessman who became living proof that hard work and belief will always pay off no matter where you come from. The world will never be the same without Kobe, and he will be sorely missed. He will also never be forgotten. Though he retired less than four years ago, Kobe’s legacy has already made a tangible effect on today’s NBA. Newcoming guards around the league have donned Nos. 24 and 8 in his honor for years already, and his influence on a generation of young athletes is hard to overstate. The gifted few to make it pro fessionally undoubtedly spent years embarrassing opponents in JOHN AMIS I The Associated Press Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) works against Atlanta Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll (5) in the first half of a 2013 game in Atlanta. hardtop pickup games with Kobe’s signature fadeaway and stare down. Those of us who were less ath letically inclined emulated him with the same level of vigor, if not quite as much skill. We may not have hit the shots, but Kobe’s attitude of competitiveness is a quality that can make the differ ence between success and failure no matter the task. Just got into your dream col lege? Kobe! Earned that big promotion? Kobe! Popped the question and she said yes? You get the point. I’ve never been a big Lakers fan, nor am I a supporter of pro dynasties like the early 2000s LA squads who consistently beat down the rest of the league both in style points and on the scoreboard. But if you couldn’t appreciate what Kobe did on the court night in and night out during his playing days, you just didn’t get basketball. The game would simply not be the same without him. There are fewer opportunities in adult life to invoke Kobe’s name out loud, but I’ve managed to find a personal exception. Every day after washing my hands in The Gainesville Times office bath room, I grab two paper towels from the dispenser, dry my hands and crumple them into a neat ball. I take five or six steps away from the trash can, countdown from three in my head and right at the imagined buzzer, I loose the shot. Each instance comes with that one hallowed word spoken quietly under my breath as I pray for the shot to find its mark. Kobe. Sometimes I succeed and some times I fail, much like life really. But no matter the result, the spirit of the Mamba always gives me the confidence to try again the next time. Thank you Kobe. Nathan Berg is sports writer for The Times. He can be reached at nberg@gainesvilletimes.com or 770-718-3415.
