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
■■
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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.
