About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2024)
2C Weekend Edition-January 19-20, 2024 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia I gainesvilletimes.com SPORTS Bill Murphy The Times Cherokee Bluff’s Bristol Kersh (13) dribbles against Chestatee on Jan. 9 in Gainesville. FROM 1C Kersh Boston currently leads the Bears (14-5, 6-3 in Region 8-4A, 5-1 in subregion) in both scoring (16 ppg) and rebounding (10 rpg). Meanwhile Bris tol, who came into her freshman season with a lot of expectation fol lowing success on the youth basketball, mid dle school and AAU cir cuit, has had a similar impact with the No. 8 Lady Bears (14-4, 7-2, 5-1) by doing a little bit of everything, aver aging 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 4.1 steal and 3.5 deflec tions per game. And while Boston admits it seems a little strange seeing his kid sister starring on the same floor that he does on a night-in and night- out basis, it's a feeling he's gotten used to, and one that he isn't all that surprised about. “Before my games start, her games are always being played, so I'm always watching her game,” Boston said. “I don't think much of it. I know she’s always been able to do stuff like that, but it’s crazy. I never thought we’d both be playing varsity at the same time and both be playing well and killing it. So, it’s cool to see that.” Bristol gets a similar vibe watching her older brother play after her games get down most Tuesdays and Fridays. And while Bristol and Boston play much different positions in much different styles of basketball, there’s always a lot of dis cussion among them about the way they can approach some basic things on and off the court every day. Bristol says that a lot of the best advice she’s gotten from her brother has to do with on-the- court topics. “He talked to me about a lot of stuff, like my defensive side,” said Bristol, who is also a standout soccer player and figures to have an impact for the Lady Bears' state-ranked squad this spring. “He likes to block a lot of shots, and then he rebounds a ton, so I can definitely learn that from him. And just him sharing the ball. He's not a selfish player, so I've kind of learned that from him.” Likewise, Boston agrees that he has learned quite a bit from Bristol's observations of his games. Interestingly enough, however, he says that the most impactful advice he’s gotten from his sister has to do with leadership style despite the fact that she is two years younger and less experienced than he is. Either way, he agrees with Bristol that the advice is a two-way street, one that has helped basketball become a strong bond between the two of them. “I'll definitely help her out here and there and give her tips and stuff like that, but I'm definitely watching the game. I'm critiquing her game out there,” Boston Kersh said. “With her team, she's more a vocal leader, and that's something I can learn from. I feel like I lead more from example. Like, (Tuesday) night (after finishing with game highs of 30 points and 15 rebounds in a win over Walnut Grove), I was calling for the ball. Tyler (Underwood) and Logan (Holmes) are still behind the scenes calling all the plays and all that. They just got me the ball.” That strong basket ball bond that has been formed between the Kersh siblings is one that goes back many years before either of them started attending Cherokee Bluff. Bristol said it started when they would head to the stands of gyms throughout Hall County each holi day season to take in action in the Lanierland Tournament. So, it comes as no surprise how seeing Boston take home the Most Valuable Player award after leading the Bears to the program's first Lanierland title nearly three weeks ago brought back a lot of memories of those nights. “I've always kind of trained for this because when me and my brother were growing up, we've always went to the all the Lanierland games,” Bristol Kersh said. “So, just being at Lanierland together and (now) him playing right after me, it's all amaz ing. ... Watching my brother win MVP of the tournament and us doing well also. To see him playing well, I'm very proud of him.” Of course, as close as basketball has brought the Kershes together, it has also stoked their natural competitiveness. One of the few examples of some sib ling rivalry that exists between them comes up whenever they play 1-on-l game either in the family driveway or a local gymnasium, which Boston is quick to point out that he dominates. “We played all the time. No, she never beat me,” he said wryly. Bristol acknowledges those results, though she is quick to point out the built-in advantages Boston has, like the fact that standing only 5-7, she gives up some nine inches of height, as well as two years of age, strength and experi ence to her big brother, though she says she has closed the gap at least a little in recent years. “Yes, he does (also holding it over her head as a reminder),” Bristol admitted. “We used to play 1-on-l all the time in the driveway, and he'd always have the advantage because he's a boy and he's taller. “Whenever we do have a chance, we'll go to the gym and get some shots up, but if we do play 1-on-l (these days), it can be a close game, but at the same time, I can also get killed.” That all said, both Boston and Bristol have enjoyed being part of both success ful programs at Chero kee Bluff this season, and are hopeful that both of their teams can add to the fun by mak ing deep runs into the postseason. And with Boston set for one more year of high school, both are also looking forward to creating more cherished family memories for the 2024-25 season. “That's just another year for us to grow, so it'll be great,” Boston said. TUESDAY’S HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL Bluff boys rally for huge victory Bears trailed by as much as 13 late in the contest Lee Heard For The Times Cherokee Bluff’s Cooper Glover (11) goes in for a basket against Walnut Grove on Tuesday in Flowery Branch. BY DAVID FRIEDLANDER dfriedlander@gainesvilletimes.com Trailing since the early moments of the second quarter of their Region 8-4A crossover game with Walnut Grove, Cher okee Bluff's boys found them selves in the bleakest of situation when falling behind by 13 points early in the fourth quarter. However, the Bears found another gear behind leading man Boston Kersh and a well- stocked supporting cast and outscored the visiting Warriors 18-5 over the final 5:45, includ ing an 8-1 run over the last 3:10, to escape with an improbable 58-56 victory Tuesday at Chero kee Bluff. Kersh finished the night with game-highs of 30 points and 15 rebounds, however, as Cherokee Bluff boys coach Josh Travis was quick to point out, he had plenty of help from his friends. Among the other heroes were Cooper Glover, who scored all six of his points during the first of two big fourth-quarter runs, Logan Holmes, who made up for an off shooting night to contribute a game-high five assists and some solid defense, and a group of shock troops off the bench, led by K.T. Thomp son and Tanaka Mukono, who combined for 12 points, six rebounds, an assist and two steals. Add it all up, and it was an inspired way for the Bears to improve to 14-5 overall and 6-3 in full region play. “He hit from outside, he rebounded, he got to the paint and he relatively kept himself out of foul trouble,” Travis said of Kersh. “(But) we've got guys who weren't with us last week who had every (chance) to step up. We came into (Tuesday) night, and I told everybody, I wasn't sure who to play. Even as I sit here now, I don't know if I made the right decision. We almost have too many good players. “Everybody who played (Tuesday) stepped up.... Every body did their job. So yeah, we had a guy go for 30. That's really special, but it doesn't happen without everybody else around them being willing to do their role.” That job became even tougher when Walnut Grove (10-9, 3-5) matched its biggest lead of the game when Xavier Malcolm followed a Chase Mohn layup with a 3-pointer that made the Warriors' advantage 51-38 with just 6:01 remaining. Glover was the first to step up with his line in the scorebook blank for the first 26-plus min utes of the game. The 6-foot-4, 175-pound sophomore turned his energy level up a notch and hit a pair of free throws, followed by a layup in transition and another layup off an inbound play to lead an 8-0 run that pulled Cherokee Bluff to within 51-46 with 4:36 left. WALNUT GROVE GIRLS 54, CHEROKEE BLUFF 52: Like the boys, the eighth-ranked Lady Bears (14-4, 7-2) trailed a good portion of the game, but made things very interesting down the stretch, using an 8-1 run to turn a six-point deficit into a 50-48 lead after Bristol Kersh's steal and layup with 3:05 to play. After one more exchange of the lead and two ties, the last at 52-all following a pair of Kersh free throws with 32.6 seconds left, Cherokee Bluff had two big chances at points. First, the Lady Bears had a chance to hold for the last shot and the win, but a steal by Walnut Grove's Teaira Kelley and two free throws after being fouled, the last of her game- high 26 points (along with 12 rebounds), put the Lady War riors in front 54-52 with 6.8 sec onds left. TUESDAY’S SCOREBOARD Black, Cable help Chestatee girls top North Oconee Chestatee's Riley Black scored 37 points and pulled down 17 rebounds in a 61-58 win against North Oconee on Tuesday in Bogart. Also for the Lady War Eagles (15-4, 8-0 Region 8-4A), Payton Cable had a big impact with eight points and 10 rebounds. Caroline Bull knocked down three 3-pointers for her nine points. FLOWERY BRANCH GIRLS 31, CLARKE CEN TRAL 18: The Lady Falcons built a nine-point lead through the first period and pushed it to a 16-point halftime edge Tuesday in Flowery Branch. For the Lady Falcons (9-9), Kaitlin Cangolosi had 13 points and Jayla Gudz chipped in seven. GAINESVILLE BOYS 54, JACKSON COUNTY 42: Sophomore Xavier Griffin led the way with a team-high 13 points for the Red Elephants (6-12, 4-1 Region 8-6A) on Tuesday in Hoschton. Also for Gainesville, Zeke Amir had 10 points, while Ellis Pitts and Jay Walls each had nine. LAKEVIEW ACADEMY BOYS 71, GEORGE WAL TON ACADEMY 68: Mekhi Barber had 25 points for the Lions (15-4, 2-0 league play) on Tuesday in Monroe. Also for Lakeview Academy, Justyce Sadler had 18 points and Eli Mayfield finished with 10. MADISON COUNTY BOYS 87, NORTH HALL 74: Matt Ray had a team-high 21 points for the Trojans, while Cole Hulsey added 19 on Tues day in Danielsville. LANIER CHRISTIAN GIRLS 57, WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN 35: Emma Flow ers scored a team-high 20 points as the Lady Lightning kept roll ing in league play on Tuesday. Also for the Lady Lightning (12-7, 3-0), Jia Thapar had 10 points and Moriah Clark added nine. High school scores can be submitted by sending an email to sports @gainesvilletimes. com. FROM 1C Lanier used to do it all the time. If you venture out on these crazy cold nights dress very warmly, bring a second set of cold weather cloths and don't fish alone. Striper fishing has remained surprisingly good and the fish are still both up lake in the rivers and down lake in the backs of the creeks. As mentioned in the bass report above, the main thing you're looking for are the mas sive schools of bait that these hard fighting fish eat during winter. Stripers are a whole lot less affected by cold water than almost any other species we fish for this time of year. Once again anglers need to dress very warmly and bring a second set of clothes just in case, God forbid they fall in the water this time of year. A lot of the stripers continue to be relatively deep, but you can also break away from the crowds and explore shallow water for a big fish. Big stripers tend to be loners and they do different things than smaller fish. That's why they get big. Stripers are visual feeders and they also can feel the bait in their lateral lines. While the stripers may be in deep water, they won't necessarily always be deep. Instead, these fish may be in the middle section of the water column. You can start your day pull ing a full-size Captain Mack's Umbrella Rig while you search for this big schools of shad that these fish are feasting on. You may want to slow your trolling down to 1 or I Vi mph so that your rigs will run a little deeper in the water column. Trolling can be surprisingly effective in the cold water of win ter, and you may decide to just stick with this technique all day long because it works. Personally. I don't troll a lot. but instead would prefer to catch these fish on artificial lures that we cast to fish or drop vertically down to the fish we see on our graphs. Jigging spoons are a good choice as are small swim baits or a SPRO Buck Tails for anglers that prefer fish with artificial lures. If bait fishing is your deal, then that's probably the most pro ductive method right now. Electronics are essential for this technique because modern- day electronics easily show fish, baitfish and even your baits and down lines. Utilize down (weighted) lines with a fresh herring, trout, large shiner or freshly caught thread- fin shad or gizzard shad we'll all produce well this time of year. Drop your lines to just at the level where you see fish below the boat. If you're only marking shad try to position your down lines in the middle of the schools for your best results. The best bites on live bait have been occurring in 25 feet or deeper. I still like to put out a large bait behind the boat on a free (unweighted) line and balloon ng. Let your bait out about 25 ft then tie the balloon to your main line and pull these baits slowly back way back behind the boat. This can produce one big fish or several good fish during the day even though most of the fish are deep. Night fishing can be extremely productive this time of year, but once again just a little too cold for my taste. Dress very warmly, wear your life jacket (PFD) and fish with a friend. Pitch Herring to the lighted boat docks or cast SPRO McSticks or Bomber Long As to these same lighted boat docks and fish them slow and steady. Crappie: There are a lot of crappie at varying depths of water right now. These tasty fish have been extremely finicky this week and live bait has been your best bet. Drop crappie minnows, medium shiners or live threadfin shad on a down line in to the mid dle of the schools for a few bites from these finicky fish. Eric Aldrich is an outdoor writer, marketing specialist and bass angler. Reports are based on personal experience and permission from a close network of friends. I would love to hear from our read ers so please email me at esal- drich@yahoo.com. FROM 1C Payne The Red Elephants' top returning offensive lineman made his first offi cial visit to North Carolina last sum mer, according to his profile on Rivals, com. If Payne signs with the Tar Heels after his senior season, he'll already know one former high school team mate on campus at UNC. On Jan. 7, Gainesville senior defen sive back Zion Ferguson (29 solo tack les, five interceptions with three for a touchdown in 2023) began his career at North Carolina as an early enrollee. Ferguson also played in the Under Armour All-American Game prior to moving to Chapel Hill to begin taking classes and conditioning with the foot ball program. Payne is just one of many Gaines ville prospects who is currently mak ing news in the college-recruiting world. In the past week, Red Elephants sophomore defensive end Xavier Grif fin picked up scholarship offers from Duke and Vanderbilt, to go with offers he already has from Florida State, Ten nessee and Mississippi State, among others, based on his profile on 247. com.
