Buchholz blitzkrieged Gainesville High from the opening tip, but the Hurricanes regrouped to overcome the Bobcats for a 61-53 boys basketball win at Buchholz High.
If it was drag racing, Gainesville (18-5) would’ve certainly been doomed by its slow start Friday night. Trent Whittemore made two of the Bobcats’ four 3-pointers in the opening quarter, and the Hurricanes didn’t get a field goal until nearly five minutes in, as Buchholz (9-13) jumped out to a 16-9 lead.
“We knew they were going to come out and play well at home,” Gainesville coach Kelly Beckham said. “They just shot an incredible percentage from 3. A lot of them were contested, but they still made them.”
Gainesville tightened the game in the second quarter, drawing to within four at 24-20 before Buchholz sunk five straight free throws to close the half up 29-20. The Bobcats defense held GHS to just 22-percent shooting (6-for-27) in the first 16 minutes.
Brooks Walton banked in a short jumper from the low block to open the second half, giving Buchholz a 31-20 lead, but it proved to be the only basket the Bobcats would manage in the quarter and the next eight minutes of play.
“You don’t have any wins and losses at halftime,” Buchholz coach Bob Horodyski lamented. “We played a great first half, but in the second, Gainesville’s defense amped up and our inability to put the ball in the basket killed us.”
The lead and the momentum swung drastically when GHS outscored Buchholz 14-3 in the third stanza. Dallas Tealer’s corner 3-pointer with 2:52 in the quarter gave the 'Canes their first lead at 34-31. Tealer buried a trio of deep balls in the third, and five total for the night.
Up 34-32 to start the final quarter, Gainesville got two strong buckets underneath from Diamond Smith, then salted the game away at the line making 14 of 20 free throws in the fourth to sweep the season series with Buchholz.
“That’s something we’ve been working on as a group— trying to remain composed when things aren’t going our way and continuing to play as a team and weather the storm,” Beckham said.
Whittemore scored a game-high 23 points for the Bobcats, while Walton followed him with 17. Smith led Gainesville with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Tealer had 15 points and J’len Wilson added 12.