Bobcats Fail to Control Bruins’ Big Men, Fall to NW Whitfield at Home

By Wright Hogsed

The 7-7 Gilmer County Bobcats hosted region opponent (11-3) Northwest Whitfield on Wednesday, January 15th, hoping to get back on track after a 14-point loss to Calhoun last week. The Bobcats started the game slow, with only two players scoring in the first quarter and only ten points. Getting the whole team involved would continue to be a trend the rest of the game, with Gilmer struggling mightily to score offensively outside of Junior G #0 Keegan Bryant and Senior SG #10 JD Taylor, who carried the team to half, scoring a combined 20 first-half points and 46 total points. While Gilmer’s struggles continued past the first quarter, the Bruins did not. NW Whitfields big men, Senior Center #5 Caden Ramsey and Junior PF #30 Abil Lyon, combined for 25 first-half points. The half ended with the Bobcats trailing by four, 33-29.

The Bobcats duo came out hot again in the third quarter, combining for 13 of the Bobcats’ 15 third-quarter points and cutting the Bruin’s lead into the fourth quarter to one point with a score of 45-44. Gilmer’s third-quarter momentum was stifled by an offensive barrage from the Bruins, where seven players combined for all 21 of NW Whitfield’s fourth-quarter points, outscoring the Bobcats 21-13 in the fourth. The game ended with a final score of 66-57, and a NW Whitfield win brought them to 12-3 and dropped the Bobcats to 7-8. NW Whitfield’s duo of Ramsey (18 points) and Lyon (19 points) finished with 37 points with six other players scoring the remaining 29 points.

The Bobcats high scorers were Taylor (24 points) and Bryant (22 points), with other contributors being Preston McVey (4 points), Mack Kiser (3 points), Blane Banks (2 points), and Jaden Sevcech (2 points). Gilmer looks ahead to a busy weekend where they head to Adairsville for another region matchup on Friday, January 17th, and then return home to face an out-of-state opponent in the Murphy Bulldogs (NC) on Saturday, January 18th.