Last night, Feb. 24, the Gilmer Bobcats traveled to Fannin Co. to take on the Rebels for the 10U recreation basketball district championship. Although both teams fought hard until the end, the Rebels were the ones to walk away with a 44-31 championship victory to move on to the state tournament.

Gilmer got the ball from tip off and wasted no time putting the ball into action. Chas Curtis started things off for the Bobcats as he drove to the basket for a layup to give Gilmer the early lead. Curtis finished the night with 12 points. For the Rebels, Keaton Watkins responded by drawing a foul and adding a point from the free-throw line to put Fannin Co. on the board. Watkins led the Rebels in scoring for the night as he earned 16 points overall. Kole Foster was the one to get the lead for Fannin Co. as he made an outside shot to put the score at 3-2. The Bobcats were quick to take back the lead as Preston McVey made a shot on the block to put the score at 4-3. McVey was an unstoppable force on the block for the night as he led the Bobcats in scoring for the night with 14 points. Cannon Holloway returned the favor with a made layup to give Fannin Co. the lead back and put the score at 5-4. Holloway finished the night with eight points. Holloway continued putting the ball into action as he passed up the court to Rylin Davis who drove the ball in for a layup to extend the Rebels’ lead. Davis finished with 11 points. Gilmer’s McVey made a shot on the block to put the score at 7-6 with Fannin Co. in the lead to end the first quarter. 

The game continued to go back-and-forth to start the second quarter as McVey continued to show off his moves on the block to give Gilmer an 8-7 lead. Jayden Richerson for Fannin Co. quickly responded as he made an outside shot to put the score at 9-8 with Fannin Co. in the lead. Reid Holloway added onto the score as he drew a foul and contributed a point of his own from the free-throw line. McVey was the one to tie up the ball game 10-10 for Gilmer to take the lead on the very next play as Jase McCollum made a rebound shot and contributed five points overall to the Bobcats’ score. McVey for Gilmer contributed two points of his own from the free throw line and Curtis scored another layup to advance the Bobcats’ score. Rylin Davis for Fannin Co. made a free throw to put the score at 16-13 with the Rebels trying to catch up. Fannin Co.’s Holloway received an assist from Richerson to give Fannin Co. the lead with at 17-16. The Rebels’ lead did not last long as McVey put another shot up from the block to put the score at 18-17 with Gilmer back in the lead to go into halftime.

To start off the second half, Fannin Co. found their fire. Holloway was the one to take the lead back for the Rebels as he made an outside shot followed by a layup to put the score at 21-18. Richerson had grit on defense as he took a charge to keep the Bobcats from scoring a layup. The Rebels played a solid defense as they only allowed the Bobcats to score four points the entire quarter while Fannin Co. scored 18 to run away with their lead and never looked back. The Rebels were able to close out the third quarter with a 38-22 lead against the Bobcats. 

Although Gilmer was down, they refused to give up. They kept making steals to drive to their basket while Fannin Co. did the same. Casen Bailey made his presence known in the second half of the game as he got after it and added four points on the board for Fannin Co. overall. McCollum closed out the game as he made a 3-point shot to add to the Bobcats’ score, however it was not enough to catch up to the Rebels, who won the championship 44-31. 

Gilmer head coach Patrick McVey stated, “This Gilmer team worked hard all season long but just fell short tonight.”

Fannin Co. head coach Bryan Richerson stated, “The kids played well. It’s a sight to see these kids get some success as something for us to build on.”

Fannin Co. will go on to play the winner of District 2 on Friday night, March 6, at 8:45 p.m. at Hendrix Park Gym located at 3960 Wilma Edwards Road in Ellavell, Georgia.