Elbert County boys basketball
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No. 8 Elbert County withstands 11 three-pointers to sweep No. 9 Banks County, 61-56

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No. 8 Elbert County 61, No. 9 Banks County 56

Wins don’t come easy in Homer, Georgia for opponents that enter the jungle. Heading into Tuesday’s Region 8-AA Top 10 clash, No. 9 Banks County (18-4, 7-2) held an 11-1 record at home and a 34-5 mark over the past three seasons in their friendly confines, often covered in blue. The defending region champs welcomed in No. 8 Elbert County (19-3, 9-1) as the two teams held a share of first-place with the Blue Devils defending their homecourt back on January 5th with a 61-50 win, jolting Elbert County into the rankings. After finishing 14-15 (6-6) in Year 1 under longtime Etowah head coach Don Hurlburt, the upstart Blue Devils have taken on Hurlburt’s style of play and have found success and swagger. But to officially announce themselves as the team to beat, they would have to find a way to win in Banks County, where they lost 65-47 and 52-45 a season ago.

It was a slow start for both teams offensively as Banks County’s 3-2 zone forced Elbert County into lengthy possessions, typically upwards of 10 to 15 passes before the Blue Devils could take a shot, but even then, there were no promises it would be a good look. Elbert was tentative in attacking and getting all the way to the basket due to 6-foot-7 shot-blocker Dylan Orr lurking in the paint and the Leopards’ team defense, Gaitlin Lunsford drawing two of Banks County’s five charges in the opening quarter.

Carl Cleveland opened the scoring for the Leopards. The 6-foot-5 sophomore and coach’s son, drilled two threes while Orr provided a lefty hook off the glass to give Banks a 10-8 lead after 8 minutes.

Elbert County edged ahead at the 4:34 mark, 14-13, behind an AJ James bucket in the paint.

With a major size advantage inside, Coach Mike Cleveland wanted to play inside out. Carl spun in the lane and dumped down an assist to Orr.

Soon after, Orr returned the favor by drawing a crowd on the block and swinging it to an open Cleveland for a three to take a 20-16 lead.

Banks’ cushion didn’t last long as the Blue Devils closed the half on a 7-0 spurt to regain a 23-20 lead. Lefty Jacquavious Ramsey scored five points in the quarter while Jamison Syphore’s activity on defense gave Elbert the late advantage.

Only Cleveland, Orr and point guard Darius Bonds scored in the first half for the Leopards while Elbert County saw five players crack the scoring column.

Banks County quickly took back the lead at the 6:18 mark up 25-23 following a Gabe Martin trifecta. Elbert County, not panicked, tightened up their full court press with junior guard Ty Hill picking up the pressure on Bonds, collecting two steals and an assist while James, who scored 22 points in their first meeting, knocked down a three as the Blue Devils took their largest lead of the game on an 11-0 run, 34-25, before a Cleveland three sliced the lead back down to six with 3:20 remaining in the third.

With the deficit nearing double digits, the Leopards came out of their zone and attempted to match up man-to-man, an advantage for the quicker Blue Devils. But while the defense was leaking points, Bonds made up for it with three threes in the frame, cutting the lead to 36-34 with 1:18 to play.

Elbert County, who hit only three three-pointers on the night, received an answer from Jaqirus Harris right before the horn to nurse a 41-37 lead into the final quarter.

Both student sections were on their feet and the crowd in full throat as first-place in Region 8 came down to the wire. The Blue Devils pushed ahead in front of their raucous fan base to take a 47-40 lead with 5:16 to play.

Ramsey and Kobe Gaudelock found life easier with Banks County out of their zone, combining for nine points in the quarter, but it was James who did the heavy lifting for the Blue Devils. The 6-foot-4 junior scored nine of his game-high 19 points in the final frame, working the post and getting to the line, going 7-of-8 from the stripe.

Always dangerous with the three-ball, hitting 11 for the game, Banks County still had life as they crept closer on Martin’s second of the night, bringing the score to 51-47 with 2:50 left.

Down to 1:29 remaining on the clock, the Leopards began fouling trailing 55-49, but the Blue Devils were 6-of-6 from the line in the quarter at that point. The strategy began to work as Elbert went 6-of-12 in the final 89 seconds and three Martin free throws had the score at 56-52 at the 1:15 mark.

Banks County’s last chance to make things interesting came with 29.5 seconds to play when a Bonds three-pointer was half way down before popping out, which nearly made it a two-point game, but instead the score read 57-52 with Ramsey heading to the line to help ice it and secure a season sweep for Elbert County.

My Take

Class AA is probably my favorite classification to cover. Small school basketball with the vast majority of the kids growing up through the pipeline. The atmosphere at Banks County is unlike any other with the gym packed from the opening tip of the girls game to the final buzzer of the boys game. The strong tie to the community is apparent as little Leopards watched their favorite players and knowledgably cheered them on.

But on Tuesday, it was Elbert County’s night. The Blue Devils don’t jump off the court with major size, with AJ James their tallest at 6-foot-4, but the effort and tenacity are there. They battled the bigger Leopards and after landing a few body blows throughout, finally knocked out the defending region champs, sweeping the season series. Elbert was extremely patient and almost shy when probing the Banks County 3-2 zone. It took them a while to adjust, but they did. Instead of forcing up bad shots, they were content with swinging the ball around until they got an open look. James was the man inside and provided physicality and toughness in the post. Jamison Syphore is very active and rebounds well for his size, collecting 11 on the night. Elbert County doesn’t have a ton of floor spacers, hitting three threes as Kobe Gaudelock, one of their best shooters who had 18 points in their first meeting, was held to six points. Elbert will likely be more of a by-committee three-point shooting team with a handful of players able to knock one down here and there. Once Banks County came out of their zone, Elbert County’s athleticism took over and they were able to find much easier looks. The Blue Devils’ press really exploited Banks County’s lack of ball handlers outside of Darius Bonds. As a team, Elbert County came away with 12 steals.

Banks County drilled 11 threes at home but still lost – a tough pill to swallow. Carl Cleveland came out firing, hitting four from deep to finish with a team-high 18 points along with Bonds who also drilled four. Dylan Orr was a non-factor in the second half, held to zero points and two rebounds after posting seven points and six rebounds in the first half. Orr plays above the rim and blocks shots, but he went 1-of-6 at the foul line and was unable to impose his will. North Georgia Head Coach Chris Faulkner was in to see him. Darius Bonds shot the ball extremely well from deep. He has a ton of pressure on him to handle the ball handling duties and Elbert County’s Ty Hill and Tay Huff really dug into him in the third quarter and forced some turnovers. Banks County’s zone was very effective, but once pulled out of it, there were some holes. Their ability to draw charges makes their zone that much more effective, but when in man, it’s harder to be in position to take them on the chest. Banks County has been dinged up with injuries this year but are getting healthy at the right time and will be a tough team to beat if they can clinch home court advantage.

Top Performers

Elbert County
AJ James – 19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal
Jacquavious Ramsey – 14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals
Ty Hill – 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 4 steals
Jamison Syphore – 8 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal

Banks County
Darius Bonds – 18 points (4 threes), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
Carl Cleveland – 18 points (4 threes), 6 rebounds, 2 assists
Gabe Martin – 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist
Dylan Orr – 7 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks

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