Gainesville boys win Sparta Tournament
Sparta Tournament champs The Gainesville Bulldogs took first place in the Sparta Tournament Saturday after a nail-biter 59-51 overtime win against Fair Grove. Members of the team are, from left, (front row) Andrew Hambelton, Camden Evans, Ryan Poe, Carter Wise, Easton McGee; (back row) Nathan Kiger, Jake Leeker, Landry Jenkins, Bryce Hambelton, Isaac Barnett, Westin Wilson and Wyatt Alms. Photos courtesy Karla Smith
All-tournament team Three Gainesville Bulldog players were named to the Sparta Tournament’s all-tournament team: from left, Jake Leeker, Bryce Hambelton (MVP), and Landry Jenkins. All three players are juniors this year. Photos courtesy Karla Smith
The Gainesville Bulldogs varsity basketball team had a great showing at the Sparta Tournament last week that ended in a gutsy 59-51 overtime win over first-seeded Fair Grove to bring home the championship trophy.
“We had some stretches in all three games where we weren’t as efficient as we needed to be but showed a lot of good team traits to maintain focus and get enough done in the end to put us in position to win the tournament,” said GHS head coach Morris Jenkins.
Three Bulldog players made the all-tournament team: Bryce Hambelton (MVP), Jake Leeker and Landry Jenkins. All three players are juniors this year.
Hambelton led the scoring in Saturday’s championship game with 22 points, followed by Jenkins and Leeker with 14 each. Carter Wise, Easton McGee and Ryan Poe added 3 points each.
Leeker led in rebounds with 9, followed by Hambelton with 7 and Jenkins with 4. Leeker and Jenkins led the assist column with 4 each, followed by McGee and Wise with 2 each. Leeker led steals with 4 and Jenkins took a charge during the battle for first place.
In the first round of the tournament, on Tuesday, Jan. 26, Gainesville played New Covenant and won 54-36, led by Jake Leeker’s 26 points. Hambelton and Jenkins added 14 points each. Hambelton led in rebounds with 8, followed by McGee with 4. Leeker led in assists with 6, and Wyatt Alms and Carter Wise each had 2. Leeker also led the steals column with 3, followed by Alms and Jenkins with 1 each. Jenkins took a charge during the game.
The win took the Gainesville boys to semi-final action against Forsyth on Friday, Jan. 29. The Bulldogs defeated the Panthers 57-47, led by Bryce Hambelton with 21 points. Leeker and Jenkins also had a good night shooting, scoring 17 and 14, respectively. McGee added 5 points. Hambelton led in rebounds with 9, followed by Leeker with 4 and Jenkins with 3. Leeker led the assist column with 4, while McGee, Poe and Alms added 2 each. McGee, Alms and Poe each had a steal. Landry Jenkins was credited with three charges during his defensive efforts.
“We always talk about our constants being great effort and a great ‘team-first’ attitude. I feel our guys demonstrated that well in the tournament,” Jenkins said. “They know we still have several areas to improve on, and we’re confident that we’ll give a good effort to do that.”
The wins brought the Bulldogs’ season record to 14-6. Gainesville traveled to Seymour to take on the Tigers (7-8) Tuesday, Feb. 2. Results of that game were not available at press time. The team will travel to Norwood to face the Pirates Friday, Feb. 5 . The JV game starts at 6 p.m., followed by the varsity game at 7:15. The next home game is Tuesday, Feb. 9, when the Bulldogs host Fordland.