It was a battle for seventh place Monday morning as Banks County completed the third annual Holiday Classic sponsored by Community Bank and Trust.
The Leopards went 1-2 in the tournament, picking up a win over Oglethorpe. Banks is 1-7 for the season as the boys enter Christmas break.
Banks County returns in January with a region game against Fannin County on Jan. 5.
Holiday Classic
First up for Banks County in the holiday tournament was Hart County. The AAA team led the game and came away with a 67-41 win over the Leopards. Banks had trouble getting the ball in the basket, with a 31 shot percentage for field goals.
Kevin Daniel had good luck on the board picking up six rebounds and led the scoring with 11 points. Quintin Lovelace also had a strong showing with seven rebounds, he also scored 10 points. Bill Redmon picked up five points while Chase Armour and Harrison Dale added four. Brett Armour and Jessi Hudgins scored three. Jandon Smith added one point.
Up next for the Leopards were the Raiders of Habersham Central. The neighboring county teams do not see much action from each other. Habersham came away with a 52-42 win.
Banks fell behind in the first quarter, 11-7, but started to rally before the half and trailed 20-23 at the half. The Leopards outscored the Raiders in the final quarter, but could not overcome the 10 point Habersham advantage.
Daniel led the offense with 11 points C. Armour and Jacob Blalock picked up seven points each. Devin O’Donnell added six, followed by Lovelace with four and Trey Martin with three. Dale and B. Armour added two apiece.
Lovelace, Daniel and C. Armour each made seven rebounds.
Banks finished in seventh place after defeating Oglethorpe County in the final round, 72-50.
The Leopards setup the victory in the second quarter, outscoring the Patriots 19-9 and taking a 40-22 lead at the half. Oglethorpe attempted a rally scoring 28 points during the second half, but Banks defended its lead scoring 32 points.
Leading the charge for the Leopards was B. Armour scoring 20 points. Daniel and Lovelace followed his example and scored 15 and 10 points respectively. Hudgins picked up eight, while C. Armour added seven and Redmon five. O’Donnell shot for three points and Blalock and Martin made two apiece.
Kevin Daniel was named to the All Tournament team after leading the scoring in two of Banks’ games.
