The GMC Prep girls’ and boys’ basketball teams made the short trip to Eatonton on Saturday to play the second of a homeand- home series against Gatewood. Unfortunately, the result was similar to those of Gatewood’s visit to Milledgeville two weeks earlier, a pair of losses and coaches looking for silver linings to the experience.
In the final game of the year for both teams, the GMC girls (0-7) fell 53-24 to the Lady Gators, and the boys’ team (0-9) came up short in a 78-34 decision.
“Since the beginning of the season, we’ve talked about improving our effort and our attitude on the court, and that’s gotten significantly better,” firstyear GMC girls coach Nolan Baugh said. “The scoreboard didn’t show it, but I think we’re making improvements every game. That’s what we have to do, and make the other team work hard, which I think we did that today, too.”
GMC boys head coach Shawn Dennis said he thought his team’s halfcourt defense was “pretty good,” but still felt his team could have played better.
“What killed us was transition,” Dennis said, sounding more than a little frustrated. “We talked about it last game against them (Gators), talked about it before this game.
This is a team that likes to run the floor and we gave up way too many points in transition offensively.
We had good looks; they just didn’t end up in the basket.”
Dennis mentioned junior point guard Benji Vaughn as a GMC player making progress in his game.
“He’s a good ball handler for us and when he settles down, he gets us on what we need to be,” Dennis said of Vaughn. “Shots are not falling just yet, but he can get to the basket anytime he wants to collapse the defense and kick it out.
But we’ve just got to hit the shots.”
Both GMC Prep teams play their first game of the new year and open region play Jan. 3 at Glascock County.