Marty Pallman
For the first 28 minutes of Eastside’s boys basketball game against city rival Gainesville, the Rams looked like they were ready to break a five-game losing streak to the Hurricanes.
But Gainesville put the defensive press on, and Eastside’s chances of beating their rival on Senior Night went out the window.
The Hurricanes went on a 13-0 run to overcome a nine-point, fourth-quarter deficit and stun the host Rams, 64-60, on Friday night.
Gainesville (14-11), who beat Eastside 62-48 at the Purple Palace on Jan. 12, swept Eastside for the third straight year as GHS head coach Mike Barnes moved his record to 6-0 against the city rival.
The Hurricanes jumped off to a lead in the opening quarter as Anthony Leivonen, Willie Brooks and Simon Childers all knocked down 3-pointers and Gainesville took a 16-9 lead.
Gainesville extended its lead to as many as 10 points in the second period. But Eastside stayed in the game as freshman Amari Ray went on a seven-point run on his own and junior Davion Pugh added seven points and the Rams outscored Gainesville 18-16, only trailing by five points, 32-27, at halftime.
Eastside (5-16) came out on fire in the third quarter. Pugh scored five of his game-high 21 points as the Rams pulled ahead by as many as seven points before settling for a 45-41 lead over Gainesville heading into the final period.
The first half of the fourth quarter saw Eastside extend its lead to nine at 56-47 with a little under four minutes left.
But Gainesville turned up the pressure and Eastside started turning the ball over.
GHS went on a 13-0 run and took a 60-56 edge with a little over a minute to play and the Hurricanes made four free throws in the final minute to stay ahead of the Rams.
Gainesville junior Cornelius White scored 11 of his team-high 15 points in the second half and Leivonen added 14 points, including two three-pointers.
Gainesville enters the District 2-6A tournament as the No. 3 seed and will host Leon (Tallahassee) on Tuesday.
Eastside, who leaves head coach Herman “Pop” Williams just short of his 600th career win, is the No. 4 seed in District 5-4A and hosts Suwannee (Live Oak) on Tuesday.
