Basketball: Simonds leads Gainesville boys, Anderson Buford girls in split

BUFORD -- There was a certain symmetry at play on Friday night in Buford.<br /> <br /> D'Marcus Simonds looked very much at home on the court he used to call home -- and continued to look very comfortable with his new teammates as he led Gainesville to a 82-59 win over Buford.<br /> <br /> "I didn't look at it as anything personal or different; it was just another basketball game," said Simonds, who starred for Buford as a sophomore but is now a junior standout for the Red Elephants. Simonds led all scorers with 28 points. "We played defense well tonight, and we set the tone for this one in practice."<br /> <br /> The Red Elephants also looked very comfortable in a pressurized situation as a team, pulling away from a close first quarter to take a commanding 40-22 halftime advantage. Gainesville also stayed calm in the third quarter after Buford pulled within 46-41, going on a 15-4 run to regain control.<br /> <br /> "I was proud of the way we showed poise there," Gainesville coach Benjie Wood said. "We knew they would make a run. Buford's a good team, and we just had to stay calm." <br /> <br /> The poise included a big shot from a freshman, as Xavier Bledson drilled the first of three straight 3-pointers for the Red Elephants, as they regained a comfortable advantage. Jermaine Fleming and Sam Carpenter also drilled treys in the spurt to restore a 61-45 Gainesville lead heading into the fourth quarter.<br /> <br /> "(Bledson's) not afraid to shoot," Wood said. "I'm really proud of the effort and the way they fought tonight."<br /> <br /> Fleming and Carpenter proved pivotal throughout, as Fleming put up 22 points and Carpenter 11 to help the Red Elephants stayed undefeated, stretching their perfect start to 9-0.<br /> <br /> "Jermaine's our glue guy," Simonds said. "He does everything the right way, and if we need something, we know we can go to him."<br /> <br /> Gainesville also knows it can look to Simonds -- and did so from the start on Friday.<br /> <br /> The junior helped kickstart Gainesville, scoring 18 points in the first half -- including a 3-pointer in the first quarter as the Red Elephants pushed ahead 12-4. Buford (4-3) fired right back through a Will Springer 3-pointer and trimmed the Red Elephants' advantage to 18-13 after the first quarter. But Gainesville caught fire before halftime, Simonds completing a three-point play -- sinking a free throw after being fouled on a dunk -- before Carpenter drained a 3-pointer to make it 30-18 with 3:25 left in the second quarter. <br /> <br /> Yet as comfortable as Gainesville looked at the half, the Wolves came out determined to climb back into the contest and did so via an 11-1 run that made it 41-33 on Taylor Mills' free throw midway through the third. Tre Hansborough and and Mills then sank 3-pointers to cut Gainesville's advantage to 46-41 with 3:20 left in the period.<br /> <br /> Gainesville wasn't fazed, however, and pulled away for a good over the final minutes of the quarter and into the fourth.<br /> <br /> "We've got to get better," Simonds said. "I told the guys we had to rekindle the spark after halftime, because I knew they would come out and make a run. But we answered it."<br /> <br /> Mills led Buford with 17 points, while Hansborough added 16 and Keyton Gibson 10.<br /> <br /> The Wolves will look to bounce back on Saturday against Duluth at home.<br /> <br /> Gainesville will travel to Salem on Saturday in a Region 8-AAAAA contest.<br /> <br /> <br /> <b>BUFORD GIRLS 58,<br /> GAINESVILLE 46</b><br /> <br /> Camille Anderson fired the Lady Wolves (6-2) into an early lead that they never relinquished -- though the Lady Red Elephants (5-4) battled throughout, trailing just 22-19 late in the second quarter and cutting it back to 55-45 late in the fourth quarter.<br /> <br /> Anderson finished the game tied with a game-high 20 points after scoring Buford's first 11 of the contest. The senior's 3-pointer with 2:55 sealed the game at 58-45.<br /> <br /> Gainesville's Shikiya Brown did her best to keep the visitors close, pouring in 20 points of her own -- including five 3-pointers. Her back-to-back treys in the fourth quarter answered a 21-7 third quarter run from the Lady Wolves and pulled the Lady Red Elephants within 50-40. But Buford's Chandler Hall responded with back-to-back buckets of her own to keep the Gainesville momentum at bay.<br /> <br /> Hall finished with 10 points, as did Corey Staples.<br /> <br /> Taylor Hawks also helped keep Gainesville close, putting up 17 of her own.<br /> <br /> The Lady Red Elephants will look to bounce back at Salem on Saturday in a Region 8-AAAAA contest.<br /> <br /> Buford will play host to Duluth on Saturday.