As a long-distance shooter, sometimes it’s just your night, and that was the case for Milton Eagles junior Braxton Giesler on Wednesday. In the opening round of the Class 7A playoffs against the North Gwinnett Bulldogs, Giesler hit barrage of 3-pointers, aided by more long-distance shooting from his teammates, and that opened up a double-digit lead the Eagles held from the first quarter on in a 67-54 win at home.
Giesler, a 6-foot-7 wing, hit his first six 3-pointers, four in the first quarter and two in the second. The Eagles, as a team, were 5-for-7 on 3-pointers in the first quarter, after which they led 21-7. After cooling down in the second half, they finished 8-for-17 from long distance.
“Really, it just started in warmups,” said Giesler, who finished with 20 points. “The practice I put in, I kind of trusted (my shot) and when I shot that first one, all I need to see is one go in, and I know I’m cash. The 3s me and my teammates were hitting gave us a bunch of energy, and we translated that into defense. When we can get the team into a full-court game, contributing off of our defensive stops, then it’s contagious.”
The No. 8 Eagles, champions of Region 6, improved to 18-10, and will play the Dacula vs. No. 6 Walton winner in the second round. Dacula is the No. 3 seed from Region 8, and Walton is the No. 2 seed from Region 5.
The 3-point shooting opened up an inside-out game for the Eagles, featuring junior post Daniel Ogunyemi (14 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks). Junior point guard Josh Dixon had a team-high 23 points with five assists.
Eagles coach Allen Whitehart was pleased with his team’s performance.
“I feel like we have progressed through the year,” he said. “There were some games early in the season that tested our character, and we were able to put some wins together, consecutively, so I feel like we’re starting to hit our stride as we go through the playoffs.”
The Eagles led 37-25 at halftime, but the Bulldogs cut the lead in half within the first minute of the third quarter with back-to-back 3s from junior Joseph Young and senior Caleb Jones-Dicks. However, the Eagles pushed it back to a 52-41 lead heading into the fourth quarter, where the Bulldogs never got closer than five points.
The Eagles went on a 14-2 run in the fourth quarter to make it 65-48 with 1:31 remaining, signaling the game’s decision.
The Bulldogs, a No. 4 seed from Region 7, finished 16-13. They were led by senior Charlie Gallagher’s 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the 3-point line. Junior Miles Clanton finished with 15 points, including all of the Bulldogs’ seven first-quarter points, to go with nine rebounds. Jones-Dicks finished with 13 points.
North Gwinnett 7 18 17 12 - 54
Milton 21 16 14 16 - 67
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