NEW CHAPEL HILL -- Gladewater had Tuesday's District 16-4A so well wrapped late that it was hard to remember the Bears trailed Chapel Hill by double digits midway through the second quarter.

Junior guard Caleb Williams helped spur two important runs on the way to 31 personal points and a 94-81 victory. A win which could prove very costly for Chapel Hill.

"This gives us a lot of confidence," Williams said. "Chapel Hill, they've beaten Kilgore and Gilmer. Those are the top two teams in our district. If we beat Chapel Hill, we know we can compete with anybody in our district. We've just got to win our last two games and get into the playoffs."

Chapel Hill's Jeffrey Minor led the Bulldogs with 21 points in a pivotal District 16-4A game Gladewater won, 94-81. (Christopher R. Vinn, ETSN.fm)
Chapel Hill's Jeffrey Minor led the Bulldogs with 21 points in a pivotal District 16-4A game Gladewater won, 94-81. (Christopher R. Vinn, ETSN.fm)
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A lot rode on the game.

The Bulldogs entered the day with a one-game advantage against the Bears for fourth place in the league after falling to Bullard on Friday.

Williams and company's victory tied Chapel Hill (9-16, 3-5) in the district standings, but Gladewater (9-15, 3-5) actually jumped the opposition. The win gave the Bears a two-game sweep against the Bulldogs. That could come into play if both teams finish with identical records within 16-4A.

Only two games remain on the schedule for both teams.

If all high school games were played like Tuesday's battle, there would not be debate on adding a shot clock.

Both teams combined for 109 shots in the 32-minute game. The Bears connected on about 57 percent of attempts from the floor and the Bulldogs weren't all that far behind at 45 percent.

"We came into the game knowing that we could do some stuff on the defensive end and try to beat them back," Gladewater head coach Jermaine Lewis said. "They have some bigs we really couldn't handle. Luckily, we had our legs tonight and ran a little bit. It was a real big win for the kids. We have two more games, and they're on the road.

"But, if we continue to play like this, I think we'll be fine."

Chapel Hill was in good position to avenge its four-point loss at Gladewater on Jan. 23 early in the game. It built up an 11-point lead, 23-12, with 6:31 to play in the second quarter and was holding steady with a 31-21 lead with 2:24 to play in the half with Sir Cedric Suell's nice dish to Kris Davis.

Momentum shifted there.

Daylon Gordon drove in hard for a score, drew a foul and made the freebie point to start a 9-2 run through the final 2:11 of the quarter for a 33-30 deficit at halftime.

Gladewater then outscored Chapel Hill, 26-7, through the first six minutes of the third quarter despite the Bulldogs burning two full timeouts in attempts to break up the momentum. Williams and point guard Jaz Tyiska contributed eight points each during the hot stretch.

Jeffrey Minor got Chapel Hill back within 11 points with back-to-back treys inside the two-minute mark, but Gladewater finished the quarter up 61-48.

Williams scored seven points of a 75-second, 8-0 run. The Bears cruised from there and both teams began turning to backups shortly afterward.

Minor led Chapel Hill with 21 points. Andrew Anderson followed with 16 points.

Tyiska scored 17 points and Gordon finished the game with 16 for Gladewater to supplement Williams' big night.

"It was a real fun game," Tyiska said. "We got a lot of layups and some steals. That's what we do. It boosts our confidence a lot going into the last game. We're going to get a playoff spot."

Kilgore remained at the top of the district standings with a win against Bullard. With Chapel Hill's loss, Bullard remained alone in third place with a 4-4 league record.

Gilmer topped Spring Hill -- which is on the brink of elimination with a 1-7 district record -- and stands a game behind Kilgore.

Chapel Hill will host Spring Hill on Friday. It then closes the district slate against Kilgore.

Gladewater visits Bullard on Friday and catches Spring Hill in the regular season finale for both teams.

"This was a fun game," Williams said. "It's a rivalry. They're athletic. We're athletic. We're both physical. It was just an up-and-down paced game."

Gladewater 94, Chapel Hill 81

District 16-4A Boys Basketball
At Chapel Hill High School, New Chapel Hill

Gladewater              10    20     31    33    --    94
Chapel Hill               18    15     15    33    --    81

GLADEWATER (9-15, 3-5) -- Caleb Williams 31; Jaz Tyiska 17; Daylon Gordon 16; Malik Yulee 8; Austin Hawley 7; Deion Russell 4; Joseph Edwards 3; Blake Guthrie 3; Quanterius Turner 3; Cameron Callaway 2. 
CHAPEL HILL (8-16, 3-5) -- Jeffrey Minor 21; Andrew Anderson 16; Caleb Hampton 9; Kris Davis 8; Trey Amirault 8; Sir Cedric Suell 5; Kavondre Butler 4; Austin Fendrick 4; Sammy Williams 4; Logan Ward 2.
THREE-POINT GOALS -- Gladewater: Williams (3), Gordon, Guthrie, Russell, Tyiska. Chapel Hill: Minor (3), Anderson (2), Hampton, Suell.

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