Latest news with #Graceville
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Gates led Graceville stuns Chipley in 2OT region final
CHIPLEY, Fla. (WMBB) – In his grand return to Chipley, Coach Mike Gates and the Graceville Tigers pulled off the 63-62 double-overtime upset victory, advancing to the Final Four. Gates coached at Chipley for nearly 40 years, leading them to a state title in 2016. He defeated his former school twice in the postseason, once in districts and again in the region final. Graceville improved to 17-12 and, according to MaxPreps, they will face Crossroads Academy in the Rural State Semifinal on Wednesday, February 26. Chipley's two-year region championship win streak was snapped, ending their season with a 16-7 record. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Battle of Tigers: Graceville prepares for Chipley
FRANKLIN COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Coming off their first playoff win since 2020, the Graceville boys basketball team is getting set to face the Chipley Tigers in the Rural Region 1 Final. Two years ago, Graceville alum Mike Gates came back out of retirement after 30 years of coaching for the Chipley Tigers and headed back to his alma mater to coach the Graceville Tigers. 'To come back and coach them and get them in the playoffs and let this team have success means a lot,' Gates said. Last year the Tigers fell short of their goal of making it into the playoffs but this year they snuck into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in Region 1. The Tigers upset No. 1 seed Bethlehem in the District 1 semifinal. Entering the postseason with a similar record to last year, senior forward Bryson Reynolds said it took everyone buying into the process to reach the Region Final. 'We came into practice and had a little talk about it, saying that we need to do better, we're losing. And Coach Gates told us the same thing, that we need to up our game, start winning, practice harder, and play harder,' senior guard Jamaris Gainer said. Graceville will now have to beat Chipley one more time if they want to win the regional title and fulfill their goal of reaching the state semifinals for the first time since 2017. The game will be played at Chipley High School on Monday, February 17. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bethlehem enters playoffs as top seed in region
BETHLEHEM, Fla. (WMBB) – The Bethlehem boys basketball team is entering the playoffs as the top seed in Rural Region 1 and looking to ride home-court advantage to the Final Four. The Wildcats (23-2) are riding a 10-game win streak heading into regionals and coming off a district championship victory over Graceville, their first district title under head coach, Aaron Mollet. Bethlehem is a young group, mostly sophomores and juniors, led by junior Kolton Amerson, averaging 21.6 points per game. Amerson has the second most points scored in the Rural Classification this season and Coach Mollet said he is also their top defender. 'He's done a really good job of taking that next step forward and becoming our captain and our leader and guy we can lean on in the offensive and defensive,' Mollet said. 'There's night in and night out where he's guarding the best player on the defensive end. A lot of people see the scoring, but we enjoy having him on the defensive as well because he uses this length so well. He does a heck of a job.' The Wildcats will host the same team they beat in the district final in the opening round of the playoffs. Coach Mollet said beating Graceville three times in one season is very difficult, especially with a state championship-caliber coach in command, Mike Gates. 'Coach Gates is a fiery competitor,' Mollet said. 'He gets his kids up to play. That was a big game for them to defeat Chipley in the district final. I know he had those guys ready because that was for their season essentially. Now everyone is 0-0, the records, throw them out the window. Anybody can beat anybody on any given night. So, he'll have these guys ready to go.' Bethlehem will host Graceville on Wednesday, February 12, tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
