Basketball Recap: Monroe Finds Playoff Glory Versus Gilmer

Golden Tornadoes

Margin (Wins)

01/07/25 @ Cairo	59
02/03/25 vs Cairo	40
01/20/25 vs New Faith Christian Academy	39
11/19/24 @ Terrell County	36
02/14/25 vs Dougherty	35

Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Monroe walked away with it. They were the clear victor by a 68-43 margin over the Gilmer Bobcats on Wednesday. The Golden Tornadoes have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 matches by 21 points or more this season.

Lorenzo Still was his usual excellent self, going 8-for-12 to rack up 22 points in addition to six rebounds and five assists. Those six boards gave him a new career-high. Brayden Burns was another key player, shooting 78% from the field en route to 15 points along with eight rebounds and three steals.

Gilmer's loss came despite strong showings from Jd Taylor and Keegen Bryant. Taylor posted 13 points in addition to six boards and three steals, while Bryant scored 16 points. Bryant is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 16 or more in each of the last three games he's played. Douglas Callihan also deserves some recognition as he grabbed his first steals of the season.

Monroe is on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-9 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.6 points over those games. This is the second loss in a row for Gilmer and nudges their season record down to 12-14.

Monroe has already played their next contest, a 63-58 win against Pickens on the 22nd. Gilmer does not have any more games scheduled as of now.