Cole-powered Generals ready to roll into postseason
He’s known more for his prodigious talents on the baseball field, which is where his college career - and perhaps one day his professional career - will be made.
But as more and more people around the state are starting to discover, Cole Wilcox is a pretty fair basketball player too.
Heritage’s athletic, 6-foot-5, 230-pound junior will lead the Generals into the Class AAAA state tournament this week after the Navy-and-Red finished third in the Region 6-AAAA tournament at Southeast Whitfield High School last week.
Heritage (20-8) will open the postseason on the road at Region 8 runner-up Stephens County this weekend. The game is expected to be played on Saturday, but the start time was unknown as of press time.
Heritage 70, Gilmer 58
Wilcox put the Generals on his broad shoulders last Tuesday, scoring 29 points to punch his team’s ticket to state with a win over the Bobcats.
Gilmer led 23-14 in the second quarter, but Heritage came roaring back with a 16-5 run. They pushed their advantage out to 51-42 to start the fourth quarter when Wilcox took over.
Heritage’s first five trips down the floor in the final period resulted in three lay-ups for the big man and he would draw fouls on the other two possessions, making 2-of-4 free throws.
Corbee Wilson added a driving lay-up, Wilcox got two more points after trailing the play on a fastbreak and a Blake Bryan jumper polished off a 14-0 run to effectively seal the victory.
“Gilmer beat us up on the mountain a couple weeks ago,” Terry recalled. “They got hot up there that night and started getting hot again tonight, so we had to make a few adjustments, but the plan was to get the ball to Wilcox. It’s the plan every night and the guys have really bought into that. We kept feeding him the ball.
Blake Bryan quietly had 16 points in the win, while Tylon Gaines finished with nine points.
LaFayette 44, Heritage 43
Rambler sophomore Alex Kelehear hit the game-winner with just four seconds remaining on the clock on