Gainesville Boys Basketball Wins Season Opener

The Gainesville Hurricanes defended the Purple Palace in their season opener Thursday against the North Marion Colts by winning 63-51.

Gainesville starts the season 1-0 after finishing last season with an 18-12 record.

Courtside at Gainesville High School for @CanesBKB vs North Marion! Stay here for coverage of all the action pic.twitter.com/BAJVloHrvY

— Rob Russo (@robruss0) November 22, 2024

The Hurricanes are returning nine players from last year’s team, including Cordarius White and Cornelius White, who combined for 31 points in the win Thursday.

Junior center Aidan Bell was perfect off the bench, finishing with 11 points on 5of 5 shooting. He added two blocks and swished a 3-pointer.

Gainesville went on a 7-0 run to end the first half for a 33-24 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Hurricanes committed eight fouls, while the Colts only committed two. The nine-point lead shrunk to three when the third quarter ended with GHS up 45-42.

In the fourth quarter, North Marion committed seven fouls to Gainesville’s three, leading to a 63-51 Hurricane victory.

The Colts dropped to 1-1 following a blowout 75-33 win against West Port on Tuesday.

Gainesville coach Michael Barnes said there is plenty of work ahead.

“Defensively we’ve got some things to work on,” Barnes said. “We gave up a lot of straight-line drives. We fouled a bit too much, especially in the third quarter. Gotta rebound better.”

He said he was proud of the team holding a lead the entire game and never looking back.

“We are very comfortable playing together, there’s no ‘me-me-me’ at all. It’s all about trying to get Ws.”

Up Next

The Hurricanes host P.K. Yonge at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. It’s the Blue Wave’s season opener.