By DRUW GIAMALVA The Reporter

The Geraldine boys varsity basketball team experienced an up-and-down week with a win over Gaston and a loss to Skyline.

Geraldine (5-2) started the week off with a difficult matchup against Skyline on December 2. “Skyline is a tough place to play. We fought pretty hard for three quarters and then we got a little rattled,” said Jeremy Smith, head coach of the Bulldogs.

Geraldine entered the third quarter down by six points, but the Bulldogs had a flat fourth quarter that led to a 21-point loss.

“We had a difficult time guarding the 3-point shot and didn’t go after offensive rebounds. We have to keep working to get better for our area games next week,” Smith said.

Geraldine was led by Redick Smith, who finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Lucas Bryant and Cooper Johnson each contributed 10 points. Skyline was led by an impressive performance by Jake Cloud, who finished with 26 points. Scott York produced 14 points and Will Avans added 12 points.

The Bulldogs bounced back with an impressive win over Gaston on Dec. 5 at Nix Gymnasium. Geraldine entered each quarter with a lead and would go on to whip Gaston to a score of 64-41.

“I thought we executed our defensive game plan well. We fixed our rotations and were able to limit their open looks. We bounced back after a tough loss Tuesday, so I was proud of our resiliency. We start area play next week so we have to be locked in,” Smith said.

Bryant led the Bulldogs with an outstanding performance of 25 points and 23 rebounds. Smith added 18 points with seven rebounds and five assists. Johnson scored 12 points. Gaston was led by Mica Merriman, who finished with 17 points.