Pickens and Chestatee Trade Jabs in Two Great Games

Featured Stories, Team FYN Sports

Pickens High School has had its share of great games so far in the 2013 thanks to tremendous efforts from the Dragonettes and the Dragons, and the case was no different on Friday night when the team travelled to Gainesville to take on the Chestatee Lady War Eagles and War Eagles. Both the boys’ and girls’ games featured four quarters of back-and-forth battles, but when it was all said and done the Lady War Eagles defeated the Dragonettes 46-42 and the Dragons downed the War Eagles 76-73 in overtime.
The first matchup of the evening pitted the 2-4 Nettes against the 6-1 Lady War Eagles in a game that looked one-sided in the beginning. Pickens came onto the court to start the game and were nearly lights-out, allowing the road Dragonettes to lead the game 15-8 at the quarter’s end. A 6-0 run to start the second made it appear as if Pickens was in complete control of this one, but Chestatee answered back with an 11-2 run to end the first half, leaving the Dragonettes with a slim 23-19 lead at the half.

Both teams took their turns at holding the lead in the third quarter of play, but eventually the Lady War Eagles grabbed the upper hand thanks to some tremendous three-point shooting, which led to Chestatee leading the Nettes 37-35 going into the fourth quarter.

The Dragonettes regained the lead early in the fourth thanks to a three-pointer from Makayla Payne, but Chestatee answered back with a three of its own to make it a 40-38 ballgame with 3:15 remaining in regulation. A free throw by the Lady War Eagles was quickly answered by one from Sarah Smith, leaving the Dragonettes down 41-39 with 2:06 to go.

It looked like the Nettes would wind up on top of this one with 1:19 remaining in the fourth, as freshman Autumn Young hit a three-pointer to put her Nettes up 42-41. Unfortunately, Young’s shot from behind the arc would prove to be Pickens’ last points in the game. Chestatee would answer this basket with a three of its own along with two more free throws, resulting in a hard-fought 46-42 victory for the Lady War Eagles.

Haley Kalson put up her fair share of points for Pickens in this one, finishing the game with a total of ten points. Kalson also had five rebounds, one assist, and one well-timed steal.

Autumn Young continues to impress in her freshman season, tying Kalson for the most points for Pickens with ten. Young also had four rebounds and an assist in the defeat.

Taylor Wigington, another talented freshman on the Nettes’ squad, led the way in rebounding for Pickens, recording eight in this contest. Wigington also had two points and three assists in the game.

Four different Dragonettes–Kalson, Young, Sarah Smith, and Makayla Payne–had at least eight points in this game.

The boys’ matchup turned out to be just as exciting and intense thanks to great play from both the 7-0 War Eagles and the 5-3 Dragons. Pickens came out of the gates on fire thanks to Dylan Curry, who hit the ground running and quickly scored the first five points in the game. Although foul trouble reared its ugly head for both squads in the opening quarter, both teams were able to keep up a fast scoring pace, which concluded with a Tanner Brumby layup just before the buzzer sounded, leaving the game deadlocked 16-16.

Pickens came out in the second quarter and continued to put pressure on Chestatee thanks to sound passes and good rebounding, allowing the Dragons to grab the lead and stretch it to 30-25 with 3:50 left in the first half. However, the War Eagles would not go down easy, tying the game with 3:14 remaining and eventually taking the lead with eighteen seconds left on a three-pointer. The Dragons were unable to score again in the quarter, leaving Chestatee with a slim 35-34 lead going into the locker room.

Chestatee came out with guns blazing to start the third period, but Pickens eventually found its rhythm again, eventually tying the game 42-42 on a shot by Clay Wigington. A steal and layup by Dylan Curry helped Pickens erase Chestatee’s two-point lead with just 0:54 left in the third, but once again the War Eagles’ three-point shooting came in handy, allowing Chestatee to hold a 57-54 lead going into the fourth.

Predictably, the fourth quarter was just as competitive as the previous three periods, and it looked like the Dragons had control when Tyler Urlaub’s two free throws put Pickens up 67-63 with less than two minutes to go. A rebound and put-back by Wigington with 1:07 seemed to put the icing on the cake for the Dragons, but as if on schedule the War Eagles came roaring back, hitting a three to make it 69-67 with 0:36 to go in regulation.

A controversial half-court violation called by an officiating crew that had its fair share of questionable calls for both sides gave Chestatee the ball and another chance to tie the game, which they did with 0:33 showing on the clock. The War Eagles eventually had an opportunity to win the game on an inbound with just two seconds to play, but the Dragons stood tall on defense, leaving the game tied 69-69 and headed to overtime.

Pickens got the scoring going almost midway through the OT session thanks to a clutch shot by Curry, giving the Dragons a 71-69 lead with 2:24 to go. Wigington soon added two more points to the board with 1:54 on the clock, but the War Eagles answered with two free throws, making it a 73-71 score with 1:14 left. Tanner Brumby was then fouled with fifty-six ticks left on the clock, leaving the senior in a great position to give his squad the victory. Brumby obliged the opportunity and sank both shots, putting Pickens up 75-71.

The War Eagles hit two free throws to edge closer to the Dragons, which was followed by Pickens running a tremendous amount of clock before Chestatee had the chance to foul Tylar Urlaub. Urlaub then stepped to the line and hit one free throw to make it a 76-73 game. Given Chestatee’s ability to hit threes almost at will, it looked like this game would be headed to another overtime session, but Pickens stayed diligent on defense, forcing a bad shot from the War Eagles that was rebounded by Shannon Brooks. The rebound by Brooks sealed the deal for the road Dragons, allowing the team to go back to Jasper with a 76-73 victory.

Dylan Curry had his best game of the season for the Dragons, leading the team with twenty points in the victory. Curry also had three rebounds, two assists, and four steals against Chestatee.

Rebounding is key for any basketball team to have a shot at victory, and the Dragons can give credit to both Clay Wigington and Shannon Brooks’ play in this contest. When it was said and done, both Wigington and Brooks were tied with a team-high twelve rebounds. Wigington also scored eighteen points along with one block and one steal, while Brooks had seven points, one assist, one block, and one steal.

Six Dragons had at least five points in the win: Curry, Wigington, Tylar Urlaub (eight points), Tanner Brumby (eight points), Brooks, and Jacob Stephens (six points).

The loss by the Dragonettes dropped the team’s record to 4-5, while the victory for the Dragons pushed the team to 6-3, already halfway to their win total from the 2012-2013 season.

Both squads will be back in action on Saturday, December 14th, when the teams travel to Lumpkin County to face the Lumpkin Lady Indians and Indians. The games, which will be played at Lumpkin County Middle School, will start at 7:00 p.m.

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