Ringgold, Ga — After a tough game against Central-Carroll on Tuesday, the Pickens Dragons traveled up to Ringgold to take on a Heritage Generals team that suffered their first region defeat at the hands of Cedartown earlier in the week. The first time these two teams met was on December 8th where the Generals grabbed the win after a buzzer beating shot. Like the first meeting, the second meeting came down to the wire as well. After a wacky final few seconds, the Heritage Generals came away with a 48-43 win.

The first quarter started off very slow for both teams as neither could find points early on. Around the 5 minute mark of the opening quarter, Heritage ended the drought with a bucket to make it 2-0. Luke Rogers tied it up for the Dragons with a bucket of his own. After a three pointer by the Generals, Rogers hit two free throws, and Noah Sutton made a bucket to give Pickens a 6-5 lead. A free throw by Heritage sent us to the second quarter with a 6-6 tie.

Dragons looking for an opening on offense

The Dragons, went on a 5-0 run to start the second quarter as Owen Moss made a bucket, and Jaden Stewart nailed a three pointer to give Pickens the 11-6 lead. The Generals and Dragons traded 4-0 runs and Pickens continued to lead, 15-10. Another 4-0 run by Heritage cut the lead to 15-14, until Moss hit another bucket to make it 17-14. The Generals countered with another bucket, but left enough time on the clock for Will Roland to drive all the way to the basket and lay it in just before the buzzer went off and the Dragons took a 19-16 lead into the break.

Luke Rogers with the block

To start the third quarter, the Generals made a bucket to again cut the Dragon lead to one. Roland carried the momentum of his buzzer beating make into the early second half as he hit a three to give Pickens the 22-18 lead. A 4-0 run by Heritage tied things up a 22 a piece as these two teams kept going back and forth. After the Generals made a run to take a 29-26 lead, Rogers hit a three pointer to tie things back up. The two teams traded buckets for the rest of the quarter as Heritage would take a 37-36 lead into the fourth.

Noah Sutton receives the pass

After a 3-0 run by the Generals to start the fourth quarter, Noah Sutton made back to back buckets to tie things up at 40. Heritage countered that with a 4-0 run to go up 44-40. After a free throw from Sutton, Moss picked the ball off at mid-court and made the layup to cut the General lead down to 44-43. After two free throws from Heritage, the Dragons found themselves down 46-43. Pickens took a timeout to discuss the in-bounds play. The pass, intended for Sutton, ended up being picked off by the Generals and they would lay it up at the buzzer to come away with a 48-43 win.

Dragons leading scorers:

Luke Rogers: 14 points

Noah Sutton: 9 points

Owen Moss: 6 points

Will Roland: 5 points

Tucker Lowe: 4 points

7-AAAA Boys Basketball Standings:

Heritage: 10-5 (7-1)

Northwest Whitfield: 10-4 (4-2)

Cedartown: 5-8 (4-2)

Pickens: 7-7 (4-3)

Central-Carroll: 9-6 (2-2)

Ridgeland: 3-9 (1-6)

Southeast Whitfield: 2-12 (0-6)

The Dragons, will be back home on Saturday afternoon as they welcome the Adairsville Tigers to the Dragons Den. Tip off is set for 4:30 pm.