Dragons stay hot with win in region opener

Jasper, Ga — The Pickens Dragons, welcomed the Chestatee War Eagles to the Dragons Den to begin 6-AAA play on Friday, December 6th. The Dragons, came into the game 5-0 after an undefeated November and ranked 5th in 3A by Kyle Sandy. The War Eagles, may have come into the game 1-4, but they have several players that can get hot at any moment. The Dragons, exploded offensively in the second half as they pulled away for an 84-47 victory.

The War Eagles, began the game with Cody Couch and Sebastian Spinelli hitting back to back threes to take a 6-0 lead. After a slow start by the Dragons offense, Senior Brock Barton, would then go on a 7-0 run to give the Dragons a 7-6 lead. Ethan Dunn, would put an end to the run with a basket to make it 8-7 War Eagles. Caleb Lanford, would then give the Dragons a one point lead with a bucket.

Spinelli, would hit his second three of the quarter to give the War Eagles an 11-9 lead. The Dragons, would then go on a 9-0 run led by the Davis brothers, and Barton to give the Dragons an 18-11 lead. Dunn, would cut the lead to 5 to make it 18-13 Dragons heading to the second quarter.

Jamin Martin and Parker Davis, would start the second quarter with a 5-0 run to make it 23-13 Dragons. A three by Elian Salcido, would trim the lead to 7. After a 5-0 run by Barton and Martin, the Dragons lead expanded to 28-16. Spinelli, would convert the rare four point play as he hit the three and the free throw to make it 28-20. After McCord Purdy split a pair of free throws, Spinelli would hit another three to make it 29-23.

A 5-0 run by Lanford would make it 34-23 Dragons. A three by Nazir Dixon would end the run and make it 34-26. Purdy, would end the first half with a three to make it 37-26 heading to the break.

The Dragons, would start the second half with a 9-0 run as Barton would hit a three, then Lanford would hit back to back threes to make it 46-26. Spinelli, would make a pair of free throws to end the run. A 10-0 run by the Dragons would stretch the lead out to 56-28. Dixon, would end the run with a bucket to make it 56-30. After the two teams traded baskets, the War Eagles would make several free throws in a row to make it 62-37.

As the clock drained down at the end of the third quarter, Montego Morgan sliced through the defense for the layup to make it 64-37 Dragons heading to the fourth.

Barton, opened up the scoring in the fourth with a basket to make it 66-37. The two teams, would again trade buckets until the Dragons would go on a 9-0 run to make it 81-43. A basket by Dixon, would end the run and make it 81-45. Parker Davis, would hit a three to make it 84-45. Dunn, would end the scoring with a bucket as the Dragons would come away with a 84-47 win.

Leading scorers for the Dragons:

Caleb Lanford: 22 points

Brock Barton: 19 points

Dodge Davis: 15 points

Jamin Martin: 9 points

Parker Davis: 7 points

McCord Purdy: 7 points

Montego Morgan: 5 points

6-AAA Region Standings:

Pickens: 6-0 (1-0)

North Hall: 4-2 (1-0)

Lumpkin: 4-3 (1-0)

Dawson: 1-8 (1-0)

GAC: 4-3 (0-1)

Chestatee: 1-5 (0-1)

White County: 1-6 (0-1)

Johnson, Gainesville: 0-6 (0-1)

The Dragons, will head to Lumpkin on Tuesday, December 10th to take on the Indians in another 6-AAA battle. The Indians, led by Georgia Tech football signee Cal Faulkner, picked up a big win at GAC to open their region schedule. Tip off is set for 7:30 pm.