Balanced attack helps Dragons defeat Tigers

Jasper, Ga — The Pickens Dragons, were back inside the Dragons Den on Tuesday, January 20th as they took on the Dawson Tigers in a key 6-AAA region match up. The Dragons, were looking to rebound after a tough loss to GAC last Friday. The Tigers, were looking to continue their winning ways after beating White County. The Dragons, using a balanced scoring attack, came away with a 75-61 win.

 

The Dragons, would race out to an early lead as Aiden Mumaw, Hayden Jones, and McCord Purdy, would combine to go on a 6-0 run. A three by Jack Ledbetter, would cut the lead in half. After a basket by Jones, Landon Lee, would convert an and-1 play to cut the lead to two. A three by Brody Bryant, would push the lead back to five. After a bucket by Lee, Jones and Purdy would go on a mini 4-0 run to make it 15-9.

A three by Lee, would once again cut the lead in half. Back to back threes by Purdy and DJ Mitchell, would make it 21-12. Corbin Cantrell, would make a pair of late free throws to cut the Dragons lead to 21-14 heading to the second quarter.

 

Jones, Jonah Jordan, Jedidiah Lanford, and Mitchell, would combine to go on a 10-0 run to open the second quarter. A layup by Mason Harvey, would end the run and cut the lead to 31-16. After a bucket by Purdy, Ledbetter, would sink back to back baskets to make it 33-20. Jones, would continue his nice night with another layup, and Mitchell, would make a pair of free throws to stretch the lead out to 37-20.

Cayson Chester, would make a pair of free throws to end the mini 4-0 run and cut the lead to 37-22. After Purdy split a pair of free throws and Mitchell would get a bucket to go, Ledbetter, would get a layup to fall and Lee would split free throw attempts to cut the lead to 40-25. Mumaw, would then go on a mini run as he would split a pair of free throws and then convert an and-1 play to make it 44-25.

Garrett Matthews and Lee, would combine to go on a 5-0 run to end the first half as the Dragons, would take a 44-30 lead into the break.

 

That 5-0 run would continue into the start of the second half as Ledbetter and Harvey, would hit back to back buckets to cut the Dragons lead to ten. Jones, Mumaw, and Mitchell, would respond by combining to go on a 7-0 run to stretch the lead to 51-34. After Ledbetter and Bryant traded baskets, Lee, would hit a three and then make a pair of free throws to trim the lead down to 53-41.

Mitchell, would settle things down for a bit with a basket to make it 55-41. A late bucket by Cantrell, would make it 55-43 Dragons heading to the fourth.

 

Purdy, would begin the fourth quarter with a three to stretch the lead out to 15. Chester, would answer with back to back layups to cut the lead to 58-47. Cantrell, would then trim the lead to single digits with a pair of free throws. A 10-0 run by Purdy, Mitchell, and Jones, would give the Dragons a 68-49 lead. Lee, would split a pair of free throws to end the run. Mitchell, would make it a 70-50 advantage after a basket.

Lee and Harvey, would then combine to go on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 15. After a bucket by Bryant, Lee and Mitchell would exchange three point makes to end the game as the Dragons would come away with the 75-61 victory.

 

Leading scorers for the Dragons:

DJ Mitchell: 21 points

McCord Purdy: 19 points

Hayden Jones: 14 points

Aiden Mumaw: 8 points

Brody Bryant: 7 points

Jonah Jordan: 3 points

Jedidiah Lanford: 3 points

 

6-AAA Boys basketball Standings:

Lumpkin: 17-1 (7-0)

GAC: 7-10 (6-1)

Pickens: 9-9 (5-2)

Dawson: 10-8 (4-3)

North Hall: 7-11 (3-4)

White County: 2-16 (2-5)

Chestatee: 4-14 (1-6)

Johnson-Gainesville: 0-16 (0-7)

 

The Dragons, will be back on the road as they will take on the Chestatee War Eagles on Friday, January 23rd. The Dragons, defeated the War Eagles back on December 5th to begin region play. Tip off is set for 8:30 pm.