Carson Hollingsworth picks up first win as Dragons head coach
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports November 23, 2025
Jasper, Ga — The Pickens Dragons, tipped off the PHS Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday, November 22nd against the Whitefield Academy Wolfpack. The other boys teams in the field, Darlington and Chattahoochee, played each other earlier in the day with Darlington coming out on top. For the Dragons, it was their first game with a full set of players. The Dragons, were able to pick up their first win of the season with a 73-41 victory over the Wolfpack.
McCord Purdy, making his season debut, got the scoring started in the first quarter putting the Dragons up 2-0 early. The Wolfpack. would take the lead as Wade Keller, and Connor Wynne would combine to go on a 7-0 run. DJ Mitchell, would end the run with a three to make it 7-5. After a three by Cash Peterson, Mitchell and Brody Bryant would combine to go on an 8-0 run to give the Dragons a 13-10 lead.
Miles Rowe-Mahmoud, would then split a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 2. Another three by Mitchell, would put the Dragons up 16-11 going to the second quarter.
McCord Purdy, would get things going in the second quarter with a basket to make it 18-11. A three by Lofton Brown, would cut the lead to four. Mitchell, Bryant, and Aiden Mumaw, would then combine to go on a 7-0 run to stretch the Dragons lead out to 25-14. Wynne, would end the run with a bucket to make it 25-16. Both teams would trade baskets to end the first half as the Dragons led the Wolfpack, 29-18 at the break.
The Wolfpack, would get the second half started with a three to cut the lead down to 8. After a bucket by Mitchell, Peterson and Brown would combine to go on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 31-26. Mitchell and Purdy, would counter with a 5-0 run of their own to stretch the lead to 10. After Wynne completed an and-1 play, the Dragons, would go on a big 15-0 run to make it 51-29.
Keller, would end the run with a layup to make it 51-31. A three by Mitchell, would put the Dragons up 54-31 heading to the fourth quarter.
Purdy, Mitchell, and Jedidiah Lanford, would begin the fourth quarter by going on a 7-0 run to make it 61-31 Dragons. A bucket by Arthur T Jones III, would end the run and make it 61-33. Hayden Jones, also making his season debut, would then split a pair of free throws to make it 62-33. Jones III, would also split a pair of free throws as the Dragons led, 62-34.
Camden Jones and Landon Rice, would go on a 5-0 run to stretch the Dragons lead out to 67-34. Rowe-Mahmoud and Wynne, would counter with a 4-0 run to make it 67-38. Rice, would make some nice moves to the basket for the layup to make it 69-38. Sawyer Purdy, another football player making his season debut, would add a pair of free throws to give the Dragons a 71-38 lead.
After Daniel Samms split a pair of free throws, Rice, would find his way through the lane for another layup to make it 73-39. A late bucket by Samms, would end the scoring as the Dragons pick up the win, 73-41.
Scoring leaders for the Dragons:
DJ Mitchell: 26 points
McCord Purdy: 15 points
Brody Bryant: 8 points
Landon Rice: 7 points
Camden Jones: 4 points
Jedidiah Lanford: 4 points
Aiden Mumaw: 4 points
Jonah Jordan: 2 points
Sawyer Purdy: 2 points
Hayden Jones: 1 point
The win marks the first for new Dragons head coach Carson Hollingsworth. The Dragons, will be back on the court on Monday, November 24th as they take on the Chattahoochee Cougars in day two of the PHS Thanksgiving Classic. Tip off is set for 7:30 pm.
Dragons move to 2-0 after win in home opener
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports November 20, 2024
Jasper, Ga The Pickens Dragons were on their home court on Tuesday, November 19th as they welcomed the Wolfpack of Whitefield Academy to the Dragons Den. The season started off on the right foot for the Dragons as they defeated the Gilmer Bobcats, 75-41, in a game played at Cherokee High School on Saturday, November 16th. While things started off somewhat slowly for the Dragons in this one, they would eventually pull away and defeat the Wolfpack, 71-32.
The Dragons would get the scoring going in the first quarter as Senior Brock Barton, as he put Pickens up, 2-0. After Riley Hughes tied it up with a layup, Barton, who transferred from Baylor School in Tennessee, hit back to back threes to make it 8-2. The Wolfpack, would then go on a 6-0 run of their own powered by Will Holland and Cash Peterson to tie the game at 8. Senior Dodge Davis, would make a layup to give the Dragons a 10-8 lead. A three by Lofton Brown would give the Wolfpack an 11-10 advantage.
The Dragons, would then go on a 13-0 run as Dodge Davis would hit a three, Parker Davis would split a pair of free throws, and Jamin Martin would come off the bench and knock down 3 threes to make it 23-11. Before the quarter came to an end, Hughes would make a pair of free throws. Heading to the second quarter, Pickens led Whitefield Academy, 23-13.
A bucket by the Wolfpack would get things started in the second quarter as it cut the lead down to 23-15. Barton, would hit his third three of the game, and Parker Davis would make a layup to give the Dragons a 28-15 lead. A 5-0 run by Holland would trim the Dragons lead down to 28-20. The Dragons, would close out the first half on a 9-0 run. Montego Morgan would get the run started with a bucket.
McCord Purdy would get his first points of the game with a three, and Parker Davis would chip in 4 points to make it 37-20 Pickens at the half.
The Dragons, would start to take over in the second half as they began the third quarter on a 12-0 run. The Davis twins, Dodge and Parker, would combine to score 8 of the 12 points during the run. Purdy would make a layup and Caleb Lanford would get his first points of the contest as the Dragons extended their lead out to 49-20. A basket by Holland would put an end to run and make it 49-22.
After Parker Davis and Holland traded buckets, DJ Mitchell and Purdy would bring the third quarter to a close by hitting back to back threes. Heading to the fourth quarter, Pickens led Whitefield Academy, 57-24.
The scoring in the fourth began with Hughes as he would split a pair of free throws. Parker Davis, would then make a layup and Dodge Davis would connect on a pair of free throws to make it 61-25. Hughes, would make a layup to make it 61-27. A nice pull up jumper by Mitchell would make it 63-27. Holland, would go on a mini 3-0 run to make it 63-30.
The Dragons, would then go on an 8-0 run as Mitchell and Martin would hit a three each and Camden Jones would get into the score book with a put back layup to make it 71-30. A bucket by Connor Wynne would be the final points of the game as the Dragons took this one, 71-32.
Leading scorers for the Dragons:
Dodge Davis: 13 points
Parker Davis: 13 points
Jamin Martin: 12 points (4 threes)
Brock Barton: 11 points (3 threes)
McCord Purdy: 8 points
DJ Mitchell: 8 points
Caleb Lanford: 2 points
Montego Morgan: 2 points
Camden Jones: 2 points
The Dragons, will be back in action at home on Saturday, November 23rd as they’ll play host for a three day Thanksgiving tournament. First up, Mt. Bethel. Tip off is set for 7:30 pm.
Dragons pick up road win against Whitefield Academy
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports December 10, 2023
Mableton, Ga — It was the second day of a back to back for the Pickens Dragons on Saturday, December 9th as they took on the Whitefield Academy Wolfpack who are out of the Single-A D-1 classification. The Dragons, were looking to bounce back after a tough 61-55 loss at Sonoraville on Friday, December 8th. After holding a 7 point lead at the half, the Dragons exploded for a 32 point third quarter as they got the win, 70-48.
The Dragons, got things going early on in the first quarter as Dodge and Parker Davis combined for a 6-0 run to put the Dragons up 6-0. The Wolfpack, countered with a 7-0 run to take the lead 7-6. A jumper by Montego Morgan and a three pointer from Caleb Lanford gave the Dragons an 11-7 lead. After a three by the Wolfpack, Hayden Jones made a basket and Morgan hit a three to give the Dragons a 16-10 lead going to the second.
The Wolfpack, started the scoring in the second quarter as the bucket cut the Dragons lead to 16-12. Lanford got things going for the Dragons with his second three pointer of the game. After the Wolfpack split a pair of free throws, McCord Purdy picked up his first points with a jumper to make it 21-13. Later on in the quarter, after the Wolfpack cut the lead to 3, the Dragons went on a 7-0 run as Morgan scored 5 points during the run and Jones added a bucket.
The Wolfpack, got the final points of the first half as they would hit a corner three to make it 32-25 Dragons going into the half.
The Dragons, would start the third quarter on a mini 4-0 run as both Lanford and Jones made baskets. After a three by the Wolfpack, the Dragons went on a 5-0 run as Nathan Wallace hit the first of his 3 three pointers and Parker Davis made a bucket to make it 41-28. The Wolfpack ended the run with a layup to make it 41-30. From there, the Dragons would go on a 13-0 run as Lanford made two three pointers, Parker Davis with 4 points including a big dunk, and Wallace with his second three to make it 54-30.
That run ended after a layup by the Wolfpack. but the Dragons, were not done scoring in the third. A three pointer by Wallace started an 8-0 run as Lanford scored the other 5 points. Purdy, got the final points of the third quarter as the Dragons led the Wolfpack 64-35 going to the fourth.
The fourth quarter saw the Wolfpack outscore the Dragons 13-6 as Dodge Davis, Parker Davis, and Purdy made baskets for the Dragons in the frame. Final score in this one, the Dragons 70 and the Wolfpack 48.
Scoring for the Dragons:
Caleb Lanford: 21 points
Parker Davis: 12 points
Montego Morgan: 10 points
Nathan Wallace: 9 points
Hayden Jones: 8 points
McCord Purdy: 6 points
Dodge Davis: 4 points
With the win, the Dragons now move to 4-4 on the season. The Dragons, will be back in 7-AAA action this week as they will host the Dawson Tigers on Tuesday, December 12th. Tip time is scheduled for 7:30 pm.