Dragons pick up huge region win against Southeast Whitfield
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports January 29, 2021
Jasper, Ga — On Thursday, January 28th, the Pickens Dragons (9-11, 6-4) welcomed the Southeast Whitfield Raiders (4-17, 1-10) to the Dragons Den for a big time 7-AAAA region game. Coming into the game, the Dragons were tied in the region standings with Northwest Whitfield for third. the Raiders, won their first region game of the season on Tuesday against Ridgeland. With this being the only region game of the day, a win by the Dragons would put them in third place all by themselves. In what may have been their most complete game of the season, Pickens came away with a 78-31 win over the Raiders.
In the first quarter, Southeast Whitfield got the games first bucket. Pickens, followed that with a 7-0 run aided by 4 points from Noah Sutton and three points from Tucker Lowe. The Dragons built up a 10 point lead at one time in the opening quarter. Pickens took a 19-11 lead over the Raiders going to the second.
Dragons with the ball early on
In the second quarter, the Dragons defense helped lead to plenty of offense as they scored 25 points in the quarter while allowing 11 points. Pickens, got scoring from 7 different players in the second quarter as they took a 44-22 lead over Southeast Whitfield into the half.
The Dragon defense was everywhere on Thursday
In the third quarter, the Dragons started off the second half with an 8-0 run. Lowe, Owen Moss, Luke Rogers, and Will Roland all scored during the run. The Raiders got a bucket to end the run, but that would be the only points they would score in the quarter. Pickens, went on a 12-0 run to end the third quarter as they stretched out their lead to 64-24 going to the fourth.
Collin Kellogg goes in for the layup
In the fourth quarter, the Dragons doubled up the Raiders, 14-7 in the frame to seal a much needed win, 78-31. 11 Dragons got their names in the score book on Thursday.
Dragons leading scorers:
Tucker Lowe: 22 points
Caleb Bryant: 10 points
Ean Goodwin: 8 points
Jaden Stewart: 8 points
Noah Sutton: 6 points
7-AAAA Boys Basketball Standings:
Heritage: 13-5 (9-1)
Cedartown: 8-8 (7-2)
Pickens: 9-11 (6-4)
Northwest Whitfield: 11-6 (5-4)
Central-Carroll: 13-8 (4-4)
Ridgeland: 5-11 (1-8)
Southeast Whitfield: 4-17 (1-10)
The Dragons, will be back in action on Tuesday as they host the Cedartown Bulldogs in another critical 7-AAAA region game. The Nettes and Lady Bulldogs will get things going at 6 pm and the Dragons and Bulldogs will follow.
Dragons fall in high scoring affair with Adairsville
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports January 17, 2021
Jasper, Ga — It has been a difficult week for the Pickens Dragons dating back to last Saturday with tough losses to a non-region opponent in Dawson, and to region opponents Central-Carroll and Heritage. Pickens looked to end the week on a good note as they welcomed the Adairsville Tigers to the Dragons Den for non-region action. After an exciting, high scoring back and forth game, the Tigers came away with the 71-66.
The Tigers got the ball game started with a three to take an early 3-0 lead. Pickens came back with two straight buckets from Noah Sutton to take the lead for the first time at 4-3. After a free throw from Adairsville to tie things up, Will Roland and Owen Moss hit a bucket each to give the Dragons an 8-4 lead. A 6-0 run by the Tigers after two straight threes gave them the lead back at 10-8. The two teams continued to go back and forth as 49 combined points were scored in the first quarter. Going to the second quarter, Adairsville took a 25-24 lead.
Will Roland with the basketball
A bucket by the Tigers started the second quarter as they took a 27-24 lead. Tucker Lowe then knocked down a three for the Dragons to tie things up at 27. Later on in the quarter, after Adairsville had taken a 34-29 lead, Moss nailed a three and Luke Rogers made a bucket to once again tie things up. The two teams traded buckets to close the first half as the Tigers took a 43-40 lead into the break.
Dragons looking to tie the game
The Dragons used a 4-0 run as Lowe and Moss hit buckets to give Pickens a 44-43 lead to start the third. Later on in the quarter, the Tigers went on a 7-0 run to take a 61-48 lead. Rogers hit a bucket just before the quarter ended to make it 61-50 Adairsville going to the fourth.
Dragons working on defense against the Tigers
Pickens went on and 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter to cut the Tiger lead down to 61-58. After Adairsville brought the lead back up to 5, the Dragons battled their way back again to take a 66-65 lead after a Rogers bucket. Rogers again appeared to have given Pickens the lead, but a travel was called resulting in no basket. The Tigers went one to hit four free throws to give them the win, 71-66.
Dragons leading scorers:
Owen Moss: 22 points
Will Roland: 12 points
Tucker Lowe: 10 points
Luke Rogers: 9 points
Noah Sutton: 9 points
7-AAAA Boys Basketball Standings:
Heritage: 10-5 (7-1)
Cedartown: 6-8 (5-2)
Northwest Whitfield: 10-4 (4-2)
Pickens: 7-8 (4-3)
Central-Carroll: 9-7 (2-3)
Ridgeland: 4-9 (1-6)
Southeast Whitfield: 2-13 (0-6)
Pickens, will be back on the road next week as they start a 4 game road trip. First up for the Dragons is their second meeting with the Ridgeland Panthers on Tuesday. Tip off time is scheduled for 7:30.
Dragons fall in another nail biter to Heritage
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports January 16, 2021
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.
Lowe, Rogers lead Dragons past Southeast Whitfield
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports January 6, 2021
Dalton, Georgia — After seeing the Nettes get another big region win, the Pickens Dragons looked to do the same. The Dragons came into the game against the Southeast Whitfield Raiders having fallen in back to back tough games to North Paulding and Model to end 2020. The Raiders, ended 2020 with a 2 game win streak and playing their best ball of the season. This was a big game as far as the region standings were concerned. Pickens came into the game in 2nd place in 7-AAAA. After trailing by 2 at halftime, the Dragons used a big second half to get the win, 65-55.
The two teams traded buckets for the majority of the first quarter with the Dragons holding the biggest lead during the quarter at 13-8. The Raiders ended the opening quarter with a 7-0 run including a buzzer beating three to give Southeast Whitfield a 15-13 lead going to the second.
Luke Rogers was big for the Dragons on Tuesday
In the second quarter, Luke Rogers went on a personal 4-0 run to give the Dragons a 17-15 lead. The Raiders, were quick to tie things up with a bucket of their own. Pickens then went on an 8-0 run getting buckets from Ean Goodwin, Tucker, Lowe, Noah Sutton, and Owen Moss to make it 25-17 Dragons. All together, it was a 12-2 run for Pickens to start the quarter. Southeast Whitfield would close the first half on a 14-2 run to take the lead, 31-29.
Dragons double team on defense
The third quarter started with a three pointer from Tucker Lowe to give the Dragons a 32-31 lead. Both teams again took turns making baskets, with the Raiders holding a 4 point lead on several occasions. A three pointer from Jaden Stewart gave Pickens a 46-45 lead late in the quarter. Southeast Whitfield retook the lead with a bucket. With what seemed like less than a second left on the clock, Caleb Bryant floated a desperation three pointer and connected! Going to the fourth, the Dragons took a 49-47 lead over the Raiders.
Will Roland controls the ball for the Dragons
In the later stages of the fourth, Southeast Whitfield took a 55-54 lead. The Dragons closed the game on an 11-0 run including 7 points from Lowe. 4 of those points came from the free throw line to help seal the 65-55 win for Pickens.
Dragons leading scorers:
Tucker Lowe: 18 points
Luke Rogers: 15 points
Owen Moss: 10 points
Will Roland: 6 points
Caleb Bryant: 5 points
Jaden Stewart: 5 points
7-AAAA Boys Basketball Standings:
Heritage: 7-4 (5-0)
Pickens: 6-4 (3-1)
Northwest Whitfield: 8-3 (2-1)
Cedartown: 3-6 (2-1)
Central-Carroll: 6-4 (0-2)
Southeast Whitfield: 2-6 (0-3)
Ridgeland: 1-7 (0-4)
On Friday, the Dragons will take to the road again as they head to Cedartown to take on the Bulldogs. The Dragons find themselves in 2nd place, while the Bulldogs are tied for 3rd with Northwest Whitfield. Tip off is set for 8:30 pm.