The varsity Tigers basketball team fell behind 23-18 at halftime but rallied to take a huge 43-27 win at Union County last Friday night.

Dawson County allowed the Panthers only 4 second half points to come away with the team's 15th win of the season.

Dawson County is currently 15-4 overall and 2-2 in Region 8A-AA.

Union County fell to 1-3 in region play.

Whatever Head Coach Thad Burgess said to his team at halftime obviously worked.

The Tigers defense shut down Union's offensive attack in the final 16 minutes of play.

The Panthers did not score a single point in the third quarter and managed only 4 points in the final quarter to absorb the 16-point loss.

"After a very poor first half, we really stepped up the intensity in the second half," Burgess said. "I really challenged them at half, and they responded with a 16 to zero third quarter. [We were ] a totally different team in the second half that was determined to play defense and rebound with great energy."

The Tigers placed two players in double figures for the game.

Tyler Dominy had a game-high 13 points followed by junior teammate Bruce Clark with 11 points.

Dawson County has had unbelievable success at Union County over the past five years. The Tigers have won nine of the last 10 meetings against the Panthers.

"With the history of the longstanding rivalry over the years, our teams have played really well there under big and loud crowds with a lot at stake each game. I thought in the second half we just blocked out everything and just played with a desire to win," Burgess said.

Zach Odom led the Panthers in scoring with 9 points.

The Tigers will play at home Friday against 12-4 East Hall.

The Vikings are currently 4-0 in Region 8A-AA.

Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. and the game will also serve as homecoming for the Tigers.

Next Tuesday the team will travel to Blue Ridge to face Fannin County. Game time is will be 7:30 p.m.

Dawson County scorers: Tyler Dominy - 13 points, Bruce Clark - 11 points, Will Anglin - 7 points, Jonathan Sanderson - 6 points, Gunnar Armstrong - 3 points and Jackson Putnam - 3 points.