The Dawson County boys basketball team defeated Hebron Christian Academy, 59-48, to claim the championship trophy of the Inaugural Lions Thanksgiving Tournament. The tournament was held at Hebron Christian Academy in Dacula.

With the win, Dawson moved to 4-0 on the young season.

The Tigers may be without the services of junior guard Kaleb Holbrook after he suffered a leg injury in the championship game.

Reports from Head Coach Thad Burgess are that Holbrook may be lost for the season with a torn ACL.

“Kaleb is the glue to our team,” Burgess said.

Dawson reached the title game with a resounding 68-47 win over Mt. Pisgah Christian (3-1) on Nov. 23.

The Patriots got off to a great start against Dawson County going out on top 11-1 to start the contest. Dawson County bounced back going on a 30-0 run that put the game away at halftime, 38-18.

Stephen Johnson had a big night for Burgess’ team. Johnson scored 21 points to lead the team.

“Stephen and Levi Wilson had big shooting nights for us,” Burgess said.

Dawson County placed three other scorers in double digits. Jacob Evans and Stephen Scaife both had 14 points each. Levi Wilson chipped in with 13 points of his own.

Also scoring for Dawson was Tyler Dominy with six points.

Mt. Pisgah was led in scoring by Brian Ginty with 24 points.

The championship game was a battle for three quarters.

The Tigers and Hebron were tied at 40-40 after three quarters.

Dawson County’s offense ignited in the fourth quarter, as the team outscored the Lions 19-6 to pull away and seal the victory.

Scaife had an enormous night on offense for the Tigers. He scored 29 points for the team and was 5-for-6 from the free throw line, when the game was on the line.

Jacob Evans also had a big game, hitting four 3-point shots, finishing with 18 points in the game.

“I was really impressed how we handled the pressure being down in the fourth quarter and fighting back to win,” said Burgess. “I thought Tyler (Dominy) gave us some really good minutes off the bench.

“It’s really nice to start at 4-0 and get a tournament win to start the season. It’s also going to be nice to have a week off. I’m really proud of our guys with our start to the season,” he added.

The Tigers will play this Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the team will travel to Gilmer County with a 8:30 p.m. tip-off. Saturday the team will host Walnut Grove with a 7:30 p.m. start.

Dawson will then travel to Region 8-AA foe Banks County Dec. 8.

The Banks County  game will start at 7:30 p.m.