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Tigers claw way to victory
Varsity Boys Bball pic
Bruce Clark goes up for a lay-up against Class AA No. 8 ranked East Hall on Friday. Clark led the Tigers in scoring with 18 points in a 79-61 loss to the Vikings. - photo by Ryan Coker Dawson Community News

Dawson County fought back from a 9-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Banks County, 64-58, last week.

"This was a really important win and biggest win of the year," said head coach Thad Burgess. "Our kids were down 9 points in the last quarter and we were able to keep battling and make the plays at the end. We showed great effort and dedication against Banks."

Banks starts five seniors who have a lot of experience.

Gunnar Armstrong led the Tigers with a team-high 17 points in front of a hostile crowd in Homer on Jan. 24.

Tigers Bruce Clark and Jonathan Sanderson finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Junior Will Anglin added 11 points for Dawson County.

"It was nice to have four players in double figures," Burgess said.

The Leopards were led by Taylor Foster with 14 points and Adam Hiten with 10 points.

Banks took a 32-27 first half lead. The Leopards extended the lead to nine points in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers came roaring back and outscored Banks 20-13 in the final quarter to come away with the win.

The Leopards are currently 11-11 on the season and 4-3 in Region 8A-AA action.

Tigers scorers: Arm-strong - 17 points, Clark - 15 points, Sanderson - 14 points, Anglin - 11 points and Tyler Dominy - 7 points.

Friday night the Tigers played host to Class AA No. 8 ranked East Hall.

The Vikings offense was too much for Dawson. East Hall won the game by a score of 79-61.

East Hall is a perfect 6-0 in region play. The Vikings are 16-5 overall.

"East Hall shot too well and played too good, we were not able to stay with them," Burgess said.

Clark led all Tigers in scoring with 18 points.

Dominy added 14 points.

Dominy, a junior, also eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in his prep career at Dawson County High School.

J.C. Hampton led the Vikings with a game-high 20 points. Hayden Chapman and Chris Orr had 17 and 14 points respectively for East Hall. Orr also had 10 rebounds for a double-double.

The Tigers couldn't overcome a 48-30 halftime lead by East Hall. The Vikings extended the advantage to 62-41 at the end of three quarters.

Tigers scorers: Clark - 18 points, Dominy - 14 points, Anglin - 9 points, Sanderson - 8 points, Lucas Pain - 3 points, Armstrong - 3 points and Camron Chester - 3 points.

The Tigers will travel to Rabun County Friday night for a game against the Wildcats.

The Wildcats are currently 16-5 overall and 4-2 in Region 8A-AA. In early January the Tigers lost to Rabun 58-56 in a very close game.

Tip-off will be at 7 p.m.

Tuesday the Tigers will be at home against Union County. The Panthers are 11-10 and 2-4 in Region 8A-AA. Game time will be at 6 p.m.

"We have two big road games at Fannin and Rabun this week, and then finish at home with Union and Banks. These games will decide the seedings for tournament play at East Hall at the end of the year," Burgess said.

Dawson County currently boasts a 16-5 overall record and are 3-3 in Region 8A-AA.