Coach Thad Burgess' varsity boys' basketball team continues to play hard but the basketball just doesn't seem to be bouncing their way.

The Tigers lost three games last week, all at home, to drop their overall record to 1-6.

"We battled the first two games of the week, and then hit the wall on Saturday with Pickens," Burgess said. "We are just trying to find ways to compete and find combinations that will give us a chance."

The Dec. 9 game was a Region 7-AAA game against a very talented East Hall team. Coach Joe Dix's team used a strong second and fourth quarter to take a 74-59 victory.

East Hall improved its record to 5-1 and the Vikings are 2-0 in the region. Dawson County fell to 0-1 in region play.

The Tigers were led by Cullen Reed with 14 points. Brandon Abbott added 13 points in the loss.

Keanon Davenport, for East Hall, had a game-high 20 points.

The Dec. 12 game against Union County was close throughout.

Dawson County held an 11-9 first quarter lead, but the Panthers scored 17 second quarter points to take a 26-19 advantage at halftime.

A lead that Union County would not relinquish, as the visitors took away a 62-57 win.

Union County is currently 5-2 on the season overall.

Leading the Panthers in scoring was Kyle Hamby and Lawson Boening each with 11 points.

Jackson Morgan had a huge game for Dawson with 22 points.

Teammates Levi Whitmire and Cullen Reed had 12 and 10 points respectively.

Pickens County traveled to Dawsonville for a rematch on Saturday.

Dawson County's only victory came over the Dragons, in double overtime, earlier this season.

The Tigers outscored the Dragons 20-6 in the second quarter to take a 27-23 lead into the intermission.

Coach Brad Steinhauer's team picked up the defense in the second half and limited Dawson County to just 13 second half points. While the Dragons scored 27 points to take the 50-40 victory.

Shannon Brooks led Pickens in scoring with 15 points followed by Clay Wigington with 14 points.

Pickens currently stands at 7-2 on the season.

Once again Morgan scored in double digits with 16 points. Tiger teammate Reed added 13 points in the loss.

"We are still giving some younger players a chance to get in the mix, but it is difficult physically for freshman to compete on the varsity level," Burgess said. "It's still early in the season. I'm disappointed with our record but knew it was going to be a difficult season."

The Tigers will have a very busy week. Tuesday, the team played a one loss Banks County team. Scores were unavailable at press time.

Friday will see Dawson County make the long trip to Carnesville to play a talented Franklin County team. It will be the first trip to Franklin County for the varsity team.

The Lions are currently 5-4 overall and 2-1 in region play.

The Tigers will then play in a three-day Christmas tournament at North Murray High School in Chatsworth beginning on Saturday. The first opponent for the Tigers will be Murray County. As of press time, game time had not been released.