The eighth grade Riverview Middle School Eagles basketball team picked up their first win of the season with a 49-34 decision over cross-county rival Dawson County Middle School Nov. 18.

Eric Pope led the Eagles with a double-double, picking up 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Eagle players Carlos Keller and Chaz Jennings also scored in double figures with 10 points each. Raleigh Payne added nine points in the victory.

Riverview opened the game on fire taking a commanding 19-5 lead and Coach Mark Thomason's team never looked back.

The score was 30-14 at the intermission.

"My guys came out and played really well on defense and around the basket," Thomason said. "They cleaned up a lot of their own misses and forced some turnovers that lead to some points. It was good getting the first win, now we hope we can build off of that and beat Jasper after Thanksgiving break.

"My guys played good at times. We had trouble controlling Riverview on the glass," said DCMS Head Coach Jonathan Tinsley.

"These guys (Dawson County) practice hard and are very coachable and are improving every day. I'm proud of how hard they are working."

Leading the scoring for the Tigers was Will Mulberry and Elijah Stanfield with 13 points each. Trey Pruitt also scored eight points in the loss.

Riverview now has a 1-2 record. The Eagles will be back in action on Dec. 4 at Jasper Middle School.

Dawson County will also play their next game on Dec.4 at Pickens Middle School.