7-AAA tournament: Dawson holds off White, advances to state

BUFORD -- Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder where Dawson County coach Thad Burgess is concerned.

His Tigers had two five minute stretches in the second half of scoring just two points yet held White County to no points in that same period en route to a 42-30 win Tuesday night in the first round of the Region 7-AAA tournament.

With the win the Tigers (21-5) advance to the Class AAA state tournament next week. They will take on No. 2 seed Buford on Friday at North Hall in the semifinals.

Dawson County coach Thad Burgess, who has guided his Tigers to the state tournament six of the last seven seasons, said he got just what he wanted.

"It definitely wasn't pretty but that's the way we like it," he said. "I thought our defense and rebounding were outstanding."

While the defense was clamping down on White County, the Tigers offense went on an 8-0 run to extend an 11-10 lead to 19-10 late in the second quarter. They would take a 21-12 lead into halftime.

White County, which finished its season at 10-16, tried to get back into the game opening the third quarter with a 5-0 run to pull within 21-17. But the Warriors could get no closer.

Dawson County closed out the third quarter with a 8-3 run for a 29-20 lead and then put the game out of reach with an 8-2 spurt late in the game. The Tigers ices the game by hitting 6-of-8 free throws in the final 90 seconds to keep the Warriors at bay.

Tyler Dominy had 16 points and 11 rebounds to pace Dawson County. Jonathan Sanderson and Camron Chester had eight points each for the Tigers.

Eddie Hurst led White County with 10 points. No other Warriors had more than six.

Tigers limped into the region tournament having lost three straight games. But Burgess said that doesn't matter.

"It's all about winning now," he said. "It was a great for us and now we can get ready for the state tournament."