Gordon Central allowed 15 points in the second quarter and 22 in the third as they fell to visiting Pickens (7A-AAA) in their first game of the 2009-’10 basketball season on Tuesday.

The Warriors (0-1) held a 13-10 lead after the first quarter but a 15-7 run in the second quarter gave the Dragons (1-1) a 25-20 lead at the half.

The third quarter was a disaster for the home team as Pickens hit full stride and took a commanding 24 point lead after a 22-3 third quarter.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well, lost several key assignments and gave up some easy buckets,” said GC Head Coach Joss Goss of his team’s third quarter performance. “We made some bad choices and it got us in a bind.”

Foul trouble also added to the bad third quarter as three Warrior starters were forced to sit the bench for almost the entire time.

“We you have three starters on the bench… we are just not deep enough to fight, especially against a team like Pickens, a big and strong team,” Goss added.

Gordon Central didn’t give up and managed to outscore the visiting team 11-3 in the final quarter, but the game had already been decided.

Despite the loss, Alex Miller led all scorers with 17 points. Nigel Curtis followed with seven.

“Alex played really well for us,” said Goss. “They had a concerted effort to stop Alex. I heard their coach saying ‘someone has to get 24’”

“He played well but we didn’t do a good job of finding him,” Goss added. “They did a good job of guarding him in the second half and when he was open we didn’t get him the ball in time, in a spot in which he could score.”

For The Dragons, both Wesley Easterwood and Jordan Shaw totaled 14 points each. Bo Champion added nine.