Douglas County split their final games of the Pickens County Holiday Classic on Saturday. The Lady Cougars opened with a dominating 64-38 win over Shiloh, however, the DC boys struggled against an undefeated Cartersville, losing 87-63.

The Lady Tigers struggled early in their game after starting at a disadvantage for showing up in the wrong uniform. DC trailed 14-9 after the first eight minutes but rebounded in the second period, going up 25-20 at the half. They led 51-30 after the third.

“I thought we played well later in the game,” said DC coach Chet Forsh. “We were a little complacent early and their team was a little more athletic than we expected.”

Maya Benham and Amadi Brooks led the Lady Tigers offensively with 12 points apiece. Santasia Faust followed with eight. Both Kianna Glover and Ronika Mitchell scored seven each from off the bench.

In the boys game, DC coach Joby Boydstone admits that some team played Cartersville Saturday evening, but it wasn’t his team.

“That was about as bad as we can play,” Boydstone added. “It was pathetic and we gave no effort. We did not lose this game because of the X’s and the O’s. We have some major psychological things we need to clean up to get ready for Lithia [next Saturday].”

The Tigers opened the game well against the Purple Hurricanes, and trailed only 18-16 after the first period. However, Cartersville dominated the next eight minutes, outscoring DC 28-6 for a 46-22 halftime lead. The second half was played evenly, with the Purple Hurricanes taking the third period 21-20 and the Tigers taking the final eight minutes 21-20.

Coming into the game, Boydstone believed his team could hang with Cartersville. At one point in Thursday’s game against Mundy’s Hill, DC led 83-49 before going on to win by 24 points. Cartersville played Mundy’s Hill on Friday and barely squeaked by with an 11 point win.

“This team lives and dies by their youth, and at 6-6 right now that is what we are doing,” Boydstone said. “We just need to keep driving home what we are doing and get rid of the distractions.’

Despite the losing effort, DC had a lone bright spot in Justin Bridges, who netted 20 points. Jalen Thornton added 10 points and K’Ja Johnson followed with nine.

The DC girls and boys will play at Lithia on Jan. 5 with games starting at 6 p.m.