GATLINBURG — The Carter Green Hornets came to Gatlinburg-Pittman on Tuesday night and handed the high-flying Highlanders their first lost of the season, 66-58.

“As a coach, of course I’m disappointed,” said G-P leader Raul Placeres. “But it’s early in the season, and I didn’t expect us to run the table.

“Carter is a very good team with a very good player (in Lester Wilson), and they caught us on an off night shooting.

“It was a good learning experience for the boys, and we’ll get back to work tomorrow.”

Carter (6-2, 2-2) shot lights out early in the contest, jumping out in front 7-0 in the opening moments of the contest.

G-P junior Jose Agosto, who led the Highlanders (8-1, 2-1) with 20 points and 12 rebounds on the night, finally got the Blue and Gold off the schneid with a pair of free throws with 5:35 in the first quarter to make it 7-2.

But Carter’s offense, led by Wilson, was unstoppable early. Wilson drained 14 first-quarter points en route to a surprise 22-12 Green Hornet lead at the end of one. Wilson finished the night as the game’s high scorer with 28 points, including four shots from downtown despite not being known as a three-point threat.

“We didn’t have an answer for (Wilson),” said Placeres. “It was his night, and he was pretty darn good.”

G-P answered in the second quarter, however, outscoring the Green Hornets 23-7 in the period to take a six-point, 35-29, Blue-and-Gold lead into the halftime locker rooms.

G-P senior Marquise Wall led the second-quarter effort, scoring seven of his eight points on the night in the period.

“Marquise gave us a huge effort in the second quarter,” said Placeres. “He led that comeback.”

Carter started the third quarter like the beginning of the game, however, and went on a 17-2 run en route to a 50-41 Green Hornet lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“We just had a terrible third quarter,” said Placeres. “We just couldn’t hit a shot.”

But the Highlanders managed cut into the Carter lead in the fourth quarter, trailing by just two points with less than three minutes in the contest.

But the Green Hornets would not be denied the eight-point win down the stretch.

G-P junior Morrease “Mo” Barber added 11 points and 13 boards in the loss.

G-P next travels to Hancock County on Thursday.

G-P girls win by 20

GATLINBURG - The Gatlinburg-Pittman Lady Highlanders offense was Jekyll and Hyde on Tuesday night against visiting Carter Lady Green Hornets, but the homestanding Lady Blue-and-Gold squad weathered an in-game scoring slump to take a big 60-40 District 3-AA win.

For the second consecutive home game, the Lady Highlanders (4-3, 1-2) started the affair hot, jumping to a 10-0 lead out of the gates en route to a 23-6 edge at the end of the first quarter. G-P junior Lacee Tinker and senior Leah Bryan led the scoring explosion with nine and seven first-quarter points respectively.

“I thought the first four minutes of the first quarter was some of the best basketball we’ve played,” said G-P coach Mike Rader.

But for the second consecutive home game, G-P struggled to find its offense after a good start, this time primarily due to early Lady Highlander foul trouble.

“We let them back into the game in the second quarter on what I thought were just foolish fouls,” said G-P coach Mike Rader.

Reaching deep into their bench, the Lady Highlanders managed just five second-quarter points and clung to just a four-point edge, 28-24, by intermission.

Carter kept making it a one-possession game in the third quarter, but unlike the last G-P home game, each time the Lady Green Hornets got close, someone on the G-P squad came through with some clutch points to keep the Lady Blue and Gold on top.

Carter cut the G-P edge to 34-33 with 3:34 in the third, but Tinker drained a 10-footer that hit nothing but the bottom of the net to make it 36-33.

When the Lady Green Hornets cut it to 38-36, junior Macy Shults sniped one from downtown to make it 41-36 G-P with 1:34 in the third.

And by the time the Lady Highlanders weathered the Carter storm, G-P held a double-digit 46-36 lead heading into the final frame.

The Lady Green Hornets made one final push early in the fourth quarter, cutting the G-P lead to 46-39 on three foul shots.

But G-P freshman Karsen Sims responded with six straight Lady Highlander points on a pair of field goals and two from the charity stripe, giving the Blue and Gold a 52-39 lead with 5:01 in the game.

Carter threw in the towel with 1:53 remaining and G-P on top 59-40. The Lady Hornets subbed in a court full of junior varsity players and allowed the Lady Highlanders to play clock ball for the eventual 20-point win.

Tinker led G-P with 15 points, and Sims was the other Lady Highlander in double digits with 11.

Bryan had nine points, juniors Mekenna Lewis and Morgan Dodgen had eight apiece, senior Beka Owens and Shults had three each, sophomore Sami John scored a deuce and freshman Emily Fisher added a charity shot in the winning effort.

Carter’s Codie Kiestler led the Lady Green Hornets with 10 points in the loss.

G-P next travels to Hancock County on Thursday.