Everyone who follows basketball in Sevier County knows what kind of year the Gatlinburg-Pittman Highlanders and the Pigeon Forge Lady Tigers are having — a good one — with a combined 40-9 mark at the end of the regular season.

But two teams that don’t get a lot of positive attention these days are the counterparts to the programs that have enjoyed so much recent success, the Tigers and the Lady Highlanders.

The Pigeon Forge boys’ team and the G-P girls have a combined 16-31 record this season, but I’ve seen both squads play quite a few games this year, and I’m here to say that both teams are having better years than their eight-wins apiece illustrate.

Although the Tigers have lost nine of their last 10 games, and the Lady Highlanders have dropped 10 of their last 11, both squads play with heart to the end of each contest. Yet, somehow, they seem to wind up on the losing side of the scoreboard night in and night out.

There have been many reasons for the losses, including extremely unfortunate and unusual calls that go against them in the final seconds of a game they are leading in, key players fouling out in the final moments when the contest is on the line, injuries, offensive dry spells and last-second miracle buzzer-beaters that always seem to propel opponents to victory.

The Lady Highlanders have dropped their last 10 losses by an average of just 5.9 points per contest.

The margin of defeat in the Tigers’ last nine losses is a bit higher at 8.4 points per game, but that includes two contests against District 3-AA foe No.1 Fulton Falcons (21-2, 12-0). Take the Fulton games out, and the Tigers defeat margin plummets to 5.3 points per game.

Pigeon Forge has lost four games on buzzer-beating shots, including Tuesday’s home game against the Cosby Eagles.

The one time since mid January the scrappy Orange-and-Black boys held a commanding lead heading into the fourth quarter, they allowed county rival Seymour to come back for an 11-point win on a 24-point swing in the fourth, which just happened this past Thursday night in Seymour. It was as if the Pigeon Forge boys didn’t know how to play with a lead, having grown so accustomed to playing from behind the past month-plus.

The tale for the Lady Highlanders is also full of as many snake-bitten stories, and I know that it’s been frustrating for Pigeon Forge coach Jonathan Shultz and G-P coach Mike Rader to watch their respective teams come up on the short end of the scoreboard so many times, and in so many ways.

But I also know that both coaches care about the players on their teams and that they’ve been proud of the athletes for their heart and continued willingness to put it on the line night in and night out in hopes of coming out on the winning side of things for once.

Both teams finished with eight-win regular seasons, but with a few lucky breaks and whistles, or a few more made free throws, either club could have posted 12-15 victories, which would have made a huge difference in both their accomplishments and their public perception to this point of the year.

But things haven’t gone that way, and both teams will be facing potentially season-ending contests in the first round of the District 3-AA Tournament that begins this Tuesday night at Pigeon Forge High School.

Pigeon Forge, entering the tournament as the No.7 seed in the seven-team district, actually faces back-to-back elimination contests with a 7 p.m. tilt against Gibbs Eagles on Tuesday. If the Tigers happen to pull out a victory on Tuesday, they advance to an 8:30 p.m. game against No.3-seed Carter on Friday night. If Pigeon Forge wins that game, they would then advance to the district tournament semi-final 8:30 p.m. next Saturday against the No.2-seed G-P boys and also be guaranteed a berth into the region tournament.

The Lady Highlanders enter the district tournament in a slightly better boat as the No.5 seed. G-P is scheduled to play Fulton 7 p.m. Friday. If the Blue-and-Gold girls can win that match-up, they too will be in the semi-finals 7 p.m. next Saturday against No.1-seed Pigeon Forge girls and will also have a berth into the region tournament assured.

Both teams know that they have the ability to extend their season if they can turn over a new, winning leaf next week.

As coach Shultz told me the day following the recent Cosby loss, he’s been telling his team that everyone is going to be 0-0 again. He’s been reminding his players that they’ve been in a lot of close ball games that have come down to the wire against some very tough competition. With a few breaks, the Orange and Black know they can beat anyone in their district on a given night.

I’m sure that coach Rader has been telling his girls similar things, including a reminder of the two close and hard-fought regular-season losses to Fulton, either of which could have easily gone the Lady Highlanders way with a few positive bounces of the ball at the end.

But even if one or both of their seasons come to an end next week, this year hasn’t been lost on fans of the programs. Both teams have shown a lot of character in the face of adversity, and that alone has made the members of both squads winners already.