Dunwoody’s Ariel Lawrence (4) gets out on a fast break ahead of Towers’ Nyrobi Pillers (22) during the Lady Wildcats home opening win. (Photo by Mark Brock)

Dunwoody played host to Towers in both schools’ season opening high school basketball games with the Lady Wildcats and Titans coming out victorious on Tuesday.

Ariel Lawrence hit the nets for 23 points to lead the Lady Wildcats (1-0) to a 52-25 victory over the Towers Lady Titans (0-1) in the night’s opening girls’ contest.

Lawrence hit for 13 of her game-high 23 points in a four minute, 34 second span at the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second as Dunwoody began to pull away.

The Lady Wildcats held Towers to just two free throws in the first quarter with Lawrence putting Dunwoody up by 10 (12-2) with a steal and layup with 1:39 to play. Sam Moss’s steal and layup with 12 seconds left send Dunwoody into the second quarter up 14-2.

Eight seconds into the second quarter Lawrence hit from downtown sinking a three-pointer starting a 13-0 run to open the period. Lawrence would add baskets on assists from a pair of steals by Moss to sandwich a Liz Edler three and added her second three in the first 1:54 of the quarter for a 27-2 Dunwoody lead.

Nyrobi Pillers got a 9-3 run started for Towers with a steal and layup at the 5:24 mark of the second quarter as the Lady Titans trimmed the lead to 30-11 at the half.

It was a relatively quiet third quarter for both teams as Dunwoody outscored Towers 8-0, including four more points by Lawrence.

Four more points by Lawrence early in the fourth quarter helped push the Dunwoody lead out to 47-13 before Pillers kicked off a 9-0 run for Towers with five consecutive points.

Lawrence was the game’s high scorer with 23 points with teammate Omari Foote added 8 points and 5 rebounds. Chyna Jones had 9 points and Pillers had 8 points and 11 rebounds to lead Towers.

Towers’ David Manigo (3) drives against Dunwoody’s Jason Maurer. Manigo had 17 points and 12 rebounds in the Titans victory. (Photo by Mark Brock)

A game-high 22 points by Darren Parker got the Titans off on the right foot to start the season with a 61-43 victory over the Wildcats in the boys’ game.

Parker hit for eight points, had two assists and a steal as the Titans jumped out 16-10 in the first quarter. A three-pointer by Jared Whitehurst in the final 40 seconds of the first period closed the gap to the six-point difference heading into the second quarter.

Will Wood’s layup with 5:54 gone in the second quarter cut the lead to 18-14 and it would be as close as the Wildcats would get the rest of the way.

Dunwoody cut the lead to five on a pair of occasions in the second quarter, but a dunk by Parker and a three just before the buzzer by Corey Moore sent the Titans into the half up 34-25.

David Manigo put in nine points in the third quarter and Parker added six more to his total as Towers extended the lead to 50-27 after three quarters of play.

Seven of Towers 11 fourth quarter points came from the free throw line. The only baskets of the final quarter for Towers came off offensive rebounds (18 in 2nd half) by Khalil White and Parker.

Joining Parker in double figures was Manigo with a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds. Dunwoody was led by Jared Whitehurst’s 11 points and a 7 point, 7 rebound performance by Jason Maurer.