As high school sports fans turned from football to basketball, the Raising Cane’s Panther Classic on Saturday at the Pascagoula Gymnasium started the new year off with a bang.
The one-day event to officially kick off the 2025 sports year featured eight games and 14 schools. The games started at 10 a.m. and lasted 12 hours.
“We had eight games, which is an increase from the past years,” said Pascagoula athletic director Steve Engle. “We certainly appreciate everyone who came, especially all of the volunteers and all the fans and coaches who made it a success. We certainly appreciate the partnership with Raising Cane’s, who sponsored the event.”
Baker girls 53, D’Iberville 49 (OT)
To dispose of the “save the best for last” motto, the Panther Classic’s best game was first.
The Baker Lady Hornets of Mobile took down the D’Iberville Lady Warriors in an amazing battle.
The game had intense moments as the teams went back and forth, including free throws at the end of regulation by Baker’s Angela Kidd.
Kidd, who scored seven points, stepped to the line as the Lady Hornets trailed 45-44 with .9 seconds left.
She hit the first and missed the second, sending the game to overtime. That’s where Madison Carelton took over for the Lady Hornets, scoring all but one of Baker’s points in overtime.
Carelton finished with 16 points and teammate Timmiria Harris had 13. D’Iberville’s Nay Jefferson also scored 16.
Northeast Lauderdale boys 61, Resurrection 43
The Northeast Lauderdale Trojans outmanned the Resurrection Eagles as BJ Portis scored 22 points to lead the Trojans and teammate Troy Brown had 13, including three 3-pointers in the first quarter to help Northeast Lauderdale earn a 15-9 advantage.
The Trojans never relinquished the lead.
Simeon Ballard led the Eagles with 14 points and Judd Burlison added nine.
The Eagles were without star player Tyrese Ricardo, a junior who earlier this season set a school record for most points in one game with 50.
Ricardo came down wrong in a game against Sacred Heart before Christmas and tore his ACL. He is out for the season.
Hancock boys 45, Greene County 38
This game brought a lot of intensity, especially in the first half.
Hancock jumped out to a 13-8 lead, but Greene County scored 16 in the second quarter to tie the game at 24 by halftime.
Greene County’s Sidney Jackson had all eight of his points in that quarter to lead the Wildcats’ charge.
Hancock then outscored Greene County 21-14 in the second half to come away victorious.
Jaden Lee led the Hawks with 12 and Kaison Koeneen had 11.
Greene County’s Cordarious Molten also scored 12.
Northwest Rankin boys 48, D’Iberville 26
Deshawn Dillion had all of his 14 points in the second half to help Northwest Rankin overcome scoring just three points in the first quarter.
Northwest Rankin outscored D’Iberville 25-14 in the second half. Jordan Samuel contributed to the surge by knocking down two 3-pointers.
Juan Santiago scored 10 points to lead the Warriors.
Quitman girls 51, Pascagoula 31
The Lady Panthers played hard and kept the game close in the first half, trailing just 19-13 at the break.
Pascagoula senior guard Khyliyah Moore scored seven of her team-leading 13 points in the half to help the Lady Panthers stay in the game in front of the hometown crowd.
However, the visiting Lady Panthers of Quitman had other ideas.
Aiyanna Dear, who dropped four 3-pointers, scored 13 of her game-high 21 points in the second half to help Quitman surge to the victory.
Pascagoula’s other guard, Samaha Johnson, contributed eight points and Quitman’s Jhayla Dubose chipped in 10 points.
Meridian boys 51, Ocean Springs 44
This battle brought back a familiar face to the Panther Den as former Pascagoula coach Ron Norman, now Meridian’s coach, led his Wildcats to a big win over the Ocean Springs Greyhounds.
Meridian led 12-10 after the first quarter and used a smothering defense to hold the Greyhounds to only four points in the second quarter en route to a 21-14 halftime lead.
Meridian’s Demontae Powe put on a shooting clinic, leading all scorers with 22 points and knocking down five 3-pointers.
Ocean Springs junior JaColby Bailey made his presence known, keeping the Greyhounds close by leading the team with 18 points, including eight in the fourth quarter.
Biloxi 67 boys, Hattiesburg 54
In the highest-scoring game of the day, the Biloxi Indians cruised to a big win over the Hattiesburg Tigers.
The Indians unloaded 28 points in the second quarter with four 3-pointers and seven different Biloxi players scoring.
If you want to use the phrase “the man of the game,” Biloxi’s 6-foot-5 sophomore, Alan Ayala, earned the honor.
Ayala not only dominated inside, but he also hit two 3-pointers in the second quarter and finished with a game-high 15 points.
James Griffin led the Tigers with 14.
West Jones boys 62, Pascagoula 47
With the starting five of Pascagoula out, the Panthers on the floor put in a valiant effort but could not overcome the outstanding shooting of the Mustangs.
West Jones seemed to remain on fire all night, spoiling Pascagoula’s hopes for a hometown victory in the final game of the Panther Classic.
Keegan Holmes, Javier Buxton and LaDaimain Keyes of West Jones held off Pascagoula rallies the entire game with clutch buckets.
Holmes had 21 points, including three 3-pointers. Buxton scored 11 points and Keyes added 10.
Marcus Cooper had 11 points to lead the Panthers.
