There was a veritable plethora of prep basketball action toward the end of last week as many schools transitioned into the Christmas break.
In boys’ action, beginning on Thursday night, St. Martin knocked off Vancleave 61-53 in a battle of Jackson County rivals.
Ghabe Colding led the Yellow Jackets with 17 points, while Ty’Lah Whitlock added 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Monclair Brave also chipped in with 12 points, while Kaleb Bradley added 11 points, seven rebounds and four steals to the winning effort and DarKalas Robinson had nine points and seven assists.
St. Martin, under the direction of veteran head coach Charlie Pavlus, is now 11-4 on the season and the Yellow Jackets are off until Dec. 28th at the Pearl River Central Christmas Tourney.
Also on Thursday, Long Beach smacked Poplarville 54-21. Poplarville will also compete in the PRC Christmas Tourney.
On Friday in more boy’s action, Saltillo beat West Harrison in the Tupelo Christmas Tournament 62-27.
Meanwhile, at the Jackie Laird Invitational at Biloxi High, the Gulfport Admirals defeated Oak Grove 60-52. Keanu Patrick and Amir Abdul-Rauf finished with 13 points each. Kamari Mitchell finished with 11. Kylan Howze recorded his 3rd straight double-double with 13 Rebounds and 12 Blocks.
The host team Biloxi Indians beat Vigor High out of the Mobile, Ala., area 68-37.
In other action Friday night, Pascagoula held off a scrappy Hancock squad at home 44-40, as Dorian McMillian had 10 points, Kelan Rich had 9 points 4 rebounds and 5 assists, and Jahiem Fornett had 9 points.
Moss Point opened Region 8-4A play with a big 44-38 win over Greene County at home.
Bay High knocked off Pearl River Central 34-22, and St. Patrick beat Stone 61-48.
On Saturday, The Gulfport Admirals won their side of the bracket at the Laird tourney by defeating West Point 78-57 and improving to 13-2 overall in the process. Kamari Mitchell led the Admirals with 18 points, Keanu Patrick added 14 and Amir Abdul-Rauf had 12. The Admirals travel to Petal on Tuesday
Also in the same event, Forrest County AHS beat Hancock 52-42 after knocking off George County Thursday night 60-27.
George County was coming off a 71-23 win over Perry Central earlier in the week, as Deuce Knight scored a game-high 19 points, Marlin Odom had 10 points and Hunter Barber added 9 points for the Rebels.
Ocean Springs beat Long Beach 73-41 in the War on the Shore at St. Stanislaus and it was Picayune 67, Saraland 63 in Biloxi at the Laird Invitational.
In girls’ recent action, On Thursday St. Martin beat Vancleave 68-21 as La’dymein Lafayette led the way with 16 points, Mia Morrow had 12 and Tea Lee 10.
On Saturday, the Lady Jackets picked up a win over Magee 52-42 at the MGCCC Invitational in Perkinston. Morrow was selected as game MVP as she scored 16 points, while Jay Robinson, Mya Johnson, and Kiyara Lee all chipped in 8 points a piece. The Lady Yellow Jackets are 11-5 overall.
On Friday, in Tupelo, Biloxi beat Saltillo 49-31 as senior standout Shanel Coprpuz registered a double-double scoring 18 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Also, West Harrison beat Jackson Provine 46-16.
On Saturday in the same event, Tupelo beat Biloxi 52-46 and WHHS beat Shannon 43-15. Corpuz again shined even in defeat, pouring in a game-high 29 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for her second straight double-double.
Also on Friday night, Bay High beat Pearl River Central 45-20, and Hancock picked up a big 52-29 win over Pascagoula on the road.
Brooklyn Cuevas had a big game in the win for the Lady Hawks, tallying a game-high 26 points while Telena Bond added 11 points and Ansley James nine to the winning effort. For the Lady Panthers, For the Lady Panthers, Bethany Graves led the way with 18 points. The PHS girls are 5-7 overall.
Greene County beat Moss Point 34-16 to open Region 8-4A action for both teams on Friday as well, and Bay High beat Pearl River Central 45-20 on the road in Carriere.
In other action on Saturday, Harrison Central beat Forest High in Perkinston as Dekeria Wells tallied a game-high 18 points and Anaisha Carriere added 10 points, and D’Iberville beat Picayune 60-17.
Later in the day, HCHS beat Port Gibson 61-32 as Carriere scored 19 points and Wells recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Bay High beat Long Beach 37-15 in The War on the Shore.
Earlier in the week, George County beat Perry Central 45-12. Leading scorers for the Lady Rebels were TaLeah Daniels with 17 points, De’Kari McNair with 10 points and Kaleigh Dortch with 8 points.
