A trio of prep boys basketball teams secured spots in the upcoming state playoffs with three wins in consolation contests in the respective region tournaments Thursday night.
The Moss Point Tigers, Ocean Springs Greyhounds and Gulfport Admirals all made sure they’d extend their seasons by at least one more game with wins making each the third seed out of their regions.
In Bay St. Louis at the Tigerdome, Moss Point out-dueled Greene County 62-56 in the consolation game at the Region 8-4A Tournament.
The Tigers, which defeated the Wildcats for the third consecutive time this season, will advance into the Class 4A state playoffs starting on the road Tuesday while Greene County will be the fourth seed.
The Tigers, under the direction of head coach Daryl Osby, jumped out to a slight four-point lead at 15-11 after the first quarter, but Moss Point extended its advantage even further in the second stanza by outscoring the Wildcats 18-7 in the period Kedrick Osby tallied eight points in the quarter and Qu’Sean Taylor added six as well and MPHS took a 33-18 lead into intermission.
The Wildcats battled back, outscoring the Tigers 21-13 in the third frame, to cut the deficit to just 46-39 entering the final quarter but Taylor added nine points in the last period and Osby chipped in six points and Moss Point was able to hang on for the important win.
Osby and Taylor combined to score 47 points for Moss Point, as Osby poured in a game-high 26 points and Taylor added a season-high 21 points in the winning effort. Osby, a senior Dandy Dozen standout, was coming off a season-low three points in a semi-final loss to home-standing Bay High Wednesday night that dropped the Tigers into the consolation round. He also dished out seven assists in the win.
Kayden Miller and Brycen Johnson each tallied a team-high 17 points apiece in the loss for Greene County.
Meanwhile, in Lyman Thursday night at the Region 8-6A Tournament, second-seed Gulfport defeated fourth-seed Hancock 51-27 to keep its season alive. The Admirals, who fell to third-seed and home-standing Harrison Central Wednesday night, were led by Amir Abdul-Rauf who finished with 12 points while Kamari Mitchell and Keanu Patrick finished with 10 points apiece in the win.
The Admirals improved to 24-6 overall on the season with the win, and it also marked the third straight time this year Gulfport beat Hancock and the loss ended the season for the Hawks.
And, in yet another case of three strikes and you’re out, at St. Martin Thursday night the home-standing Yellow Jackets fell to arch-rival Ocean Springs in the consolation contest of the Region 8-7A event 74-63 as the second-seeded Greyhounds clinched the third seed in the event and extended their season while the loss ended the current campaign for fourth-seeded St. Martin.
Ocean Springs got a game-high 24 points from guard Elijah Isom in the win, while Micah Jones added 14 points and Maddox Noblitt 12 points to the winning cause. Kaleb Bradly led SMHS with 19 points and Monclair Brave added 15 plus Ty’lah Whitlock added 14 points to the cause.
And, as you might have guessed, it marked the third straight win this season for the Greyhounds over the Yellow Jackets.
