The prep basketball holiday tournament season tipped off Wednesday in full force across South Mississippi as well as the rest of the state.
Here in the “Southern Six” there are four different such hoops events taking place in Gulfport, Biloxi, Bay St. Louis and Carriere.
In Gulfport on day one of the 39th annual “Admiral Hardwood Club Holiday Classic”, play began with Harrison Central slipping past Picayune 65-62. Aujaylen Barron poured in a game-high 35 points to lead the Red Rebels, while Josh Holmes tallied 23 points for the Maroon Tide.
In game two, Metamora, Ill., beat Madison Central 71-59.
The host team Gulfport knocked off Moss Point 59-44 in the third game of the day, as Amir Abdul Rauf led the way with 19 points for Gulfport while Kamari Mitchell finished with 15 points and Kylan Howze had 10. The Admirals moved to 15-2 with the win. Kedrick Osby poured in a game-high 29 points to pace the Tigers.
29 points to lead MP.
In the final game of the opening day, Pascagoula slipped past Meridian in an exciting contest 79-76. Dorian McMillan paved the way for the Panthers with 22 points, while Pete Millender added 19 points and Kelan Rich chipped in 14 points to the winning cause.
In winners bracket action Thursday, The host Admirals will face Harrison Central at 6 p.m., Thursday night followed by Pascagoula vs. Metamora at 7:30. The day began with a pair of games in the consolation bracket, as Moss Point and Picayue met at 3 followed by Madison Central vs.Meridian at 4:30.
Also on Wednesday, in the Hattiesburg Coca-Cola Holiday Classic Brandon beat D’iberville in a boys’ game 49-39.
in the annual Bay High Christmas Shootout on Wednesday, the Bay High girls tipped play off with a resounding 48-19 win over Long Beach as Nakeria Coleman posted a game-high 16 points for the Lady Tigers and Emmalee Kirkpatrick chipped in 10 points.
The boys’ teams from the same two schools squared off next, with the host Tigers winning as well taking an exciting 33-32 win over the Bearcats. Avan Wilson tallied a game-high 16 points for Bay High while Jaden Clark added 15 points to the winning cause.
In other action in the Tigerdome, the Gautier Gators beat Parklane Academy 35-33 in overtime in a defensive struggle. Quincy Roberts paced Gautier with 15 points while Shemarie Carroll added 11 points to the winning cause.
The Pass Christian Lady Pirates slipped past Raymond 50-46, as Kamaiyah Pruitt tallied 20 points and Ariana Crimm chipped in 12 points.
In the final game of the night, the Ocean Springs Greyhounds knocked off Pass Christian 76-68. Elijah Isom poured in a game-high 30 points to pace OSHS, while Maddox Noblitt added 17 points and Corbin Bundy chipped in 13 points to the winning cause while Micah Jones had 9 points. Brendan Necaise paced Pass with 23 points, while Larry Burks added 19 points and L.J. Jaynes scored 12 points.
The Parklane girls beat Gautier 55-38.
