FERRIDAY — It was a wild night for the Wilkinson County Wildcats.

Down by three in the fourth period, Wilkinson County hit 12 out of 16 shots from free throw line and held Ferriday to just 10 points to win 60-52.

“We had opportunities,” Ferriday head coach K.G. Watkins said. “We played decent until the fourth. We just broke down defensively.”

The Wildcats saw their five point lead vanish in the second period. Ferriday hit four 3-pointers to gain the momentum and take a 26-24 lead into the half.

“Ferriday is an excellent club,” Wilkinson County head coach Arthur Clark said. “I told my guys during halftime we were had to keep doing what we do and protect the ball.”

The second half was all Corey Anthony and Kenny Harden for the Wildcats. They combined for 32 points, 12 of those came from 3-pointers.

“Our outside shooting is our strength,” Clark said. “Kenny and Corey do a good job.”

Harden led the Wildcats with 27 points and Anthony had a total of 20 points.

Clark said the momentum shifted to their favor in the fourth.

“We captured the momentum and started to put the press on Ferriday,” he said. “We started driving the basket and getting fouled.”

Ferriday couldn’t handle Wilkinson County’s full-court press. The Wildcats were able to force and convert on key turnovers down the stretch to gain the lead.

“We have to get better at protecting the ball,” Watkins said. “And work on our conditioning so we can play four quarters and get mentally tough. That’s what hurt us the most.”

Matthew Smith led the Trojans with 13 points.

Ferriday girls 66, Wilkinson County 47

The Ferriday Lady Trojans got a big game from Jasmine Upchurch.

Upchurch tallied a team leading 21 points in the 66-47 win over the Wilkinson County Lady Wildcats.

“Jasmine is our go-to player on offense,” Lady Trojan head coach Lisa Abron said. “She can make shots from anywhere.”

Ferriday built a dominating 19-6 lead by the end of the first period and never let it go.

“I felt like the officials dictated the game and took the kids out of it,” Wilkinson County girls coach Edwin White said. “We had chances if it wasn’t for some bad calls. I felt like this was a game we could have won.”

Abron said despite the win they still needed to improve defensively.

“We are young team and still learning,” she said. “The defense is coming along and getting better each game but district is coming up and we have to stress defense. It is the key to being successful.”