LEARNED — The Trinity Episcopal Saints, the South No. 2 seed and ranked No. 3 in Class AA in the latest Clarion-Ledger boys’ basketball polls, did not take long to get over their first loss of the season.

Arzell McCoy led all scorers with 34 points and Tommy McCoy finished with 21 points as Trinity Episcopal took care of the North Central No. 3 seed Hebron Christian School Eagles 77-55 Monday afternoon in the first round of the MAIS Class A State Tournament, which is hosted by Mt. Salus Christian School but being held at Rebul Academy.

Granted, it wasn’t one of the 40- or 50-point blowout wins the Saints have been accustomed to having during the season. But a win is a win and they wanted to get the bad taste out of their mouths after losing to second-ranked Cenla Christian Academy as quickly as possible.

Trinity got off to its usual fast-paced start on offense and put up 27 points in the first quarter. What was probably surprising is that Hebron Christian did what few teams have been able to do in the game’s opening eight minutes against the Saints — put up double digit points. Sixteen to be exact.

However, the Eagles were never able to go on a run and saw the Saints’ lead slowly get bigger. Trinity had a 44-29 halftime lead and went into the fourth quarter with a 57-41 advantage.

Clay Faulkner led Hebron Christian with 19 points and Hayden Carty chipped in with 15 points.

Trinity Episcopal (23-1) will have its hands full in the boys’ quarterfinals at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday when it takes on top-ranked and South Central No. 1 seed Sylva Bay Academy.

Natchez High girls 48, Pearl River Central 23

JACKSON — Kiana Jones led No. 1 seed Natchez High with 14 points and Zyaire Ewing added 11 points as the Lady Bulldogs crushed the No. 4 seed Pearl River Central Lady Blue Devils 48-23 Monday night in the first round of the MHSAA Division 6-5A Tournament.

In a contest between a Natchez High team that ran the table in division play during the regular season and a Pearl River Central team that failed to win a single division game, the Lady Bulldogs made sure their would be no letdown on their part and no upset bid on the Lady Blue Devils’ part.

The Lady Bulldogs dominated the competition throughout the first in gaining an insurmountable lead. They led Pearl River Central 17-4 after one quarter of play, 33-13 at halftime and 41-15 by the end of the third quarter.

Not one player on the Lady Blue Devils team reached double figures. They were led by Tyionia Bolar and Brandi Lee with seven points each.

Natchez High (21-2) will take on the winner of today’s first-round game between No. 3 seed Brookhaven and No. 2 seed Wingfield in the girls’ championship game at 6 p.m. Friday.

Hebron Christian girls 60, Trinity Episcopal 32

LEARNED — Holly Hudson led Hebron Christian School with a game-high 18 points and Rebekah Faulkner had 14 points as the Lady Eagles defeated the Trinity Episcopal Lady Saints 60-32 Monday night in the opening round of the MAIS Class A State Tournament at Rebul Academy.

Hebron Christian, the North Central No. 2 seed, led South No. 3 seed Trinity Episcopal 13-7 after one quarter of play before the Lady Eagles outscored the Lady Saints 20-7 in the second quarter to take control of the game and go into halftime with a 33-14 lead.

Sloane Young led the Lady Saints with 11 points while Marty Lewis and Rosa Williams had seven points apiece.

The Trinity Episcopal Lady Saints finished their season with an 11-16 record.

Pelahatchie boys 58, Cathedral 55

BOGUE CHITTO — The Cathedral Green Wave had three players score in double figures and it still wasn’t quite enough as they lost to the Pelahatchie Chiefs 58-55 Monday night in the first round of the MHSAA Division 7-1A Tournament at Bogue Chitto High School.

Jardarius Anderson led Cathedral with 13 points while Ishmael Blackmon added 12 points and James Coley had 11 points. Unfortunately, the Green Wave could not contain Pelahatchie’s Keldrick Stokes, who led all scorers with 22 points. Lachaz Irvin chipped in with 13 points for the Chiefs.

The first half was the key to the win for the Chiefs. They led the Green Wave 11-7 after one quarter of play and then outscored Cathedral 18-12 in the second quarter for a 29-19 halftime lead.

The No. 4 seed Green Wave wouldn’t go away quietly, however, outscoring the No. 5 seed Chiefs 15-11 in the third quarter to trail 40-34. Cathedral put up 21 points in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t make enough stops on defense as Pelahatchie scored 18 points to thwart the Green Wave’s comeback bid.

Cathedral finished with an overall record of 10-13.