LIBERTY – The Natchez Bulldogs took advantage of a massive first-quarter lead and held on for a 71-55 win Friday over Amite County.

&uot;Everybody was intense,&uot; said Natchez’s Vasshun Newborne, who finished with 15 points. &uot;We were focused on getting the ball in the paint.&uot;

The Bulldogs (14-1) outscored Amite 21-4 in the first quarter, but Amite matched Natchez for the rest of the game, actually outscoring Natchez in the second half.

&uot;The team played pretty decent tonight,&uot; said Jamal Bouldin, who led all scorers with 24 points. &uot;We had our turnovers, but we played well. Basically, we played hard defense.&uot;

Je’Kel Foster added 16 points for Natchez.

After taking next week off for exams and Christmas break, the Bulldogs will travel to Lafayette, La., to play in the Sunkist Shootout Tournament.

Lady Bulldogs 61, Amite County 49

Chrystal Sylvester scored 18 points to help the Natchez Lady Bulldogs to a 61-49 win Friday over Amite County in Liberty.

Crystal Brown scored another 14 points for the Lady Bulldogs (12-5.)

Amite was led by Theresa Woodard’s 31 points.

Lady Rebels 65, Briarfield 36

Four Lady Rebels scored in double figures Friday as Adams County Christian School defeated Briarfield 65-36 to advance to the final round of the Tensas Academy Tournament in St. Joseph, La.

&uot;We shot the ball a lot better than we have been,&uot; said ACCS coach Bruce Pickle. &uot;We played better on defense, too.&uot;

Megan Marchbanks led the Lady Rebels in scoring with 15 points. Casey Stutzman and Kittye Marks each scored 12 and Holli Hankins added 10.

ACCS (5-10) defeated Franklinton 49-25 Thursday in the first round of the tournament.

&uot;I’ve seen a lot of improvement the last two nights,&uot; Pickle said. &uot;I think this tournament is going to do us some good.

&uot;I hope we keep on improving,&uot; he said. &uot;I want to see who can do what before our district schedule starts.&uot;

Although ACCS’ district schedule doesn’t start until January the Lady Rebels face Tensas in the final round of the tourney at 6 p.m. today.

Lady Chiefs 43, Riverfield 33

The Tensas Lady Chiefs used home field advantage Friday to defeat Riverfield 43-33 and advance to the final round of the Tensas Academy Tournament.

Despite a low-scoring first half that resulted in a 17-11 halftime score in Tensas’ favor, the Lady Chiefs built a small lead in the third quarter that proved to be enough.

Shelby Alford led Tensas with 14 points, and Pamela Netterville and Brittnay Ratcliffe each added 8.

Jessica Greer led Riverfield with 14 points.