NATCHEZ &045; Vacant for more than three weeks due to the holidays and tournaments on the road, Cathedral’s Roy Garcia gym was getting a bit lonesome.

Green Wave point guard Russell Barmer knew the seats would be packed for Friday’s showdown with Monterey.

Barmer gave the people what they paid for, scoring 11 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth period as Cathedral (3-12) held on to beat the Wolves (6-11) 55-45.

&uot;I just try and move the ball around,&uot; Barmer said. &uot;We got a lot of open looks because they played us in a zone. Our rebounding did a real good job tonight, especially Jonathan Jackson and Turner Smith.&uot;

The Green Wave fought for every point during the final eight minutes,

crashing the boards, fighting for third and fourth chances, and knifing their way through the paint for tough buckets.

Smith, who finished with 11 points, broke a tied score with 2:38 remaining when he flashed into the paint and drained two for a 45-43 Cathedral advantage.

A possession later, Smith outleaped everyone for a rebound and muscled in two more as he was falling to the floor.

The power move was an impetus for Green Wave head coach Bobby Holder to jump off the floor in exhilaration.

&uot;We know in order for us to be successful we’re going to have to a lot of offensive rebounds,&uot; Holder said. &uot;We have to play with some aggressiveness and we did that tonight, especially on the inside. Even the perimeter players got in there and played stronger.&uot;

Sheer guts is what won it for Cathedral, which resumes its district schedule at home against Mississippi School for the Deaf Tuesday.

The Wolves were without the services of post Cody Wulfkuhle for much of the game and all of the fourth quarter due to foul trouble in a tightly officiated game.

&uot;When my big boy (Wulfkuhle) gets three fouls in the first quarter and then fouls out, it’s tough to play like that,&uot; Monterey head coach Robert Taylor said. &uot;We shot well from the outside, but with Cody out you can’t work it to the inside.&uot;

Ric Luss banked home a off-balanced shot with 1:48 left to cut the gap to a basket, 47-45, but that was as close as the Wolves got.

The consistent perimeter shooting that allowed Monterey build a 29-24 halftime lead failed them in the second half, especially in the final period when it appeared the Wolves ran out of gas.

&uot;It was an aggressive game and we played good, but we had a let down like we have had the last two or three games,&uot; Taylor said. &uot;We had them by nine (points) and let them come back. Bobby has been playing good competition and it showed.&uot;

The Green Wave never led in the first half, getting as close as two, when Monterey led 2-0 off the tip, 4-2 at the 5:52 mark and finally 7-5 when Cathedral post Jonathan Jackson was good on a 3-point play.

The Wolves pushed their lead out to as many as seven in the second period after Josh Howard, who led his team with 11 points, drained a 12-footer with 4:35 before the break for a 20-13 lead.

&uot;We were down at the half, but came back to take the lead,&uot; Holder said. &uot;That’s a big step for us into maintaining that intensity throughout. We put together a complete game tonight.&uot;

Each team had multiple players in double figures, as Monterey’s Ryan Perkins, Matt Shively and Ples Arthur each accounted for 10 points.

In addition to Barmer and Smith, the Green Wave’s Matt Goss poured in 11 points, including two huge treys.

His 3-pointer with 6:30 to go in the third cut the Cathedral deficit to two, 31-29. Eighty-seven seconds later, it was Goss, who never gave up on the glass to score and delivered the Green Wave their first lead of the night, 32-31.

&uot;I’m proud of the kids’ effort tonight,&uot; Holder said. &uot;Hopefully we can sustain it when MSD comes here next week.

Monterey girls 46, Cathedral 34

The Lady Wolves had a little more left in the tank as they fourth quarter approached, and it showed as they reeled off 11 consecutive points before Cathedral scored.

The Lady Green Wave (1-14) managed only one field goal in the final period, coming from Danielle Smith with 36 seconds remaining.

A hounding Monterey press forced beaucoup turnovers and easy buckets for the Lady Wolves.

&uot;We picked up the intensity on defense and made our free throws when we needed to,&uot; Monterey head coach Cary Shively. &uot;Once we picked it up on defense that helped out our offense.&uot;