NATCHEZ &045; All Stevan Ridley had to do was carry out his own advice to his team in the second half.

But in a tight, rowdy gym like Bob Ulmer at Adams Christian, it may be much easier said than done. Ridley and the Trinity Episcopal Saints had to battle a tough environment and a tough Adams Christian team Tuesday in the latest installment of the crosstown showdown, but the Saints finally got settled in the fourth.

After trailing by five after three, the Saints got hot to take a 56-47 win over the Rebels in a hard-played contest on both ends.

&uot;I guess I feed off the crowd,&uot; said Ridley, who poured in 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter. &uot;You’ve got to keep your head in it. We know we’re not liked. This is intense. We know we have to play hard just like they do.

&uot;Before the game I got the team together and told them it was going to be hard to beat a team two times in a row, especially in their house. I’ve just got to take my own advice &045; you’ve got to keep your head and play hard.&uot;

Both teams did that, and it made for plenty of suspense for almost the whole way with neither team getting a sizeable lead. Give the Rebels for playing better than they did in the last meeting of these two schools &045; a 59-43 Trinity win &045; before the Saints pounded it inside to Ridley, penetrated the Rebels’ zone and controlled the game.

&uot;They’re a very good ball club, and right now we’ve got a lot of football players trying to play basketball,&uot; Trinity head coach David King said. &uot;And a football coach trying to coach them. Our kids at Trinity have pride and always find ways to win games like that. They always have.

&uot;I’ve got to say this &045; this is a tough game to call. There’s so much emotion. I think those guys do a lot better job than people think.&uot;

The Rebels had the momentum and the crowd for a good portion of the game with the Saints being whistled for three offensive charges in the first half. Even in the third quarter the Rebels finished off solid with six straight points to take a 42-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

But things dried up offensively for the Rebels, who struggled from the field and had some critical turnovers. Zach Rogel got a layup off a steal for the Saints’ second bucket of the quarter, and Ridley muscled a bucket inside against the Rebels’ zone for a 45-43 lead with 5:33 left.

&uot;Those two guys came alive in the fourth quarter and made their plays,&uot; Adams head coach Kyle Smith said of Ridley and point guard Gervoni Ware. &uot;I think we may have went cold and may have been making a few mistakes in there. We went cold, and they came out on top. But I thought our guys played great. That’s the best we’ve played all year long.&uot;

The Rebels played man defense for a good portion of the game but went to a 2-3 in the second half. The objective was to collapse on Ridley on the post, but the sophomore found ways to keep putting in the hole.

The Rebels went back to a man, and Ridley had six of the team’s eight points in an 8-0 run for a 53-43 lead with 1:52 left. The only bucket he didn’t account for came when Roy Cheng scored on a putback off a Ridley miss.

&uot;We played terrible in the first half,&uot; Ridley said. &uot;Coach King told us we had to come out in the second half and play if we wanted to win. Zach Rogel hit a big 3-pointer that gave us some momentum to come into the second half and get the win. Coach said we have to move the ball (in a zone). We moved the ball, broke their zone and got layups.&uot;

The Rebels held control of the game in the first half with the Saints reeling a bit, including an 18-14 lead by the end of the first with post Clay Gould accounting for 12 of the 18.

Clay Floyd hit a 3-pointer with 5:07 left in the second for a 25-17 lead, and Dustin Case hit one of two free throws with 19 seconds left for a 28-22 lead. But Rogel canned a big triple at the buzzer to trim the lead to 28-25 at the break, and the Saints got buckets from Ridley and Ware to open the second half with a 29-28 lead.

&uot;I told the guys our season starts Saturday (against Central Hinds),&uot; Smith said. &uot;I told them to keep their heads up and they played outstanding. We pretty much tried to deny Ridley the ball, but he got his shots and we knew that. I thought we played well on Gervoni. We got them frustrated early in the first half, but we didn’t come out in the second half kick in like we needed to.&uot;