NATCHEZ &045; Robert Manson’s battle with the MPSA is, for the moment, over.

The MPSA ruled Manson ineligible to play this season. Manson, a 6-6 senior forward from Australia, played basketball for the Saints last season but was ruled ineligible for this year after he attempted to transfer to a school in Colorado, then came back to Trinity.

&uot;That’s pretty much it,&uot; Manson said. &uot;We’re looking at legal options right now, and we’ll see what happens, whether it’s even worth pursuing.&uot;

Manson said he was ruled ineligible by the Colorado Sports Association because he does not have a U.S. passport (players without one are allowed only one season of athletics) and was not part of an approved foreign exchange student program, two requirements of the CSA. Manson said the MPSA ruled him ineligible because the CSA had ruled him ineligible.

Manson is considering filing a lawsuit against the MPSA to allow him to play this season, though it’s still too early to say if that will actually happen.

Manson plans to play college basketball next year and hopes he can get an athletic scholarship, though not being able to play high school ball this season will make that more difficult.

&uot;It makes things tougher,&uot; Manson said. &uot;It’s tougher to get a scholarship if you can’t play sports.&uot;

Manson has been contacted by several colleges, including Central Florida, the University of Arizona and some lower division schools.

Manson is practicing with the team and helping them in any way he can while he attends classes, talks to college coaches and continues his training regimen.

&uot;He’s our biggest cheerleader,&uot; Trinity head coach David King said.

In the long run, missing this season may be a benefit to Manson. Provided he can get an athletic scholarship to college, he might be better prepared physically to play in college. Without having to worry about playing, Manson can do more intense workouts and get his body in better shape to play at the next level.

&uot;This is just a small setback in his life,&uot; King said. &uot;He’ll be a success, he’ll be OK.&uot;

NATCHEZ INJURIES &045; When Callaway kept dropping it down on the block to Latresse Hill, all Natchez High’s Delequa Drake could do was watch.

That’s because the senior post was in street clothes nursing a sore ankle.

Drake was one of two key players out Friday night when the Lady Bulldogs dropped a 75-50 decision to Callaway. Drake and Erica Jackson both went down Tuesday night at Jefferson County with Jackson suffered what may be a cracked bone in her hand.

Both will go to the doctor this week after missing Friday night.

&uot;I’m not trying to make excuses or anything, but we lost DQ,&uot; Natchez High head coach Sue Johnson said. &uot;It kind of messed up the chemistry some. We were kind of out of sync, and they were trying to get used to each other. With a short time to get it together, we didn’t get in sync. But I still say we’re going to be all right. That was a good test for us.&uot;

It put pressure on Jasmine Woods and reserve Neisha Colenburg down on the block, and both played well at times on the offensive end. Woods finished with 11 points, but give credit to Hill for being almost unstoppable with 22 points.

&uot;When somebody comes up, somebody has got to sink back (down low),&uot; Johnson said. &uot;We didn’t do that tonight. We did it well against Jefferson County. (Callaway) is a good team. I’m not going to take that away from them. But we are a good team, too. When those girls realize that, they’ll show people. We’ll get there. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and I’m not fixing to give up on them.&uot;

Johnson was quick to point out Callaway was by far the best team the Lady Bulldogs have played this season, and there’s proof to that statement. There’s Juanita Ward, the guard-forward who signed with Ole Miss, and guard Dominic Cranford, who signed with West Virginia. Hill is just a junior.

And it didn’t help any the Lady Bulldogs got Callaway on a tough night &045; a game after losing their first game of the season Tuesday to Murrah.

&uot;They responded well to that,&uot; Callaway head coach Maxine Dixon said. &uot;I don’t really think they let that loss identify them. The girls know how it is with Jackson schools. There’s a lot of parity there. On any given night anyone can beat anyone.&uot;

HOT WILKINSON &045; With Latasha Williams being held to one point in the second quarter and eight in the first half, the Wilkinson County Lady Wildcats found themselves in a rare position &045; trailing at halftime.

But Williams took over in the third quarter and the Lady Wildcats got major contributions from Kim Griffin and Nakia Stewart while the Lady Bulldogs seemingly fell apart, especially on the offensive end, once the second half started.

All of that contributed to a 68-59 win by Wilkinson County Saturday for a season sweep by the Lady Wildcats over the Lady Bulldogs.

&uot;It seemed they were uptight, but as the game went on, they settled down,&uot; Lady Wildcats head coach Edwin White said. &uot;It was a good test for us as well as them.&uot;

LADY GREEN WAVE WINS &045; It took a few weeks and a few losses, but the Cathedral girls’ basketball team won its first game of the season, moving their record to 1-7 on the year.

Kristian Dobard’s 17 points and 16 rebounds were a big part of that win, and Dobard’s inside play will be crucial to the outcome of the remainder of the season for the Lady Green Wave.

REBELS STUMBLE &045; Adams Christian’s boys took that first step into District 3-AA Saturday and started hot before Central Hinds kept pecking away at the lead.

The Rebels, who had Dustin Case available for nearly the entire game after he came off the bench Tuesday in his first appearance on the season, struggled against a Central Hinds team that wasn’t as big but just executed well on both ends of the court.

It dropped the Rebels a bit in the standings &045; Central Hinds is 2-0 after opening with a win over Copiah &045; before they travel to a solid Chamberlain-Hunt team Tuesday to resume district.

The next district game is Dec. 17 against Copiah.

&uot;After we got behind in the second half, we tried to rush some things that failed and got further and further behind,&uot; AC head coach Kyle Smith said. &uot;I didn’t think we played very well on defense. We gave them a lot of layups, and we knew they were coming.

&uot;That was our first game in district. Now we’re behind, but we have a lot of work ahead of us if we want to come out on top in district like our goal is.&uot;

Adam Daigle

and

Patrick Jones

contributed to this report.