NATCHEZ &045; If Adams Christian keeps playing like this, the Rebels are going to be tough to beat.

AC (15-11) got a 46-31 win over Prairie View (18-10) Friday night, outscoring the Spartans 28-15 in the second half to run away with the victory. The Rebels led 18-16 to end the first half.

&uot;We didn’t do anything different (in the second half). We just limited our turnovers,&uot; AC head coach Kyle Smith said. &uot;We were more patient on offense and more careful with the ball.&uot;

In the fourth quarter, AC went to a spread-out formation and passed the ball around the outside in something reminiscent of the old &uot;Four Corners&uot; offense.

&uot;We had a lead and we wanted to protect it,&uot; Smith said. &uot;We wanted to run the clock and get some good shots. I thought Timmy (Foster) and Casey (Gould) got some good shots out of it, and it also allowed our guards to score off penetration.&uot;

The Spartans were forced to foul AC to stop the clock, and the Rebels’ Dustin Case took advantage. Case scored seven of his game-high 16 in the fourth quarter, all on free throws. He missed just one of his eight attempts in the game.

Smith said Prairie View was also forced out of its usual defense by what the Rebels did.

&uot;I think we forced them out of what they wanted to do,&uot; Smith said. &uot;We made them play man-to-man defense against our guards and big men. They’re a good team with the 1-3-1 (zone defense), but we forced them out of it.&uot;

That change in defense allowed the Rebels to get some good shots from outside. Rebel guards Case, Clay Floyd and Ray Simpson hit four 3-pointers in the game.

On offense, Prairie View had a tough time getting the ball past the AC defensive pressure throughout the game, though the Spartans got some easy layups the few times they managed.

&uot;I really felt both teams played poorly,&uot; Prairie View coach Billy Pee said. &uot;I don’t know how to explain it. Give Adams Christian credit, they beat us and beat us handily, but I don’t think they played well.&uot;

Pee said he thought the game was very physical from start to finish, but more fouls were called toward the end of the game.

&uot;It was very rough out there. It just seemed like when we started coming back, the game tightened up, but I guess that’s what always happens toward the end of games,&uot; Pee said.

Smith said he also felt the crowd and playing on the Rebels’ home court helped in the win.

&uot;It’s without a doubt to our advantage (to play at home),&uot; Smith said. &uot;We have a good home court advantage here. We had a good sixth man in the stands tonight. After the excitement of the (AC) girls winning, the boys didn’t want to come out and disappoint.&uot;

Prairie View had two double-digit wins over the Rebels in district play this season, but AC has been a different team over the last few games.

&uot;I thought we played well,&uot; Smith said. &uot;We’re playing decent ball right now, and that’s helped us to win these games and get to our goal. Before the season, the goal was to get to the championship game of this tournament and then go to South State. We’re playing with a lot of confidence.&uot;

Copiah beat Central Hinds 50-44 in the other semifinal game in the District 3-AA Tournament.