WOODVILLE — Tip McKenzie scored a game-high 30 points and made two big shots in the fourth quarter to give the Wilkinson County Christian Academy Rams a 54-51 win over the Chamberlain-Hunt Wildcats Thursday night.

It was a big win for a WCCA team that just two nights earlier lost to rival Centreville Academy by 19 points. But it wasn’t an easy win, as the Rams had to contend with a Chamberlain-Hunt team that features 7-foot center David Hahn.

“The big boy made a push there at the end. We had a run in which four trips resulted in a turnover,” WCCA head coach Ray Olive said. “We took the last 1:36 and went into a stall. We had done a good job against him for most of the game.”

Before the turnover bug forced the Rams to go into stalling mode, McKenzie gave them some much-needed breathing room. They were only up two before he made his third three-pointer of the game with about 2:20 remaining that gave them a five-point lead. On the Wildcats’ next possession, the Rams stole the ball and McKenzie scored to give them a seven-point lead.

“Tip came up big for us. Defense was the key,” Olive said. “The majority of our points came off fast-break points. They made some poor passes.”

McKenzie was the only player for WCCA (4-2) to score in double figures. Hahn led Chamberlain-Hunt (3-1) with 18 points and Keeniel Weaver had 14 points.

WCCA will host Centreville for four games Saturday beginning at 2 p.m.

ACCS 71, Amite School Center 54

LIBERTY — Coach Rick Fife opened against Amite School Center with a different starting five than usual against Amite School Center.

But when Amite took an early 11-point lead, the Rebels went back to their original group.

It paid off, as Adams County Christian charged up 31 points in the second quarter to take a 38-27 lead at halftime.

“In the second quarter we shot the ball real well,” Fife said. “Our defensive intensity was a lot better in the second quarter as well. You could definitely tell that the original first group was more comfortable with each other than the ones that started tonight.”

Fife said the second string is still learning the ropes, and their time will come.

In the meantime, the small first quarter setback proved to be of no importance.

Both teams scored 17 in the third quarter, but ACCS dominated the fourth for the win.

Daniel Guedon and Lee Swinney led the charge with 20 and 15 points, respectively, and Joe Barksdale added 15.

Madison Ridgeland Academy 73, Trinity Episcopal 49

MADISON — The Saints hung tough with host Madison Ridgeland Academy in the first round of their game Thursday night at the MRA Tournament, but the Patriots used a big second quarter to pull away.

Trinity Episcopal (5-1) trailed MRA by only three points, 11-8, at the end of the opening quarter. However, the Patriots dominated the action on both ends of the court in the second quarter on their way to a 22-6 advantage and a 33-14 halftime lead.

The Saints did improve their offensive output in the second half, but their defense could not slow down the Patriots.

Brandon Daggs was the only Trinity Episcopal player to score in double figures as he led all scorers with 17 points. David Hill led Madison Ridgeland Academy with 16 points and Jordan Stentiford had 14 points.

Huntington 68, Central Private 62

BAKER, La. — Tyler Pere’ scored 23 points and Jeremy Randall had 20 points as the Hounds rallied in the third quarter to defeat the Rebels Thursday night.

“We went to a man-to-man defense at the end of the first quarter and that’s what won the game for us,” Huntington head coach Nicky Pere’ said.

Central Private went into halftime up 27-25, but Huntington (4-2) stormed back in the third quarter to take a 45-38 lead. Even though the Rebels scored 24 points in the fourth quarter, it wasn’t enough to overtake the Hounds.

Kevin Brown scored 12 points for Huntington. J. Young led Central Private with 20 points and B. Myer finished with 18 points.

Monterey 45, St. Joseph-Plaucheville 17

MONTEREY, La. — Monterey could not have asked for a better first quarter than it had Thursday night at its own tournament as it outscored St. Joseph-Plaucheville (La.) 25-1 as the Wolves defeated the Eagles.

“Defense was what won the game for us,” Monterey head coach Jeffrey Odom said.

The Eagles did manage to outscore the Wolves 9-7 in the second quarter to trail 32-10 at halftime but Monterey (5-8) used an 11-3 advantage in the third quarter to pull away once again.

Jacob Evans had 11 points to lead Monterey, which will take on Cathedral today at 7:15 p.m.

Brookhaven Academy 67, Centreville 43

CENTREVILLE — It took until the third quarter for Brookhaven Academy’s offense to really get going, but once it did, Centreville had no answer as the top-ranked Cougars went on to defeat the Tigers by 24 points Thursday night.

What most people thought would be an easy win for Brookhaven Academy didn’t look that way in the first half. The first quarter ended with the Cougars leading Centreville by just two points, 14-12. The Tigers matched point for point in the second quarter and still trailed by two at halftime, 24-22.

But the Cougars had too much firepower and it showed in the second half. Led by Jake Reed and Sidney Chaffin, they outscored the Tigers 25-13 in the third quarter to give them a 14-point lead. Worn down by trying to keep up with the Cougars, the Tigers managed just eight points in the fourth quarter.

Reed led Brookhaven Academy with 19 points and Chaffin had 15 points. Blain Roberts added 14 points and Josh Wilborne chipped in with 12 points for the Cougars.

Colby Lockwood led Centreville (3-3) with 12 points while Kyle Brown had 10 points and Blake Babel had nine points. Jamie Dezendorf, the Tigers’ leading scorer going into the game, was held to just four points.