RAYMOND — Huntington got a lucky break at the end of a rough game to defeat Laurel Christian 70-69 Thursday in the MPSA South A Tournament.

With four seconds left on the clock and the Hounds down by 2 points, Huntington attempted to foul the Laurel Christian player who had possession of the ball.

But he stepped out of bounds instead, giving Huntington possession and the chance to make a huge play.

Then Tyler Peré stepped up big, sinking a 3-point shot with 1.9 seconds to go to seal the win at Central Hinds Academy.

“We turned it over to us right there at the end,” said coach David Boydstun. “We stayed in it, do or die, and it came down to that one last shot.”

Peré led the Hounds with 20 points, while Kevin Brown added 16 and Jeremy Randall put up 15.

“Those three came up big,” Boydstun said.

Huntington came out sluggish in the first half, trailing by 4 at the end of the first and 11 at the half.

While the Hounds outscored Laurel Christian 18-7 in the third quarter, the fourth quarter played neck-and-neck.

“It was back and forth all night,” Boydstun said. “We got up 6 or 7 points two times, but they’d come back every time. We struggled in the first half shooting the ball, and defensively we didn’t play well. But we came out with a man-to-man (defense) in the second half and stayed in it.”

Huntington takes on Christ Missionary & Industrial, the top team in District 5, at 6 p.m. today.

Brookhaven Academy girls 67, ACCS 24

GALLMAN — The ACCS Lady Rebels needed one more win to advance to the semifinals of the MPSA Class AA South State Tournament and clinch a spot in next week’s State Tournament.

However, so did their opponents, the District 4-AA champion Brookhaven Academy Lady Cougars, who entered this game with a 31-4 record and haven’t lost a game in several weeks.

Unfortunately, ACCS got off to a tough start and never could recover as the Lady Rebels saw their season come to an end in a 67-24 loss to the Lady Cougars in the second round Thursday afternoon at Copiah Academy.

“The girls had a very successful season. We’ve got a good foundation to build on,” ACCS head coach Melanie Hall said. “It hate it for my seniors because it was their last game, but we’re looking forward to next season.”

Brookhaven Academy dominated the game from the opening tip and never gave ACCS an opportunity to get back in the game. By the time the first quarter was over, the Lady Cougars were up 24-4. The second quarter was pretty much more of the same as the Lady Cougars outscored the Lady Rebels 16-6 for a 40-10 halftime lead.

There would be no letdown by the Lady Cougars in the third quarter as they scored 18 points while the Lady Rebels were held to four points. With most of Brookhaven Academy’s starters on the bench in the fourth quarter, ACCS scored 10 points while the opposition had nine points.

Tera Winborne led Brookhaven Academy (32-4) with 20 points and Anna Mangold added 10 points. The Lady Cougars, ranked No. 2 in Class AA, will take on fourth-ranked and District 3-AA champion Prairie View Academy in a semifinal game today at 2:15 p.m. The Lady Spartans routed Copiah Academy 55-16 in another second-round game Thursday night.

Sara Beth Fuller led ACCS with eight points. The Lady Rebels finished with a 14-11 record.

“We’re going to take a few days off and then we’ll start getting ready for next season,” Hall said. “To God be the glory. When you’re on His team, it’s a win-win situation. You can’t lose.”