LAFAYETTE, La. — Natchez High went into the 2010 Sunkist Shootout at St. Thomas More Catholic High School on a three-game winning streak and with a lot of confidence.

But on Monday afternoon, it was the officiating that determined the outcome of the Bulldogs’ game against E.D. White. A controversial charge called against Trevon Chatman with three-tenths of a second left allowed the Cardinals to escape with a 52-51 win.

Natchez High went into its last possession trailing by one point. Chatman drove the ball to near the free-throw line, where an E.D. White player went to try and draw a charge. Chatman made what appeared to have been the go-ahead, if not game-winning shot.

And that’s when the controversy ensued.

“One ref called a block and another ref called a charge. The lead ref who called the charge overruled the other ref’s call,” Natchez High as sistant coach David Haywood said. “But it shouldn’t have come to that.”

Haywood added that three times during the game, a Cardinals player who was just 3-of-10 from the free-throw line went to the bench three different times and all three times the referees allowed their best player, Jadante Frye, to take the free throws.

“They should have been called for a technical foul and we should have had possession. It’s kind of like, ‘What do you do?’” Haywood said. “I don’t like to harp on the officiating, but it’s something that needs to be addressed. It needs to be brought up to everyone’s attention.”

And if that wasn’t enough, Natchez High (5-8) started the second half with four players with four fouls, including Chatman, who was 3-of-7 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points.

Quincy Washington made six of 15 3-pointers, including four in a row at one point, and led all scorers with 23 points. The Bulldogs also did quite well from the free-throw line going 10 of 13.

“We played a good game. The difference in the ball game was basically the officiating,” Haywood said.

Frye led the Cardinals from Thibodaux, La., with 21 points and Jacob Rodrique added 12 points.

Natchez High takes on Carencro at 10 a.m. today, while E.D. White goes up against St. Louis today at 4 p.m.

Ellender boys 66, Vidalia 38

LAFAYETTE, La. — Led by Houston Chatman and Carlton Stadium, the Ellender Patriots defeated the Vidalia Vikings by 28 points Monday afternoon at the 2010 Sunkist Shooout.

Chatman led all scorers with 16 points and Stadium had 12 points to lead balanced scoring attack for Ellender, which improved to 9-5 on the season. The Patriots’ defense and height advantage were two other factors in the win.

“They overpowered us, both inside and out,” Vidalia head coach Robert Sanders said. “Their guards appeared to be bigger than ours. They scored at will and we had trouble scoring. That was evident with Brandon (Bauchman) with four points and Terrance (Thompson) with nine. They came to play today and we didn’t.”

D.J. Polk and Alvin Bell led Vidalia (5-7) with 10 points apiece. The Vikings will take on Comeaux at 1 p.m. today.

Franklin County girls 79,

George County 30

PICAYUNE — Even though the George County Lady Rebels are in Class 6A, they were no match for the undefeated Franklin County Lady Dawgs, the No. 2 in Class 3A, Monday afternoon at the Picayune Tournament.

Right from the opening tip, this game belonged to one of the best teams in the entire state as 12 players on Franklin County’s team got into the scoring column. The Lady Dawgs were led by Kierra Collins with 15 points, Vintrice Briggs with 14 points and Toni Robinson with 12.

The Lady Dawgs’ defense held George County in single-digit scoring in all but the third quarter. In that quarter, the Lady Rebels scored 15 points. George County was led by Ebony Jordan with a game-high 16 points.

Franklin County (10-0) will be the “home” team today at the Picayune Tournament when it takes on Poplarville at 1 p.m.

Trinity Episcopal boys 84,

Bowling Green 62

BROOKHAVEN — Tip McKenzie connected on eight 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 35 points to lead the Trinity Episcopal Saints past Bowling Green School Monday afternoon at the Brookhaven Academy Holiday Tournament.

After a back-and-forth first quarter between the Saints and the Buccaneers, the Saints started pulling away in the second quarter and their depth and experience was too much for Bowling Green.

Tanner Cage added 10 points and Givonni Dent chipped in with nine points for Trinity Episcopal, ranked No. 4 in Class A. The Saints improved to 8-2 on the season and will take on Marshall Academy at 2:40 p.m. today in a second-round matchup.

Leake Academy girls 67,

Trinity Episcopal 43

BROOKHAVEN — In a battle of top-ranked teams in their respective classifications, Class AA No. 1 Leake Academy took care of Class A No. 1 Trinity Episcopal thanks to some tough defense and a big-time performance from Jenny Willbanks.

Despite the effort of Madelyn Cross and Bethany Ogden, the Lady Saints had a hard time getting their offense going against the defending Class AA state champion Lady Rebels. In the process of having its 11-game winning streak snapped, Trinity Episcopal scored no more than 13 points in any of the four quarters and was held to just eight points in the fourth quarter.

Cross led the Lady Saints with 19 points and Ogden finished with 15 points.

The Lady Rebels, on the other hand, put up 20 points in the second quarter and 21 in the third quarter to open up what was a close game after one quarter of play. Willbanks led them with a game-high 32 points and Hannah Peoples scored 11 points.

Trinity Episcopal (11-4) will take on the loser of the Kirk Academy/East Rankin Academy game Wednesday at 2:40 p.m.