NATCHEZ — Cathedral High School was able to get Trinity Episcopal to bend a little bit, but the Saints didn’t break Monday night in a 65-54 Trinity win.

The Saints led 28-27 at the half, and Cathedral managed to cut Trinity’s lead to 59-52 with less than a minute to play. But Trinity’s Tanner Cage led the way offensively, and the Green Wave wasn’t quite able to get over the hump.

Cage scored 24 points for Trinity, and he said the game meant a lot to him, since Cathedral was an intra-city rival.

“This is like an NCAA championship,” Cage said after the win.

Cathedral improved on last year’s performance against Trinity, when the Green Wave fell 83-56, and head coach Peter Arnold said the game played out a lot like it did in 2011.

“Last year’s game was about spurts, and this year’s game was also about spurts,” Arnold said. “They would spurt, then we would spurt. They’d get up by nine, and we’d catch up and go back and forth.

“In the second half, they got out ahead, and we just never caught back up. But it was similar last year, they just stretched it out more in the end.”

Trinity will host ACCS Tuesday, and Catheral will play at West Lincoln the same day.

Jefferson County versus Vidalia

A big second half by Jefferson County Tuesday night against Vidalia High School spelled a 61-41 win for the Tigers.

Jarmell Anderson scored 21 points for the Tigers, and Vidalia’s Michael Whitley tallied 14 points.

Jefferson County head coach Marcus Walton said he was glad to be able to play a game that wasn’t too far from home, especially against Vidalia head coach Robert Sanders.

“It’s great for the community,” Walton said. “We have people that actually work in Natchez that can come over and see us play during the holidays.

“Coach Sanders and I have been friends forever. He’s my frat brother, and I give him the utmost respect, because his kids play hard every time you play them. It’s great to play a team outside of your district that plays as hard and disciplined as they do.”

Sanders also said he was happy to host the Tigers, but added that he couldn’t afford to play too many other teams from Mississippi.

“It’s good to play a team like that, but they’re not a Louisiana team, so we can’t play too many of them because of the power point system,” Sanders said.

Jefferson County will return to action Friday, hosting Wilkinson County. Vidalia will play at Caldwell Parish Tuesday.

Natchez High versus Jefferson County

The Tigers were unable to hold onto an 18-point lead against Natchez High School Saturday night, falling to the Bulldogs 56-54.

Jefferson County had three players score in double digits, but it was the Bulldogs’ Ryan Lewis who led in scoring with 13 points. Dalvin Johnson led the Tigers with 12 points, and Jarmell Anderson and Ja’Darius Harried both scored 10 points. NHS’s DeArius Griffin tallied 11 points.

NHS assistant coach David Haywood said his team was able to keep its composure despite trailing 42-24 at intermission.

“If you really want something, all you have to do is be persistent, stay determined and go and get it,” Haywood said.

“That’s all I told them at halftime. It’s our game to win, so let’s go out and play defense, one possession at a time, and they did that.”

NHS will play at Lanier Tuesday.