By Ernest Bowker

The Vicksburg Post

VICKSBURG — One great quarter and three so-so ones averaged out to a victory for Cathedral.

D.J. Perry scored 14 of his game-high 31 points in the first quarter, and also grabbed 10 rebounds as the Green Wave beat archrival St. Aloysius 61-48 on Tuesday night.

“He’s our inside post player and our rock inside every night,” Cathedral coach Peter Arnold said of Perry. “We just couldn’t make shots. Thankfully, his were all right at the rim.”

Carl Hammitte added 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists and six steals for Cathedral (13-10, 3-4 Division 7-1A), and Daniel Huffines scored eight points. Matthew Foley led St. Al (1-15, 0-8) with 11 points, and Kameron Reed finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.

Perry went 6-for-8 from the floor in the first quarter, and scored 11 of his team’s first 13 points. He split a pair of free throws at the end of the first quarter to give Cathedral an 18-5 lead.

The Green Wave never relnquished that double-digit lead, but it also never exapanded it by much. The margin wavered between 13 and 20 points the rest of the game.

Both teams scored 43 points over the final three quarters, and St. Al’s shooting percentage was slightly better over that span. If not for the Flashes’ struggles at the foul line — they hit only 17 of 29 free throws — the game might have been a lot closer.

“Lazy defense. Too much reaching, and we fouled a lot. It was not a clean game,” Arnold said. “In the end, it’s a win. We’ll get back and fight again another day.”

St. Aloysius 51,

Cathedral girls 47

Freshman Allie Willis hit a baseline jumper with 1:35 to go to put St. Al ahead, and Ellie Welp hit three free throws in the final minute to seal it as the Lady Flashes (8-8, 4-4 Division 7-1A) won their third straight game.

Willis finished with 17 points and five steals, and Welp had nine points and 15 rebounds. Ginny Daggett had a game-high 24 points and five steals for Cathedral, and Wesley Callaway had 11 points and 16 rebounds.

Neither team led by more than a few points at any time in the game. St. Al’s biggest lead was six, early in the fourth quarter, but it was quickly erased as Daggett scored on two driving layups to give Cathedral a 40-38 lead with 5:43 to go.

The Lady Flashes and Green Wave traded baskets after that, until Willis’ go-ahead shot put St. Al ahead for good. Cathedral only scored once more, on a free throw by Callaway with just over a minute left. Welp went 3-for-4 at the line down the stretch and St. Al was able to hang on.

The Lady Flashes won despite shooting 27.9 percent from the field (19-for-68) and 11-for-23 from the foul line.

“A win is a win,” St. Al coach Cookie Johnson said. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do, but we pulled it out.”