NATCHEZ — The Trinity Episcopal boys’ basketball team dialed up the pressure Thursday night, and Centreville Academy did not handle it well.

The Saints forced nearly two dozen first half turnovers and jumped out to a 44-10 lead by halftime.

“We ran into a buzz saw tonight,” Centreville head coach Mike Swindle said. “They are a good team, and we did not handle their pressure at all.”

The Saints backed off the press in the second half but still cruised to a 63-22 victory.

“The effort was there tonight, and we managed to make some plays at the right times,” Trinity head coach Edwin White said. “We got some steals and that gave us the big win.”

The biggest beneficiary of the Saints pressure defense was Tommy McCoy, who finished with 18 points — 14 of which came in the first half. Dre McCoy finished with 13 points for Trinity, and Jaylen Fleming had 10.

Trinity did get a bit sloppy with its ball handling after building a big lead, and White said he needs to see his team protect the ball better.

“We made some mental mistakes that could come back to hurt us,” White said. “We have to work on our rotation on defense and get better with our overall team effort.”

Jake Darden led the Tigers with eight points in the game, and Swindle said Thursday night’s game would help his team focus on ball protection.

“This was a good learning experience,” he said. “We had something like 22 turnovers in the first half, and you can’t win like that.”

Trinity was without key contributors Sky Logan and Tanner Cage again Thursday night. The duo are preparing to play in the MAIS All-Star football game that is being played today and will return to action next week.

“The key is that we are playing well without Tanner and Sky,” White said. “When they return it will take us to the next level. Tanner will provide that spark with senior leadership that will really propel us to the next level, and Sky is big and agile and will help us down low.”

Trinity (3-1) will host Silliman Institute Tuesday. Centreville (1-3) will travel to Amite School Center Saturday.

Centreville girls 43, Trinity 19

Tori Rouse’s 13 points led the Centreville Academy girls’ basketball team to an easy victory over Trinity Thursday night.

The Lady Tigers jumped out to a 29-11 lead at halftime before cruising to a 43-19 win.

“We played a lot better tonight and were able to score some points when we needed to,” head coach Mike Swindle said about his team that had struggled to score in its first three contests.

Seven Lady Tigers found the score sheet Thursday. Taylor Delatte had eight points, and Kaylea Hurst and Charlsey Stark each had seven.

Swindle said seeing some shots go through the bottom of the net would help his team’s confidence.

“I think it has to,” he said. “We ended up with 40-something points, and that’s good for us.”

Marty Lewis was a bright spot for the Lady Saints. She finished with nine points and nine rebounds in the loss.

First-year Trinity head coach Chuck Bauerle said he thinks his team is improving despite the results.

“They played hard and fought,” he said. “But when you look up at the end of the first quarter and see (12-4) on the scoreboard it’s tough. The girls have a great attitude early in the season. It’s tough to continue to get better when you are getting drubbed every night.”

Trinity (0-4) will face Silliman Tuesday. Centreville (3-3) will travel to Amite School Center.