FAYETTE — The Jefferson County High School Lady Tigers dominated Prentiss High School in the second quarter and had a double-digit lead after three quarters of play.

The Lady Bulldogs fought back in the fourth quarter, but their comeback fell short in the end as the Lady Tigers held on for a 49-46 victory at the Jefferson County Holiday Tournament.

After a back-and-forth first quarter ended with Prentiss holding a 12-10 lead, Jefferson County ramped up the pressure on the defensive end and that allowed the Lady Tigers to outscore the Lady Bulldogs 20-9 in the second quarter for a 30-21 halftime lead.

The Lady Tigers didn’t have the offensive production in the third quarter that they did in the second quarter with 11 points, but their defense was stellar once again as they held the Lady Bulldogs to just eight points and what appeared to be a commanding 41-29 advantage.

Jefferson County was led by Antrell Gales with a game-high 19 points, while Diamond Smith added 15 points and Kailyn Hammett contributed with nine ponts.

However, Prentiss would not go down without a fight. Led by the trio of Joy Powell, Alexus Williams and Toni Collins, the Lady Bulldogs came alive and put 17 points in the fourth quarter. And while they held the Lady Tigers to eight points, the Lady Bulldogs weren’t able to get over the hump. Powell finished with 14 points, Williams chipped in with 13 points and Collins had 10 points.

The Lady Tigers will take on Jim Hill today at 6 p.m. during Day 2 at the Jefferson County Holiday Tournament.

Jackson Academy girls 64, ACCS 36

JACKSON — The second and third quarters were not too kind to the Adams County Christian School Lady Rebels as they lost to the Jackson Academy Lady Raiders 64-36 Friday afternoon at the Jackson Prep Holiday Classic 2015.

ACCS, one of the top teams in all of MAIS Class AA, led Jackson Academy 14-12 at the end of the first quarter. But not long after the second quarter got under way, the Lady Raiders, one of the top teams in Class AAA, took over.

“They are a very good AAA team,” Lady Rebels head coach Melanie Hall said. “But in victory or defeat, to God be the glory. We can take a lot from this game.”

Led by Conley Chinn and Joyia Petty, Jackson Academy quickly regained the lead and dominated ACCS on both ends of the court. The Lady Raiders outscored the Lady Rebels 28-10 in the second quarter for a 40-24 halftime lead. Even though JA didn’t have the offensive output in the third quarter, it held ACCS to just two points and took a 54-26 lead at the end of the quarter.

“When we executed and do things we do, we did well. When we didn’t, we fell to pieces,” Hall said. “This was great, we need to be pushed. It is going to help us.”

As for what happened to the Lady Rebels in the second and third quarters, Hall said, “We had a lot of turnovers and they exposed some of our weaknesses.”

Chinn led Jackson Academy with a game-high 18 points and Petty poured in 15 points. Skylar Adams and Anna McDaniel led the Lady Rebels with seven points each while Lexie Emanuel pulled down 14 rebounds.

Hall added that this big of a loss to a good Jackson Academy team would not linger.

“Our kids are hungry, believe in each other and what we are doing. Hopefully, they’ll learn from this game,” Hall said.

ACCS (14-3) takes on Starkville Academy at 11 a.m. today to kick off Day 2 of the Jackson Prep Holiday Classic 2015.

Jackson Academy boys 59, ACCS 54

JACKSON — Evans Wilkerson scored 22 points and Brandon Hutchins had 17 points as the Jackson Academy Raiders rallied in the second half to defeat the Adams County Christian School Rebels 59-54 Friday afternoon at the Jackson Prep Holiday Classic 2015.

After being down 17-8 after one quarter of play, ACCS outscored Jackson Academy 20-10 in the second quarter to take a 28-27 lead into halftime. However, the Raiders responded with a 12-10 advantage in the third quarter and a 20-16 edge in the fourth quarter.

“I told them I was pleased with the effort, we never quit,” Rebels head coach Richy Spears said. “In the fourth quarter, they jumped up by 12 and we battled back and was able to get back in it. It was tight the whole game and we never quit, and I told them I was pleased but I wasn’t happy. I’m never happy with a loss, so we just wanted to see what we could do.”

Brandon Brooks led the Rebels with 21 points and Trey Fleming chipped in with 10 points. Eleven of Brooks’ points came in the fourth quarter.

“We were able to get the ball to Brandon and he was able to finish some. That (11 fourth-quarter points) was big,” Spears said. “We have things we have to work on, though. Free throws are one thing, not a good percentage. Defense rotation. You find out what you need to work on when you play a team like JA.”

Spears added that playing in this tournament is a good measuring stick for his team with getting back into MAIS District 5-AA action right around the corner.

“That’s the reason we got into this tournament, playing against top competition,” Spears said. “This is kind of like the college ranks. A lot of district games coming up, so this is where it all starts. I got in this to play some of the upper renowned schools for basketball.”

ACCS (10-2) will take on Starkville Academy today at 12:15 p.m. at the Jackson Prep Holiday Tournament 2015.

Prentiss boys 62, Jefferson County 51

FAYETTE — Damien Perkins led a balanced scoring attack for Prentiss High School with 13 points and Donta Ford had 12 points as the Bulldogs defeated the Jefferson County High School Tigers 62-51 Friday night at the Jefferson County Holiday Tournament.

Jefferson County got off to a rough start in the first quarter against a good Prentiss team. The Tigers had a hard time getting shots to fall and an even harder time defending the Bulldogs. When the quarter was over, Prentiss had a 17-8 lead.

Even though the Tigers got back in the game with a 13-10 advantage in the second quarter to go into halftime trailing just 27-21, their momentum did not last very long. The Bulldogs came out on fire in the third quarter and they ended up outscoring the Tigers 21-14 for a 48-35 advantage.