WOODVILLE — Travion Jones led Wilkinson County High School with a game-high 20 points and LaHendric Bruster scored 14 points as the Wildcats rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to stun the Southern Lab Kittens 61-58 Monday night.

“I think the guys did a good job defensively. We reclaimed the lead late in the fourth quarter and held on to it,” Wilkinson County head coach Julius Anderson said. “The bench contributed a lot. They kept it up-tempo.”

After a back-and-forth first quarter ended with Southern Lab out of Baton Rouge, La. leading Wilkinson County 17-16, it looked like the LHSAA Class 1A Kittens would pull away after outscoring the MHSAA Class 3A Wildcats 22-14 in the second quarter for a 39-30 halftime advantage.

But the Wildcats would respond, especially on the defensive end with Robert Swint and Desmond Hunter leading the charge.

“We just made an adjustment at halftime. Desmond and Robert stepped up defensively. We were able to capitalize on mismatches both offensively and defensively,” Anderson said. “Bruster had a big dunk that sparked us.”

Wilkinson County outscored Southern Lab 11-7 in the third quarter and 20-12 in the fourth quarter. The Kittens were led by Tyreon Payne with 14 points and Tyriq Matthews added 11 points.

Wilkinson County (3-2) next plays on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at home against Tylertown High School.