Ferriday, Sicily Island boys advance in playoffs

Published 12:03 am Wednesday, February 28, 2018

BALDWIN, La. — With guard Marquell Griffin out with an ankle injury, Ferriday High School coach K.G. Watkins knew the Trojans would need someone to step up for them offensively.

On Tuesday night, Montrieze Sandidge scored 22 points to lead three Ferriday players in double figures as the No. 10 seed Trojans upset No. 7 seed West St. Mary High School 63-58 in the regional round of the 2018 LHSAA Class 2A Boys’ State Playoffs.

“The score reflected it was a hard-fought game,” Watkins said. “We had zero mistakes. Defensively, we played fairly solid. There are a couple of things we need to work on, though.”

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Ferriday led West St. Mary 10-8 after one quarter of play and maintained its slim two-point lead at halftime at 25-23. The third quarter proved to be the turning point in the game for the Trojans as they outscored the Wolfpack 14-8 for a 39-31 lead.

West St. Mary found its offensive rhythm in the fourth quarter and put up 27 points. However, the Wolfpack could not make enough stops defensively as Ferriday scored 24 points.

Jer’Lyric Brooks poured in 17 points and Dantrieze Scott finished with 13 points for the Trojans.

“It’s a good win, especially on the road,” Watkins said. “Montrieze stepped up. The young players stepped up and had a good game. All the kids stepped up and played their hearts out.”

Ferriday (19-11) will travel to Vivian, La. to take on No. 2 seed North Caddo at a day and time to be determined later this week in the quarterfinals. North Caddo also won on the road Tuesday night, defeating No. 18 seed Delhi Charter School 56-45.

Sicily Island 60, Ringgold (Class 1A Boys)

RINGGOLD, La. — Tyreke Tolliver led No. 9 seed Sicily Island High School with 25 points as the Tigers held on for a 60-54 win over the No. 25 seed Ringgold High School Redskins Tuesday night in the regional round of the LHSAA Class 1A Boys’ State Playoffs.

The first quarter proved to be pivotal for Sicily Island as the Tigers put up 22 points while holding Ringgold (7-22) to just nine points. The Redskins cut the lead to 10 points at halftime, 31-21.

Both teams scored 13 points in the third quarter to keep the Tigers’ lead at 10 points. Ringgold put a scare in Sicily Island in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough in the end.

Keonte Dunbar added another 15 points for the Tigers.

Sicily Island (16-14) will be on the road for the quarterfinals when it takes on No. 1 seed Tensas High School at Newellton Elementary School. Tensas defeated No. 16 seed Homer High School 78-62 Tuesday night.

Copiah Academy 47, ACCS 46 (MAIS Overall Tournament)

CLINTON — Adams County Christian School started strong against Class AAAA-Division 2 No. 1 seed Copiah Academy in the boys’ first round of the 2018 MAIS Overall Basketball Tournament.

Only problem was the Class AAA No. 3 seed Rebels did not finish that way, ultimatley ending their season.

Dewey Shannon led Copiah Academy with 21 points as the Colonels rallied to defeat the Rebels 47-46 Monday afternoon at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College.

Against a higher seed from a larger classification, ACCS did not back down in the opening stages of the game and led Copiah Academy 15-6 at the end of the first quarter. The Rebels maintained an eight-point lead at halftime, 26-18.

“We were able to convert some transitions baskets. We got a couple of offensive rebounds and some easy shots,” Rebels coach Richy Spears said.

The second half was a much different story. With Shannon, Jared Little and Dalton Hayles leading the way, the Colonels outscored the Rebels 17-13 in the third quarter to make it a 39-35 game. They then held the opposition to just seven points in the fourth quarter while scoring 12 themselves for the come-from-behind win.

“It was back and forth. We knew it was going to be a tough game. That’s way they’re (one of) the best in their class,” Spears said. “They mixed up some defenses and they started hitting their shots (in the second half). They made more 3s. They were riding that momentum from last week. They’re well-coached and they play hard.”

Little added 11 points and Hayles chipped in with 10 points for Copiah Academy.

Josh Day led ACCS (18-8) with a game-high 25 points, but was the only Rebel player to score in double figures.