HATTIESBURG — It was the battle of the Bulldogs Saturday afternoon in the boys’ third-place game of the Hattiesburg Coca-Cola Classic Holiday Tournament between Natchez High School and Brandon High School.

Well, it was that way for one quarter and then it wasn’t. Willie Miller led the Brandon Bulldogs with 20 points and Jaque’vias Tarvin had 18 points as they defeated the Natchez High Bulldogs 75-45.

“We came out flat. Our energy level wasn’t very high,” Natchez High head coach David Haywood said. “I tried to rotate some guys in and find the right (line-up). It was an uphill battle from the beginning of the game.”

Natchez High had enough energy to take a 15-13 lead over Brandon at the end of the first quarter. But when the second quarter got under way, Brandon took control. Those Bulldogs outscored Natchez High’s Bulldogs 12-4 in that quarter for a 25-19 lead.

Yet it was the second half when Brandon really separated itself from Natchez High. Brandon outscored NHS 24-17 in the third quarter and 26-8 in the fourth quarter.

“Shots weren’t falling. Early on, we got some stops, but we couldn’t convert,” Haywood said. “Eventually, the other team started hitting some shots.”

Kedarious Stampley led Natchez High with 12 points while James Singleton had 11 points and Tyreeq Washington added 10 points.

“We’ve got to refocus on our district opener against Brookhaven Friday night,” Haywood said.

Natchez High (9-4) will play host to Brookhaven High School in the MHSAA Region 6-5A opener on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.

Natchez High girls 55, Columbia 45

HATTIESBURG — Columbia High School had no answer for Natchez High School junior guard/forward Candi Gray, who led all scorers with 36 points as the Lady Bulldogs defeated the Lady Wildcats 55-45 Saturday morning at the Hattiesburg Coca-Cola Classic Holiday Tournament.

The Lady Bulldogs controlled the pace of the game in the first half and that allowed them to jump out to a double-digit lead. They led the Lady Wildcats 18-8 at the end of the first quarter and 28-14 at halftime.

Columbia tried its best to get back in the game in the second half, but Natchez High made sure that would not happen to put an end to a four-game losing streak.

Kelsey McNeal scored seven points for the Lady Bulldogs. Christina James finished with 15 points and Jasmine Sheppard had 12 points to lead the Lady Wildcats.

Natchez High (8-8) returns to action on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019 at 6 p.m. when it hosts Brookhaven High School in the MHSAA Region 6-5A opener.

Cathedral boys 41, Silliman Institute 39

LIBERTY — Sam Mosby scored 12 points and Colby Passman had 11 points as the Catherdal High School Green Wave rallied late to defeat the Silliman Institute Wildcats 41-39 Saturday morning at the Amite School Center Christmas Tournament.

Cathedral jumped out to a 15-11 lead over Silliman after one quarter of play, but the Wildcats would not go away quietly. Led by Hunter Peterson and Ben LeJeune, they outscored the Green Wave 8-7 in the second quarter and 11-7 in the third quarter to take a 30-29 lead.

The Green Wave had a response for the Wildcats’ response with a 12-9 advantage in the fourth quarter for the comeback victory.

Peterson led all scorers with 19 points and LeJeune chipped in with nine points for Silliman.

Cathedral (3-9) next plays at West Lincoln Attendance Center at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019.

Silliman Institute girls 52, Cathedral 41

LIBERTY — Cayley Pelt finished with a game-high 17 points as the Silliman Institute Lady Wildcats needed a big third quarter to defeat the Cathedral Lady Green Wave 52-41 Saturday morning at the Amite School Center Christmas Tournament.

Both teams got off to a slow start – the 9 a.m. tip-off may have had something to do with that – and the score was tied at 6-6 at the end of the first quarter. Silliman managed to outscored Cathedral by one point, 11-10, in the second quarter to take a 17-16 lead into halftime.

Unfortunately, the third quarter when the Lady Wildcats seized the momentum as they put up 20 points while holding the Lady Green Wave to 11 points for a 37-27 advantage.

Baylee Graning led the Lady Green Wave with 11 points and Markayla Fleming had 10 points.

Cathedral (4-9) plays at West Lincoln Attendance Center on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019 at 6 p.m.

Ferriday girls 75, Madison Parish 51

SICILY ISLAND — Tierra Spurs led Ferriday High School with a game-high 22 points and Diamond Johnson had 19 points as the Lady Trojans defeated the Madison Parish High School Lady Jaguars 75-51 Saturday afternoon at the Sicily Island Tournament.

The second quarter proved to be pivotal in Ferriday’s win. After taking a 14-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Trojans took command on both ends of the court, turning defense into offense. They ended up scoring 24 points and held the Lady Jaguars to only 10 points for a 38-19 lead.

The third and fourth quarters were more competitive from Madison Parish’s perspective, but Ferriday continued to add to its 19-point halftime lead.

SheKayla Miller contributed with 17 points for the Lady Trojans. KaTrina Anderson led the Lady Jaguars with 16 points while Adriana Fountain had 12 points and Alexis Mason added 11 points.

Ferriday (11-4) returns to LHSAA District 2-2A play on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019 when it hosts Delhi Charter School.

Franklin Parish girls 55, Delta Charter 47

SICILY ISLAND — The Franklin Parish High School Lady Patriots used a big fourth quarter to pull away from Delta Charter School as they defeated the Lady Storm 55-47 Saturday afternoon at the Sicily Island Tournament.

Franklin Parish led Delta Charter 13-10 at the end of the first quarter, but the Lady Storm answered by outscoring the Lady Patriots 9-7 in the second quarter and 16-15 in the third quarter to tie the game at 35-35. However, the Lady Patriots won the game thanks to a 20-12 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Cloi Cummings and Kierra Neal scored 15 points apiece while Shyvlie Blaney added 14 points to lead the Lady Storm.

Delta Charter starts LHSAA District 2-1A play on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019 when it plays at Oak Grove High School.

South Pike boys 70, Wilkinson County 56

MCCOMB — Demarcus Ellzey led South Pike High School with a game-high 32 points and Justin Williams scored 17 points in leading the Eagles to a 70-56 win over the Wilkinson County High School Wildcats Saturday afternoon at the McComb Invitational Tournament.

The first half went back and forth between the two teams, which was kind of surprising considering that South Pike went into this game with an 11-1 record while Wilkinson County came into this match-up at 1-9. The Eagles led just 16-14 after one quarter of play, but the Wildcats kept coming and outscored them 13-10 in the second quarter for a 27-26 halftime lead.

However, the Eagles took command in the third quarter and made sure there would be no thoughts of a Wildcats upset. South Pike scored 28 points while Wilkinson County had just seven points to give the Eagles a 54-33 lead.

LeDarrion Earls led the Wildcats with 20 points and Freddie Byrd III poured in 15 points.

Wilkinson County (1-10) doesn’t play again until Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019 when it plays at Hazlehurst High School at 7:30 p.m. to begin MHSAA Region 7-3A action.

South Pike girls 50, Wilkinson County 32

MCCOMB — Deiontry Wyatt led the Wilkinson County High School Lady Wildcats with a game-high 13 points, but a rough second quarter proved to be too much to overcome as they lost to the South Pike High School Lady Eagles 50-32 Saturday morning at the McComb Invitational Tournament.

Wilkinson County was only down 11-9 to South Pike after one quarter of play. And then the second quarter happened. The Lady Eagles played like one of the top teams in MHSAA Class 4A, as well as an undefeated team, as they outscored the Lady Wildcats 17-4 for a 28-13 lead at the half.

South Pike then slowly added to its lead in the second half, outscoring Wilkinson County 10-8 in the third quarter and 12-11 in the fourth quarter. Bre’myia Cameron led the Lady Eagles with 11 points.

Wilkinson County (2-5) plays at Hazlehurst High School in its Region 7-3A opener on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019 at 6 p.m.