NATCHEZ — The Natchez High School Bulldogs hung tough with one of the top varsity boys’ basketball teams in the state in MHSAA Region 6-5A rival Forest Hill High School Tuesday night, but the Patriots pulled away in the second half for a 62-53 victory.

Forest Hill entered this game ranked No. 10 in the state and No. 3 in Class 5A in one statewide poll. But the Patriots didn’t exactly play that way in the first quarter and found themselves trailing Natchez High 14-11 by the end of the first quarter.

While their offense continued to struggle in the second quarter, the Patriots’ defense stepped up in a big way as they held the Bulldogs to just nine points and went into halftime tied at 23-all.

Led by Keondre Montgomery and Gemari Marshall, Forest Hill (19-5, 5-1) outscored Natchez High 16-13 in the third quarter and 23-17 in the fourth quarter to leave town with the hard-fought win. Montomgery led the Patriots with 15 points and Marshall had 14 points.

James Singleton led Natchez High (14-9, 2-3) with a game-high 23 points and Kedarius Stampley added 15 points. The Bulldogs play host to Wingfield High School in their Region 6-5A finale Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Forest Hill girls 60, Natchez High 53 (Tuesday)

NATCHEZ — The Forest Hill High School Lady Patriots defeated the Natchez High School Lady Bulldogs 60-53 Tuesday night in an MHSAA Region 6-5A game.

Natchez High (8-12, 3-2) plays host to Wingfield High School Friday at 6 p.m. in a key Region 6-5A game with seeding in next month’s region tournament at stake.

Delta Charter School boys 69, St. Frederick 61 (OT; Tuesday)

FERRIDAY — The Delta Charter School Storm needed overtime to defeat the St. Frederick High School Warriors 69-61 Tuesday night in an LHSAA District 2-1A match-up.

St. Frederick led Delta Charter 13-12 after one quarter of play and, somehow, maintained its one-point lead through the end of the third quarter. The Warriors took a 37-36 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Storm outscored them 15-14 to force overtime with the score tied at 51-all.

Delta Charter took over during the extra session and ended up outscoring St. Frederick 18-10. The Storm next plays at Tensas High School Friday at 7:30 p.m.

St. Frederick girls 56, Delta Charter School 51 (Tuesday)

FERRIDAY — The Delta Charter School Lady Storm fell just short in its comeback bid in the fourth quarter and lost to the St. Frederick High School Lady Warriors 56-51 in LHSAA District 2-1A action Tuesday night.

Delta Charter fell behind 18-10 at the end of the first quarter and still trailed by five points at halftime, 30-25. It appeared that St. Frederick was going to cruise to an easy win after the Lady Warriors outscored the Lady Storm 15-10 in the third quarter for a 45-35 lead.

However, the Lady Storm would not go away quietly as they scored 16 points in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, they could not make enough stops on the defensive end to put them over the top as the Lady Warriors scored 11 points.

The Lady Storm travels to St. Joseph, La. to take on district opponent Tensas High School at 6 p.m. Friday.

Ferriday boys 80, General Trass 57 (Tuesday)

FERRIDAY — The Ferriday High School Trojans picked up another big win in LHSAA District 2-2A Tuesday night as they took care of the General Trass High School Panthers 80-57 to move into fourth place in the district standings.

Ferriday (7-10, 5-4) will put its three-game winning streak on the line when it travels to Tallulah, La. to take on district opponent Madison Parish High School Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Ferriday girls 76, General Trass 22 (Tuesday)

FERRIDAY — Aaliyah Gray led Ferriday High School with a game-high 18 points and Shekayla Miller had 14 points as the Lady Trojans, the No. 7 team in the Class 2A girls’ basketball power ratings, upended the General Trass High School Lady Panthers 76-22 Tuesday night in LHSAA District 2-2A action.

The first half belonged to Ferriday as the Lady Trojans had their way with General Trass on both ends of the court. They came close to shutting out the Lady Panthers in the first quarter and led 28-3 by quarter’s end. The second quarter was more of the same as Ferriday put up 27 points while holding General Trass to a mere five points for a 55-8 halftime advantage.

Tamia Jefferson also scored in double figures for Ferriday (18-3, 9-0) as she wound up with 12 points. The Lady Trojans travel to Tallulah, La. to take on district foe Madison Parish High School Friday at 6 p.m.

Monterey boys 43, Oak Hill 31 (Tuesday)

HINESTON, La. — Trey Boyd led Monterey High School with a game-high 30 points as the Wolves defeated the Oak Hill High School Rams 43-31 Tuesday night to seize control of first place in LHSAA District 6-B.

Trey Boyd was 9-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and a strong 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. He also had seven rebounds, five of them on the defensive end, four steals, and one block.

The Wolves won the game even though only three players found their way into the scoring column. In addition to Trey Boyd’s amazing performance, Conner Boyd scored seven points and Daylen Gray had six points. Conner Boyd had six rebounds and Gray had three steals.

Monterey (20-5, 4-0) travels to Alexandria, La. to take on district newcomer University Academy for their second meeting of the season Friday at 7 p.m.

Madison Parish boys 66, Vidalia 40

VIDALIA — Derrian Washington led three Madison Parish High School players in double figures with 13 points as the Jaguars defeated the Vidalia High School Vikings 66-40 Tuesday night in an LHSAA District 2-2A game.

Madison Parish (16-4, 6-1) was only up 12-8 on Vidalia at the end of the first quarter before playing like one of the top teams in Class 2A — No. 6 in the most recent 2A power ratings — in the second quarter. The Jaguars outscored the Vikings 17-6 in that quarter for a 29-14 halftime lead and put the game away with a 24-10 advantage in the third quarter for a 53-24 lead.

Ray J. Ramson led Vidalia (6-11, 1-5) with a game-high 22 points, including a perfect 10-for-10 at the free-throw line, and Sema’J Hayes finished with seven points. Ransom scored all of the Vikings’ 16 points in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings play host to General Trass High School in a make-up game today at 7:30 p.m., following the varsity girls’ game between the two teams at 6 p.m.