Rebels, Green Wave split varsity hoops action

Published 12:59 pm Monday, January 8, 2024

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NATCHEZ — Tyson Young had a game-high 14 points while Charles Brooks and Landon McGuire added 11 points apiece as the Adams County Christian School Rebels defeated the cross-town and MAIS District 4-5A rival Cathedral High School Green Wave 50-33 last Friday night.

Young scored nine of his 14 points and McGuire had six of his 11 points in the first quarter for ACCS — and they were the only players for the Rebels to score in the opening frame — to give them a 15-8 lead over Cathedral.

Then the Rebels outscored the Green Wave 15-5 in the second quarter for a 30-13 lead at halftime. Head coach Matthew Freeman praised his team’s effort on defense, especially in the first half, which allowed them to open up such a big lead.

Email newsletter signup

“We’ve been really priding ourselves on defense. I’ve been proud of their effort on the defensive end,” Freeman said. “Tyson Young had a big first quarter for us. He and Landon scored all our points in the first quarter.”

After the rough first half, Cathedral hung tough with ACCS in the second half. The Rebels outscored the Green Wave 11-10 in the third quarter, but the Green Wave responded by outscoring the Rebels 10-9 in the fourth quarter.

Grayson Gay led Cathedral with 13 points while Justin Hawkins had seven points and Gibson Hillyer added five points.

The Rebels improved to 12-1 overall and 2-0 in district play. They played host to district opponent Copiah Academy at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. 

“We’ve got a big district game coming up Tuesday against Copiah (Academy),” Freeman said.

The Green Wave traveled to Madison to take on the St. Joseph Catholic School of Madison Bruins last Saturday afternoon, but no information on that game was available.

Cathedral next plays on Friday when the Green Wave travels to Vicksburg to take on district and longtime archrival St. Aloysius High School.

Cathedral girls 44, ACCS 29

NATCHEZ — Kinslee Young nearly had a unique triple-double as she had 17 points, 16 rebounds, and nine steals to go with four blocks and two assists to lead the Cathedral High School Lady Green Wave to a 44-29 win over the ACCS Lady Rebels last Friday night in MAIS District 4-5A action.

Cathedral would have won this game by an even wider margin had the Lady Green Wave had a better performance at the free-throw line. ACCS head coach Matthew Freeman said his team was lucky to even be in the game in the first half to begin win.

The Lady Green Wave only led 9-4 after one quarter of play and then both teams scored 15 points in the second quarter to give the visiting team a 24-19 halftime lead.

“Cathedral missed a lot of free throws in the first half and that allowed us to hang around. But we couldn’t capitalize on that. They missed 18 free throws in the first half,” Freeman said.

But it was the second half in which the Lady Green Wave was able to pull away thanks in large part to their defense. They outscored the Lady Rebels 14-7 in the third quarter for a 38-26 advantage and 6-3 in the fourth quarter.

Littlie Bertelsen added 11 points, five steals and three rebounds while Marlie Hargon chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds for Cathedral.

D’Kiyah Davis led ACCS with eight points while Makenzie Campbell and Josie Gamberi poured in six points apiece for the Lady Rebels.

“They’re just really good defensively and really quick. They hit a couple of 3-pointers and transition buckets off steals that allowed them to stretch out their lead,” Freeman said. “I told them after the game I was pleased with the effort and the energy they played with. They played really well. A lot of people didn’t give us a chance to win that game.”

The Lady Rebels fell to 4-9 overall and 1-1 in district play. They next played host to district foe Copiah Academy at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The Lady Green Wave improved to 13-8 overall and 1-1 in district play.

On Saturday afternoon, the Lady Green Wave lost a tough match-up to the St. Joseph Catholic School of Madison Lady Bruins 51-41 last Saturday afternoon in Madison. 

Kinslee Young led Cathedral in scoring with 23 points to go with seven rebounds, four blocks, three assists, and two steals. Marlie Hargon added eight points and six rebounds.

The Lady Green Wave fell to 13-9 with that loss. They next play at St. Aloysius High School in Vicksburg in a key district game at 6 p.m. Friday.