Picayune’s boys basketball team finished off its pre-Christmas portion of its schedule Friday night with a big 55-41 win over Hancock.

The Maroon Tide move to 12-2 overall with the win, while Hancock fell to 4-8 on the year.

Picayune’s defense was solid all night against the Hawks, holding Hancock to just 15 first half points and taking a commanding 27-15 lead at the break.

The Maroon Tide led by as much as 20 points in the final quarter, before first year head coach Daniel Kennedy emptied his bench and let his reserves get some action.

Picayune was paced by Brandon Fortenberry who scored 15 points in the win. David McClain chipped in with 11 points and both Chris Dees and Ben Daly added nine points apiece. Dees also had a game high nine rebounds.

It was the second straight loss to a team from Division 8-4A for the Hawks, as they dropped a 71-55 decision to Long Beach on Tuesday despite getting a game high 25 points from Noah Heitzman. John Marshall also had 12 for Hancock in that game.

The Lady Hawks continued their early season successful run as they beat the Lady Tide 73-24.

Hancock has lost just once so far this season, standing 12-1 on the season while Picayune is still looking for its first win and fell to 0-14 with the loss.

Hancock was coming off another big win over a Division 8-4A foe, turning back Long Beach 47-25 on Tuesday behind Shondreka Lee, Jordyn Meranto and Hailey Arcement, each of whom scored in double figures in that win.

All four teams will take a few days off before returning to action in the Picayune Holiday Tournament which takes place Thursday and Friday at Kelly Wise Gym.

Thursday’s action gets underway at 2 p.m., when the Hawks take on Fontainebleau out of Mandeville, La. The Lady Tide plays Biloxi at 6:30, while the Tide hosts West Jones at 8.