Poplarville’s boys picked the worst possible time to have its worst offensive output of the season.

A solid Bay High defense held the Hornets to just 29 points Monday night, and in the process the Tigers took a 52-29 decision in the opening round of the Region 8-4A Tournament.

The win sends the defending Class 4A state champions into Thursday’s semifinals against either Pass Christian or Purvis and also ends Poplarville’s first season under head coach Bill Porter.

“I thought we played outstanding defense and played great on the boards in the first half,” Porter, whose team ends up 5-19, said. “And we got some good looks at the basket, especially in the first half, we just couldn’t put the ball in the  hole.”

Poplarville ended up as the sixth seed, falling from the fourth seed after losses on Friday to Pass Christian and Saturday by one point to Greene County to wrap up the season.

The Tigers went on an 11-3 run to end the first half, including a 3-pointer by Brendan Dunklen and a 3-point play by Justis Lett, to take a 25-14 lead at intermission.

The Hornets never cut the deficit to single digits again.

Freddy Dickey paced Poplarville with nine points while  Jalen Raine  scored eight points.