Pearl River Central’s Tristan Tate sank a pair of free throws with less than two seconds to play Friday night, giving the Blue Devils a 61-59 win over homestanding Picayune.

The Maroon Tide rallied from a double digit deficit in the second half, but came up just short for the second consecutive time against their arch-rivals.

The Picayune girls made it a split of things on the night, as they came up with a solid 55-26 win.

Picayune started quickly in the boys game, as Shemar Williams scored six points putting the Maroon Tide up 12-1 four minutes in.

But the Blue Devils stormed back with some long range bombs, as Terek Whitehead, Seth McCoy and Alex Travis each nailed 3-pointers in the final minute of the opening period to tie the game at 12-12.

Whitehead’s second trey of the game, this one at the 2:56 mark of the second stanza, put PRC ahead 24-19. McCoy’s second trey made it 27-20 Blue Devils at halftime.

Travis pulled off a steal and lay-up mid-way through the third frame, giving PRC its biggest lead yet at 36-26. But Donovan Rice scored seven points down the stretch, including a 3-pointer, and Picayune cut the deficit to 42-37 entering the fourth period.

The Maroon Tide rallied to tie the score several times in the final two minutes, the last on a diving jumper by Rice with seven seconds to play. But Tate, who had just driven inside for a PRC basket prior to Rice’s shot, was fouled deep in the lane and converted both free shots for the win.

McCoy tallied 16 to pace four Blue Devils in double digits, while Travis added 13, Whitehead 12 and Tate chipped in 11 to the winning cause.

Shemar Williams paced Picayune with a game high 28 points, while Rice chipped in 18 points.

In the girls game, both teams struggled a bit from the field early on, but Picayune’s Ashley Bridges did tally five points in the opening quarter. She converted an old fashioned three-point play with just under a minute to play to give the Lady Tide a 9-3 lead entering the second stanza.

The home team began to stretch out its lead, thanks in part to sophomore standout Maya Whitehead. The skilled forward poured in 10 of her 12 first half points in the second quarter alone, and Jada Simmons added back-to-back baskets giving the Lady Tide their first double digit lead at 23-12 with just under two minutes to play before intermission.

PRC’s Kim Guiterrez nailed six free throws in the frame, but Picayune led 27-14 at halftime.

Whitehead scored six points and Simmons added four, as Picayune began the second half with a 12-0 run to take command with a 39-14 advantage. The Lady Devils never cut the deficit to less than 20 points the rest of the way.

Whitehead paced Picayune with a game high 20 points, while Bridges and Brandy Magee chipped in 7 points apiece to the winning cause.

The Lady Devils got a team high nine points from Guiterrez, and Brandi Lee added 7 points. PRC was playing its fifth straight game without the services of 6-foot-5 senior standout center Jessica Powers. Powers, a Dandy Dozen selection, has an injured hand.