Picayune’s boys pulled out an exciting win over visiting Hancock Monday night.

The Maroon Tide rallied from a big first half deficit and came away with a 61-57 win in overtime over the Hawks.

Head coach Scott Stephens’ team trailed in the game, which was postponed from last week due to inclement weather, 10-0 early and was behind 27-20 at halftime.

But the Maroon Tide steadily cut into the deficit as the second half unfolded, and eventually tied the game up at 51-51 at the end of regulation.

Junior forward Hakeem Magee, who finished with a career high 18 points, paced Picayune in the extra session scoring the final four points of the game as the Maroon Tide outscored the Hawks 10-6 in overtime to pull out the win.

“It was a big win for us. We were able to pull out a gutsy win against a very good team,” Stephens, in his second season at the helm of the Maroon Tide, said. “Magee was the spark for us, he played his tail off. This was a huge win for us as we head down the final stretch in the regular season.”

Magee recorded a double-double on the night, as he scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. He also had four steals. Magee paced three Picayune players in double digits, as Shemar Williams tallied a game high 23 points and Donovn Rice chipped in 14 points to the winning effort. Williams just missed his own double-double, adding nine rebounds, while Rice dished out five assists as well.

The Maroon Tide stands 13-10 on the season.

The Lady Tide kept the game close all night, but came up just short against the always powerful Hancock girls, falling 43-34 as Hancock earned a split on the night

Maya Whitehead paced Picayune with 14 points and Jada Simmons added eight. Tiffany Eakins led Hancock with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Destiny Marks added nine points to the winning effort..

Both Picayune teams traveled to Petal Tuesday night. A full report on those games will appear in Thursday’s Picayune Item.

Pearl River County was a hotbed of hoops Monday night, as all eight teams were in action. In other prep basketball action, homestanding Poplarville swept a pair of really close games from county rival Pearl River Central as the Hornets beat the Blue Devils 39-37 and the Lady Hornets nipped the Lady Devils 32-30.

A full report on those games will appear in Thursday’s issue of the Picayune Item.

Both Poplarville teams wrap up Region 8-4A play later this week beginning on Thursday night with a trip to Pass Christian before heading to Moss Point Friday night.

Both PRC teams wrap up Region 5-5A play Friday night with a trip to Brookhaven.

Also on Monday, Pearl River Community College swept a pair of South Division games from homestanding East Central with the Lady Wildcats taking a 75-67 win, while the Wildcats picking up an 81-76 victory.

PRCC’s women improved to 12-3 overall and 7-2 in division play, while its men are now 12-5 and 5-4. ECCC’s Lady Warriors are 7-11 and 2-7, while the Warriors are 6-12 and 2-7.

A full report on both PRCC games will appear in Thursday’s Picayune Item.

Pearl River CC swept East Central in previous South Division meetings played Dec. 9 in Poplarville with the Lady Wildcats taking a 67-58 victory, while the Wildcats were 70-53 winners.

PRCC returns to the hard court Thursday when arch-rival Mississippi Gulf Coast plays host in Perkinston with game times at 6 p.m. (women) and 8 p.m. (men) before returning home to host division foe Southwest Mississippi Monday at 5 p.m. (women) and 7 p.m. (men).