Tuesday night, the Picayune Maroon Tide basketball team broke a 10 point fourth quarter deficit to beat the Wayne County War Eagles 52-50.
The Maroon Tide started the game in rhythm by making a 12-0 run over the War Eagles and ended the first quarter up 12-4.
“We were fortunate enough to score early,” said boys basketball Head Coach Eric Vianney.
The War Eagles didn’t give up the game easily, out scoring the Maroon Tide 16-11 in the second quarter.
“We got complacent a little bit, and Wayne County didn’t stop playing, they continued to battle… they started winning the 50-50-50 balls and tough plays,” said Vianny.
At the halftime break, the Maroon Tide led 23-20.
In the third quarter the Maroon Tide found themselves losing that lead and were out scored in the third, 19-10. Down 39-33 Vianney said the Maroon Tide had to respond.
“We were down by 10, we had to respond, I challenged them to try and make something happen,” said Vianney.
And the Maroon Tide team responded well when Senior Jaylen Martin led the team’s intensity by making driving plays.
“His passion for the game showed up and it led the other guys to try and respond with him,” Vianney said.
The dash for points allowed the Maroon Tide to tie the game at 50-50 with two minutes left. That run combined with defensive stops late in the game allowed the Maroon Tide to retain control with 30 seconds left. Junior Josh Holmes ended up driving the ball and put up a floater but missed.
Holmes then recovered the rebound and scored a quick put back.
The War Eagles took a time out with four seconds left to draw up a final play. But the Maroon Tide remained disciplined on defense and kept the War Eagles from getting off a good shot.
The Maroon Tide won the game 52-50.
Josh Holmes had a team high of 20 points, and junior Troy Carter finished with 17 points on the night.
The Maroon Tide will end the year with one more game against the Gulfport Admirals on Dec. 29 at 4 p.m. These teams previously played at Picayune on Nov. 2 and the Admirals walked away with a 38-36 win.
“It would be great to finish the year with three wins in a row…it would be great to go there on the road against Gulfport and win in their gym,” said Vianney.