Both Picayune and Pearl River Central get swept on the road; while Poplarville falls at home
West Harrison gained a measure of revenge against Picayune Tuesday night.
The homestanding Hurricanes blew by the Maroon Tide 73-56 in Region 7-5A action. West Harrison moved to 18-1 on the season, with its lone loss coming to Picayune in the finals of the Maroon Tide’s own Christmas Tournament three weeks ago.
“We didn’t play real well up there,’’ West Harrison coach Doug Bazzell said. “They wanted it more than we did up there.
“We came out and played a really good first half. We did everything right. We got real sloppy in the third quarter and let them have too much penetration.
“It was no sure thing until the fourth quarter. My kids played hard. I’m glad we played the way we’re supposed to in the first half.’’
Deshaun Jones tallied a game high 30 points to lead the Hurricanes. He scored 18 points in the first half, as WHHS took leads of 21-5 after the first quarter and then held a commanding 43-19 at halftime.
Harvey Smart added 12 points for the Hurricanes, while Maurice Stephens scored 11.
Donovan Rice paced Picayune with 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the loss.
Shemar Williams, who is averaging 27 points per game, was held to just 17 points.
Thanks to Rice and Williams, Picayune managed to cut the lead to 13, at 57-44, in the third period.
But WHHS responded with seven straight points to secure the win.
The Hurricanes and Stone County, which beat Picayune last week, are both 2-0 in league play and will meet Friday night. Picayune is 9-9- overall and 0-2 in district action, and will host Long Beach in league play Friday.
West Harrison made it a clean sweep on the evening, taking the girls game 63-40. Maya Whitehead paced Picayune with a game high 13 points, while Kim Calhoun led three Lady ‘Canes in double digits with 12 points.
In other local action, visiting Pearl River Central dropped a pair of games on the road to Long Beach.
The Lady Devils fell 57-35. Brandi Lee recorded a double-double for PRC, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Kim Gutierrez added eight points to the losing effort.
The Lady Devils committed 32 turnovers and were just 15-of-38 from the free throw line, severely hampering their chances to pull out a win.
The Lady ‘Cats got a game high 22 points from Nicole Brock.
The Blue Devils fell to the Bearcats 48-39. PRC had a 13-point lead in the second half, only to watch as Long Beach went on a 25-4 run to pull out the win.
Seth McCoy tallied 16 points for PRC.
Also Tuesday night, visiting St. Stanislaus knocked off Poplarville in Region 8-4A play 63-41.
Anthony Martin paced Poplarville with 10 points. The Hornets drop to 2-3 in league play. Both Poplarville teams travel to Lumberton for games Saturday afternoon.
In a loss to Bay High last week, Emetric Fells scored 10 points for Poplarville. By High is 11-7 overall.