By Dwayne Bremer
228Sports Contributing Writer
BAY ST. LOUIS — The Bay High boys and Pass Christian girls on Friday won their respective brackets at the Region 8-4A Tournament at the Tiger Dome here at Bay High.
The boys’ game was a thriller with Bay High’s Da Jontae Lee nailing a 3-pointer with four seconds left in overtime to give the Tigers a 31-30 lead. Jaden Clark then blocked a last-second shot by Pass Christian to secure the win.
The Tigers’ victory capped a furious fourth quarter and overtime where the lead switched sides four times.
The Pirates led 25-20 after three quarters when Dillion Woods drained a 3-pointer at the end of the period.
The Tigers battled back to tie the game at 25, but a slam dunk by Kyran Laneaux gave the Pirates the lead again with about a minute to play. Avan Wilson’s layup with 30 seconds left tied the game again and sent the contest into overtime.
A free throw by Jaden Clark gave the Tigers a 28-27 lead, but Woods nailed a 3-pointer with two minutes to play to put the Pirates ahead 30-28.
The Tigers inbounded the ball with 16 seconds to play and ran a play for Lee, who hit then hit the big trey from the corner that sent the Tiger Dome into bedlam.
“We had two options on the final shots,” Bay High head coach Kelton Thompson said. “We have run that play all year so they knew the look we wanted. I’m extremely proud of the hard work and dedication by this group of kids.”
Bay High earns a first-round playoff berth with the win and will open the state playoffs at home Friday while Pass Christian will also open at home but on Tuesday night.
In the girls’ game, Trinity Jones scored 12 points to lead the Lady Pirates to a 37-26 victory over the Bay High Lady Tigers. Daydria Cuevas scored eight and Ariana Crimm chipped in seven.
“I thought we had a great defensive effort tonight,” Pirates Head Coach Greta Ainsworth said. “We battled through some adversity and stepped up to make the important stops. Our seniors played like seniors tonight. I’m so proud of them.”
Bay High was led by Emmalee Kirkpatrick who scored eight, and Taniyah Lewis had 11 points.
The Lady Pirates earned a bye in the opening round of the upcoming Class 4A state playoffs and will open the playoffs at home on Friday while The Lady Tigers will also open the playoffs at home but on Tuesday night.
The Moss Point boys and the Greene County girls won consolation games on Thursday as the Tigers beat Greene County 62-56 and the Lady Wildcats beat Moss Point 29-22.
