Although the two match-ups between home-standing Biloxi and Pascagoula were the featured contests of the six-game Hoopsfest 2023 on Saturday, four other boys teams in the “Southern Six” saw action as well.
But Gulfport was the only team of that quartet to come away from the Biloxi Sports arena with any success.
The Admirals of veteran head coach Owen Miller stopped Terry High 60-53 in the fourth game of the day. That game followed the first game of the second session in which Forrest Hill of Jackson beat Ocean Springs 56-48.
In the first session of the day, a pair of “Southern Six” teams fell in close fashion to a pair of teams from Mobile, Ala., as Cottage Hill High trimmed Harrison Central 61-58 and McGill-Toolen nipped Picayune 61-60.
The win by Gulfport was the second in as many nights for the Admirals, after they beat Hancock 62-45 in Region 8-6A action Friday night. The seven-point win over Terry Saturday pushed the Admirals to 21-5 overall on the season, as Gulfport got 17 points from Keanu Patrick and 16 points from Kamari Mitchell 16. EJ Collier finished with eight points.
The Admirals and the Lady Admirals host Harrison Central Tuesday night to wrap up region action.
Jaden Harper poured in a game-high 25 points for Terry, which was the highest individual scoring out-put of the day.
Picayune started the day with what would turn into three straight losses for local squads falling by one point late to MGT. The loss ended a seven-game win streak for the Maroon Tide as MGT won its 12th straight contest in the process.
Picayune led throughout most of the game, but Bennett Russ hit a shot with 13 seconds left in regulation for the Yellow Jackets to pull out the win.
Josh Holmes tallied a game-high 23 points to pace Picyune, including five 3-point shots, while Troy Carter added 22 points including six 3-pointers for the Maroon Tide but it still just wasn’t quite enough. Dakeith Queen added nine points and eight rebounds to the losing effort.
Devin McCain led the Yellow Jackets with 22 points, as MGT moved to 22-6 overall.
Next up, Cottage Hill trimmed Harrison Central by three as twin brothers Trent Thomas and Tyler Thomas combined for 47 points in the win. Trent Harris scored a game-high 26 points and Tyler Thomas chipped in 21 points, while Aujaylen Barron led HCHS with 22 points.
Ocean Springs followed with its eight-point loss to the Rebels of FHHS. Micah Jones guided the Greyhounds with 16 points, while Maddox Noblitt added 13 points and Elijah Isom 11 points for OSHS.
Forest Hill got 16 points from Chrishun Rhodes to lead a balanced scoring attack.
Saturday’s annual Hoopsfest was the first ever played at Biloxi High School, and it served as the final big one-day event for prep hoops in the “Southern Six” before the upcoming region tournaments take place across the state of Mississippi.
