Jackson County was a hotbed of prep basketball action Friday night as the regular season came to an end for many of the teams across the state.
Both the Gulfport girls and boys stormed into Gautier and swept a pair of games with the home-standing Moss Point Tigers picking up a big upset win over arch-rival Pascagoula.
In Arthur Haynes Gym at Moss Point High school, the Tigers nipped the Panthers 55-53.
Senior Dandy Dozen standout Kedrick Osby poured in a game-high 32 points to guide Moss Point to the win, and Javaris Johnson scored seven points as well. The win gave MPHS a measure of revenge after PHS thumped them 85-55 in early December and allowed the Tigers to end the regular season on a positive note after losing its last two games and head into the upcoming Region 8-4A Tournament next week with some momentum.
The Panthers end the regular season at 20-7 and will start play in the Region 7-6A Tournament next week.
The Pascagoula Lady Panthers opened the proceedings with a 51-35 win over MPHS to make it a split on the evening for the pair of longtime rivals that share Jefferson St. as a border.
The Lady Panthers finish the regular season at 12-15 while the Lady Tigers did so at 4-23.
In Gautier, Gulfport did most of the celebrating despite the fact that it was Senior Night for the Gators and Lady Gators.
The Lady Admirals picked up a 63-45 win as Maddie O’Dell tallied a game-high 18 points while Saniah Price chipped in 12 points to the winning cause and Micah O’Dell added 10 points.
The win moved Gulfport to 20-8 overall. The Lady Admirals not only wrapped up the regular season with the win over Gautier, but they ended Region 8-6A play earlier in the week with a 59-44 win over Harrison Central to move to-51 in league play and secure the top seed for the upcoming region tourney next week.
The Lady Gators, who will also be the top seed in their region tourney, got 13 points from Brandi Martin and seven points from Kamrie Walker in the loss.
The Gulfport boys followed that game up with a 55-31 win over the Gators and finished the regular season at 23-5 overall in the process. Keanu Patrick and Kylan Howze each finished with 12 points apiece and Kamari Mitchell finished with eight points in the win.
Elsewhere in the “Southern Six” on Friday night, visiting Harrison Central did the same as their Region 8-6A rivals Gulfport and ruined another Senior Night celebration as HCHS swept a pair of games on the road at West Harrison.
The Harrison Central girls ended an 11-game win streak for the Lady Canes with a 58-31 decision, while the Red Rebels knocked off the WHHS boys with a commanding 71-34 outcome.
Caden Ragins led the Red Rebels with 15 points while Aujaylen Barron added 13 points to the winning cause.
