The regular season race in Region 7-6A became a bit more clear on one side of the basketball Tuesday night, but it also became a bit more cloudy on the other side.
There were a pair of important showdowns in the league, and both ended in sweeps as home-standing Ocean Springs swept a pair of games from Pascagoula while D’Iberville went on the road and took a pair of games from arch-rival St. Martin.
In Ocean Springs, Greyhound standout guard Elijah Isom nailed a 3-pointer in the waning moments of overtime for the winning points as OSHS handed the Panthers their first league loss of the season in an exciting 74-71 decision.
The overtime win moved the Greyhounds into sole possession of first place in the region with a 4-1 mark, and it also served to earn a measure of revenge for a 71-54 loss to Pascagoula just last week.
The fifth-ranked Panthers fall to 3-1 in league play and 16-6 overall.
Ocean Springs got a game-high 24 points from Micah Jones in the big win, while Isom chipped in 17 points (including five in OT) and Maddox Noblitt added 16 points to the winning effort as the Greyhounds moved to 12-7 overall with the win.
Pascagoula got 16 points from Kelan Rich, 15 points from Dorian McMillian and 14 points from Pete Millender. It marked the second loss in as many days for the PHS boys, after they fell to Horn Lake Monday in the MLK Classic at Lanier High in Jackson.
In yet another close affair, the Ocean Springs girls began the night with an exciting 55-52 win over Pascagoula. The Lady Greyhounds overcame a seven-point deficit at intermission to pull out the win by out-scoring the Lady Panthers 16-4 in the final frame.
Star Jackson led OSHS with a game-high 21 points, while Kaleah Lowery added 14 points and Anna Hoffmayer collected eight points in the win. Jackson and Lowery combined for 11 of OSHS’ 16 points in the decisive fourth quarter.
Amiyah Hedrick paced Pascagoula with 17 points, including five 3-pointers in the first half that helped give PHS a 35-28 halftime advantage. Bethany Graves also tallied 17 points for the Lady Panthers, sharing team-high honors with Hedrick. Payton Harmon chipped in 10 points for PHS.
The OSHS girls now stand 13-5 overall and sit in second place in the region race at 3-2 behind league-leading D’Iberville. The PHS girls are third in the league standings at 1-3 in the loop and 9-13 overall.
Speaking of D’Iberville, the Lady Warriors enforced their hold on the top spot in Region 7-6A with a 30-22 win over home-standing St. Martin Tuesday night.
The DHS girls moved to a perfect 4-0 in league play, thanks to 11 points from Kalea Storm and 10 points from Teeale Wells. The Lady Warriors are an impressive 19-5 overall.
St. Martin fell to 0-3 in league play with the loss, and the Lady Yellow Jackets got eight points from La’Daymian Lafayette.
The Warriors followed with a win as well, knocking off the Yellow Jackets 42-35 for their first region win of the year. D’Iberville is now 12-13 overall and 1-3 in league play.
D’Iberville got 13 points from Jhylonce Holden,12 points from Gabe Wells and 11 from Marcus Washington.
Like their female counterparts, the SMHS boys are also 0-3 in league play. The Yellow Jackets got 11 points and three steals from Kaleb Bradley, eight points and six rebounds from Ghabe Colding as well as eight points from Monclair Brave. The SMHS boys are 14-8 overall.
Region action continues on Friday as St. Martin hosts Ocean Springs in a pair of games while D’Iberville does the same with Pascagoula.
