WESSON — Wesson boys and girls basketball coaches Ron Kesslerand Jemmye Anne Helms went out of their way Friday night to makethe Cobras’ first home games on the new gymnasium floor somethingspecial for the players. They did.

It was impressive show. The gym lights were dimmed, dazzlingmusic filled the air and the spotlights shined down on the Cobrateams during pregame ceremonies. Wesson Attendance Center principalBilly O. Britt did the announcing. Both coaches hoped the specialevents would inspire their teams to a successful night in theirhome opener.

It wasn’t to be. The visiting Bogue Chitto Bobcats had a lot tosay about that.

While the Cobras struggled from the free-throw line (2-14), theBobcats made their freebies down the stretch for a 52-49 win. Itwas first-year Bobcat boys coach Andrew Smithie’s first win of theseason after suffering 3 losses.

In the girls game, Wesson started off hot in the first quarterthen cooled off the remainder of game as Bogue Chitto hit itsstride late in the third quarter and continued into the fourth totake a 60-44 victory.

In a special ceremony between games, Wesson high schoolprincipal Ronald Greer presented blue Wesson jackets to CopiahCounty School District personnel Larry Papizan, Rickey Clopton andRicky Smith for their help with the new gym floor.

Tuesday night, Wesson entertains St. Aloysius and Bogue Chittovisits Natchez Cathedral.

Bogue Chitto 52, Wesson 49

The Cobras and Bobcats were tied 15-all in the first quarter.Bogue Chitto make a few more shots than Wesson for a 25-22 lead inat the half.

In the third quarter, the Bobcats edged the Cobras 13-11 to keepa 5-point, 38-33, lead going in to the final frame. The hostsoutscored the visitors 16-14 but remained 3 points short of the tieat the end.

Wesson’s Adrian King nailed a trey to cut the Bogue Chitto leadto 51-49 with 10 seconds left. With 8.8 second left, Bogue Chitto’sAntwoin Lyons went 1-for-2 from the charity line to push their leadto 52-49. King attempted another trey in the final seconds thatbounced off the rim and back into hands of the Bobcats.

“Anytime you shoot 2 of 14 free throws and miss 8 and 9 layups,you don’t have a chance to win,” said Wesson boys coach Ron Kesslerafter the loss. “When it came down to it, Bogue Chitto made theirfree throws. Coach Smithie has done a great job with them. Theywanted it more tonight than we did.”

Wesson (1-6) got 16 points from Mason Warren. Adrian Kingfollowed with 12 points.

Smithie’s Bobcats improved to 1-3 with the win. Powering BogueChitto with 14 points was Mario Addison. Firing in 12 points eachwere Antwoin Lyons and Keyonna Perkins. Netting 10 points wasDontae Ratcliff.

Bogue Chitto 60, Wesson 44

The Wesson girls (2-5) led Bogue Chitto (3-2) 18-14 in the firstquarter. Second-quarter action saw the Lady Bobcats begin to breakout of their slump with a 15-9 run to take a 2-point, 29-27, leadat halftime.

In the second half, Bogue Chitto looked like its old self,dominating the backboards and outscoring Wesson 31-17 to cruise tothe win.

“We started off real sluggish,” said Bogue Chitto girls coachChristi Terrell. “At the end of the third quarter, we caughtfire.”

Kimberly Thomas directed Bogue Chitto with 17 points and 20rebounds. Meleah Brown pumped in 12 points and pulled down 9rebounds. Following with 10 points and 12 rebounds was ShastaPorter. Dori Hall had 5 rebounds.

A lack of rebounding killed the Lady Cobras.

“We didn’t rebound real well,” said Helms. “Alexis (Crosby)carried us. Our shooting wasn’t balanced. I was proud of theireffort.”

Crosby led the Lady Cobras with a game-high 19 points, including3 treys. Perry K. Furr finished with 8 points followed by ChristyWatson with 8.