MONTICELLO – After trailing by 4 points at the intermissionbreak, the Lawrence County Cougars outscored McComb 36-24 in thesecond half; en route to a 70-62 Division 6-4A win over the TigersTuesday night in the Lawrence County Gym.

The McComb Lady Tigers opened the girls game with a 13-0 run,and never looked back; to the tune of a 52-31 win over the LawrenceCounty Lady Cougars. The McComb girls improved to 20-6 overall and8-3 in division play, while Lawrence County dropped to 2-22 and1-10.

With the victory by the Cougars, they improve to 16-9 overalland 7-4 in the division. The Tigers, ranked fifth in the state,fell to 24-4 and 8-3. McComb is ranked first and Lawrence Countyfifth in the latest Southwest Mississippi Prep Sports Super Sevenboys poll.

Both teams conclude their regular seasons Friday night at home,in Division 6-4A matchups. Lawrence County hosts Mendenhall, whileMcComb welcomes Brookhaven. The Division 6-4A tournament is set toget under way Monday, Feb. 12-16.

McComb 52, Lawrence County 31

The Lady Tigers, ranked third in the latest Southwest MS GirlsSuper Seven, came out of the starting gate on fire. Converting mostof LCHS’s turnovers into points saw the Lady Tigers forge the13-point advantage.

Lawrence County got on the board with under 1 minute left in theopening period, on a basket by guard Candace Little. The LadyCougars trailed 13-2 entering the second quarter. Little led theCougar charge with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists.

McComb led 29-11 at the half and 40-22 heading the fourthframe.

Neither team shot the ball well in the game, but it would beMcComb’s 21-11 advantage in points off Lawrence County turnovers.Coupled with the Lady Tiger’s 13-1 cushion in second-chance pointswould be the difference in the game.

For Coach Angela Johnson’s Lady Tigers, younger sister April ledher ball club with 13 points and 3 steals. Portia Craft added 11points and 3 steals. Kenyotta Martin had 10 points and 9rebounds.

Rutland’s squad got support from Andreniki Gardner with 5rebounds and 2 steals.

Despite the 21-point loss by the Lady Cougars, LCHS head coachVicki Rutland was pleased with her team’s effort.

“I am proud of the girls effort,” Coach Rutland said. “Theyplayed hard tonight. We just did not shoot the ball well.”

Lawrence County 70, McComb 62

For the second time this season, the Cougars have had McComb’snumber. Lawrence County defeated the Tigers 67-59 at McComb on Jan.9.

After shooting 52 percent from the field and leading 36-34 inthe opening half, McComb shot a dismal 32-percent in the secondhalf.

“We did not shoot the ball well in the second half,” said Tigerhead coach Hilton Harrell. “Turnovers and foul trouble got us downthe stretch.”

Lawrence County, coached by Preston Wilson, held a slim 17-16edge at the end of one period.

On the other hand, Wilson’s crew would shoot a blistering 60percent from the field in the second half. With the score tied51-51 early in the fourth, the Cougars engulfed McComb with 10-2run to lead 61-53 with 5:40 left in the game. The Tigers never gotcloser than 3 points.

For Lawrence County, the senior trio of Oliver Peyton, DominiqueWest and Albert Brown combined for 53 points. Peyton led allscorers with 20 points and 2 steals. West had 16 points (5 treys)and 3 assists. Brown had 17 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. CayceLee and Will Harris each dished out 2 assists.

The Tigers were led by Akeem Williams with 18 points, 5 reboundsand 2 steals. Roteddrick Cotton tossed in 16 points, whilesharp-shooting guard Otis Smith had 15 points; but was only 2-of-10from beyond the 3-point arc.

“A man-to-man pressure on defense kept them (McComb) fromgetting open looks at the basket,” said Coach Wilson. “This was abig win for us. We shot the ball well in the second half.”

The teams were deadlocked 29-29 in rebounding. LCHS shot 54percent (23 of 43) from the field and 65 percent (17 of 26) fromthe charity stripe. McComb was 91 percent (10 of 11) from the freethrow line and 42 percent (25 of 59) from the floor. The Tigers had13 turnovers to 17 by the Cougars.