MONTICELLO – Lawrence County and Tylertown split a Region 7-4A basketball doubleheader Tuesday night. In girls’ action, the Lady Cougars fought off a stubborn effort from Tylertown, winning 50-42.

The boys’ game was a defensive struggle, with Jeremy Harrell’s Chiefs improving to 16-6 with a hard-earned 41-36 win.

Eighteen days earlier, Vicki Rutland’s Lady Cougars had comfortably handled Tylertown on the road. But the young and improving Lady Chiefs, coached by former McComb mentor Carolyn Whitehead, have beaten Purvis and Columbia in region play since then. They made a good fight of it on Tuesday. LCHS led by 14 points entering the fourth quarter, but Tylertown whittled that lead down to 5 points in the late-going.

The Lawrence County girls improved to 11-10 overall, and 4-3 in the division, with the win. Brittany McDuffey and DaKendra Collins both had double-doubles for the Lady Cougars. Collins had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and McDuffey added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Tiana Dampeer added 7 rebounds, and Shayla Kees, 6, as LCHS largely controlled the backboards.

Tylertown was led by Alicia Fortenberry, who scored 11 points.

Tylertown 41, LCHS 36

The boys’ game was a brutally contested affair, with virtually every shot contested, many of them with considerable contact. Tylertown improved to 16-6 overall and 6-1 in region play with the win, but had to fight off a physical, determined Lawrence County effort to do so. The Chiefs pulled out to leads of 10 points on multiple occasions, but the Cougars continually battled back to make a game of it.

Tylertown big men Ken Bates and Xavion Dillon led the Chiefs with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Point guard Ladarrious Slocum scored 8 points and handled the ball flawlessly.

Pat Bridges’ Cougars, who fell to 11-10 and 3-4, were led by Brandon Daniels, who scored 12 points. Marquis Lofton added 8.

Lawrence County and Tylertown both return to Region 7-4A action on Friday. Lawrence County hosts South Pike, and Tylertown hosts Purvis.