TERRY-Lawrence County and Terry split a varsity basketball double-header Tuesday night, at Terry, in what was Lawrence County’s final tune-up before the start of Division 7-4A play. In the girls’ game, highly-ranked Terry fought off a determined effort from Vicki Rutland’s Lady Cougars, beating LCHS by a 52-45 score. In boys’ action, Pat Bridges’ Cougars played what might have been their best game of the season, beating the Bulldogs 52-39.

The LCHS boys put together a dandy effort against a very decent 6A squad. They were tied with Terry 27-27 at the half, then dominated the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs 25-12.

Keith Davis led the Cougars with 29 points and 6 rebounds. Phillip Moore scored 17 points, hitting 3 of 5 from three-point land. He also handed out 3 assists. Gabriel Lewis had 11 points and 3 assists. Sophomore center Keyshawn Feazell, while scoring just 2 points, contributed 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocked shots, and drew a charging foul.

Lawrence County was credited with 14 assists, out of 20 made field goals. The Cougars turned the ball over only 11 times. Coach Bridges liked the way those numbers added up.

“We played a good game,” Bridges said, “possibly our best game so far. We defended well, and showed good patience on offense. If we can now go forward and do this with some consistency, we’ll have some success in division play.”

Bridges’ Cougars improved to 9-6 with the win. Terry, coached by Matthew Scott, fell to 7-7. K.J. Taylor and K.T. Taylor each scored 10 points for Terry.

The Lawrence County boys finished second to state champion McComb in both the regular season and division tournament last season. The Cougars and Lady Cougars open Division 7-4A play at home, against Purvis, on Friday.

Despite losing, the Lady Cougars also played perhaps their best game of the season. Terry entered with a record of 15-2, ranked in the top ten in the state. Tiffany Porter’s Lady Bulldogs did rack up win number 16, but it wasn’t easy.

“Our girls played well,” said Rutland, whose Lady Cougars fell to 8-7 with the loss. “It was certainly one of the best games we’ve played. If we had shot better from the free throw line, it could have gotten interesting.”

Rutland’s team hit just 7 of 25 from the free throw line, missing 18 attempts in a game the Lady Cougars lost by just 7 points.

Freshman Camryn Davis had a huge night for Lawrence County, with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 steals. DeNeisha Dickson added 10 points. Zipporah Baylis had 9 rebounds and 3 assists to go along with her 5 points.

Nyah Pate led the Lady Bulldogs with 10 points. Te’Kayla Tassin and Taronea Newell each had 9.

On Friday night, the LCHS-Terry varsity double-header will be preceded by a junior varsity boys’ game. The action begins at 5 p.m., with the girls’ game slated for 6 o’clock.