The Brookhaven Academy Cougars and Lady Cougars collectively notched their 30th wins of the season by defeating the Adams County Christian School Rebels in Natchez Tuesday evening.

The Cougars (15-2) expected — and got — a very physical battle from the Rebels on their way to a 51-34 win.  In a game of runs, the Lady Cougars (15-5) outlasted a determined Lady Rebel squad, capturing a narrow 39-38 victory when the final buzzer sounded.

The Cougars used long range three-point shooting from Tate Felder and Tanner Thurman early on to put some space between them and the athletic Rebels, grabbing an eight-point advantage at the midway break. BA delivered the knockout blow with a third-quarter 14-5 run that proved to be too much for the Rebels to overcome.

ACCS head coach Richy Spears threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Cougars defensively, but the BA boys responded in workman-like fashion. Cougar junior Cade Brown put an exclamation point on the evening’s contest with a rim-rattling, two-handed slam-dunk late in the fourth quarter.

Felder led BA and all scorers with 17 points. Brown and Thurman each tossed in 11 points, while Dawson Flowers added 10 to the balanced BA scoring attack.

Josh Day led the ACCS scoring with 12 points.

In girl’s action, the Lady Cougars heated up to outscore the Lady Rebels 15-4 in the second quarter and felt good going into the locker room at halftime. ACCS seemingly regrouped and answered the BA run with a 15-5 run of their own in the third to set the table for an exciting finish.

With neither team wanting to give ground, the Lady Cougars needed one last defensive stand as the Lady Rebels, trailing by a single point, had ball possession with 8.6 seconds to play. Coach Jason Case’s defense forced a 10-foot runner that rattled off the rim, allowing the ladies from BA to escape the River City with the win.

Lady Cougars junior Jana Case led BA and all scorers with 21 points. Cameron Watson chipped in seven points in support. Watson also had six rebounds and four steals.

Undoubtedly a key and possibly most important stat of the night, the Lady Cougars committed just six turnovers in the contest, a season low.

Kaitlyn Gamberi led ACCS with 11 points.

The Lady Cougars will be back in action Friday evening, as they get back into district play when Prentiss Christian visits John R. Gray Gymnasium for four games. Jr. high girls tip is set for 4 p.m.