Area basketball teams in tourney action next week
Published 12:00 pm Saturday, November 18, 2023
Most area high school basketball teams will have at least one game next week during the Thanksgiving Break. On Monday and Tuesday, Lawrence County will host its annual Thanksgiving Tournament.
Play begins at 1 p.m. on Monday with Parklane Academy taking on Jefferson Davis County High in a girls’ game. At 2:30 p.m., the Jefferson Davis County boys will meet Wayne County.
Brookhaven High begins tourney play at 4 p.m. with a girl’s matchup against Wayne County.
On Thursday, the BHS girls got their first win of the season by a 46-12 final score over Amite County at home. Coach Preston Wilson has a young squad in 2023-2024 and his group is off to a 1-4 start on the year.
The Brookhaven High boys will play Parklane Academy at 5:30 p.m. on Monday at Lawrence County. Coach Charlton Grey has his Panthers off to a 3-1 start. The Panthers lost at Brandon to begin the season, but have since won three straight games over Mendenhall High, South Pike, and Amite County.
Lawrence County will close the day of games with two matchups against North Pike High. The girls’ game is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the boys’ game will follow at approximately 7:30 p.m.
On Tuesday, the day gets started with Noth Pike and Parklane playing in a girls’ game at 1 p.m. Then North Pike and Wayne County will take each other on in a boys’ game at 2:30 p.m. Jefferson Davis County and Wayne County meet in a girls’ game at 4 p.m. and Jefferson Davis County and Parklane will follow in a boys’ game at 5:30 p.m.
The night will be wrapped up by Lawrence County taking on Brookhaven High in two games. The girls’ pairing is slated for 7 p.m. and will be followed by a boys’ contest at 8:30 p.m.
Coach Pat Bridges and his LC boys’ team started the season off with a win over Wilkinson County but have lost four straight against some tough competition (Northwest Rankin, Oak Grove, Natchez, McComb).
Coach Candice McDuffey and her Lawrence County girls’ team are 3-1 on the season thus far. Their lone loss was to 7A Northwest Rankin and the team picked up a couple of close wins this week against Natchez High (40-36) and McComb High (42-38).
Brookhaven Academy has hosted a Thanksgiving tourney in the past, but this season the Cougars will travel to play at East Rankin Academy in an event hosted by the Patriots.
The Brookhaven Academy girls are 6-2 on the season thus far. The Cougars went to Cathedral School in Natchez on Tuesday and thumped the Green Wave 60-33.
At ERA on Monday, BA will play Wayne Academy at 1:30 p.m. On Tuesday, BA will play at 1:30 p.m. against Leake Academy (6-1). That game will be a rematch of last years MAIS 5A state championship game, a matchup won 42-36 by Brookhaven Academy.
Coach Josh Watts and the Brookhaven Academy boys’ team are off to a 4-1 start at press time after beating Cathedral 50-44 on Tuesday.
The BA boys will play Leake Academy on Monday at ERA at 2:45 p.m. and on Tuesday they’ll play the host school at 5:15 p.m.
Loyd Star and West Lincoln won’t be playing in holiday tournaments, but both schools will host a game next week and both will be playing MAIS member Hillcrest Christian.
Hillcrest will visit Loyd Star on Monday and West Lincoln on Tuesday.
The Loyd Star boys and coach Seth Britt are 4-0 on the season. They’ve won twice over Wesson, including a 70-42 victory on Thursday, to start the season. As expected, Britt’s team is being led offensively by the senior trio of Colby Terrell, Nathan Mills and Caden Yarborough.
Other than Wesson, Loyd Star has also gotten wins over Salem and Enterprise this season.
The Loyd Star girls’ team and coach Russell Cruise are 2-2 with two losses to Wesson and wins over Salem and Enterprise.
Both of the West Lincoln teams are off to 2-3 starts. The West Lincoln girls and coach Lane Young beat Salem 56-16 on Thursday at home. The boys’ game was a forfeit win for West Lincoln as Salem had a fight against East Marion after a game earlier this season that kept the Wildcats from playing their next two games.
The West Lincoln boys beat Wesson 65-35 on Tuesday at home.
The girls’ games for Loyd Star and West Lincoln on Monday and Tuesday against Hillcrest Christian will both start at 6 p.m.
Wesson will play on Monday in a tournament hosted by Hazlehurst High. The Wesson boys’ team will play Wilkinson County at 11:30 a.m. and will be followed by a 1 p.m. matchup of the girls’ team against the hosts from Hazlehurst.
Coach Michelle Nunnery and her Wesson girls are off to a 4-1 start on the season.
Both Bogue Chitto teams are off to a 3-0 start with wins over Jefferson County, Wesson, and St. Andrew’s, but the Bobcats won’t be in action next week.
Enterprise and first-year head coach Rusty Newman will play on Monday at the Raleigh Tournament. The EAC boys will play Taylorsville at 1 p.m. and then the girls’ team will take on Raleigh at 3 p.m. The Enterprise boys are 2-3 thus far and the girls’ team is 1-4.