Loyd Star made a strong showing in the opening round of theSouth Mississippi Class AA state basketball playoffs Tuesday nightas the Hornets roared to a 73-55 victory over the visiting StringerRed Devils. Senior guard Julious Whittaker’s 19 points led threeLoyd Star players in double figures as Glenn Thomas netted 17 andDeAndre Butler 15.

Loyd Star (22-4) advances to the South boys quarterfinals at HindsAHS in Utica. The Hornets play Scott Central Thursday at 4p.m.

The Loyd Star girls, No. 3 out of the Region 7-2A Tournament, playat Taylorsville tonight. Tipoff is 7 p.m.

Loyd Star coach Gene (Moochie) Britt said he was happy with histeam’s performance. “We had a good game and our first half offensewas great. Our press caused many steals and that led to an earlylead. Overall, our second half was good.”

Stringer (12-11), moving up from Class 1A in 2009, playedman-to-man defense and tried to slow down Loyd Star’s offense. TheHornets led 42-20 at halftime.

On the backboards, Butler grabbed 8 rebounds and made 5 assists.McKinley Hamilton had 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Keldric Smithcollected 7 rebounds.

Stringer’s Perry Williams scored 21 points and led all scorers.Marcus Bolton added 16 points.