By CURTIS ROCKWELL

CAMDEN, Miss — The Pascagoula boys basketball team extended its current winning streak to 13 straight games Wednesday afternoon.
And, in the process, perhaps just as importantly the Panthers also earned a shot at a rematch against the only team to beat them this season as well.
Pascagoula pounded the host team Velma Jackson 68-23 in the opening round of the Madison County Christmas Tournament, moving to 13-1 overall on the season. The Panthers now get Madison Central in Thursday afternoon’s semifinal round here at Velma Jackson High.
The Jaguars advanced with a 63-59 overtime win over Pearl in the game preceding Pascagoula’s victory. Madison Central handed the Panthers their only defeat this year in a season-opening 52-49 decision that came in “The Jump” tip-off event at Madison Central High School.
“It’s always to start any tournament off with a win,” Pascagoula head coach Lorenzo Wright said. “Looking forward to the match-up with a really good Madison Central team tomorrow.”

On Wednesday, Pascagoula wasted no time in jumping out to a quick lead to take control of the contest as Kelan Rich stuck in seven points in the first quarter, including a 3-pointer, and the Panthers grabbed a 20-8 lead entering the second period.
Despite that double-digit lead after one frame, it was the second stanza where Wright’s crew took complete command.
The Panthers clawed out an 18-2 advantage in that period, holding the Falcons to just one field goal. Meanwhile, Cle’Darius Ross tallied four points for PHS and seven separate Panthers scored in the quarter including a trey from Tomareo Johnson as Pascagoula stormed into halftime with an insurmountable 30-10 advantage.
As the second half unfolded, Panther senior Dandy Dozen standout Dorian McMillan quickly made sure the home team would harbor no hopes of a comeback in this one as he piled on 12 points in the third period, half of those coming on a pair of 3-pointers, as Pascagoula continued to extend its lead to 48-18 heading into the final period and continued to cruise to the comfortable win.

McMillan and Ross paced Pascagoula’s balanced scoring attack with a game-high 12 points apiece, while Rich and Tylan Wilson chipped in 11 points apiece to the winning effort.
Williams led VJHS with nine points.
In the first game of the day, J.P. Baldwin led Madison Central with 18 points while EJ White added 11 points and Dylan Rowe had 10 points in the four-point overtime win. Pearl was led by Kaden Arterberry with 16 points and Jay Kennedy added 15 points for the Pirates.