By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

A trio of Region 4-7A squads tipped off holiday tournament action with big wins on Thursday afternoon.
Both the Biloxi boys and girls as well as the Harrison Central boys all picked up wins coming off of their respective Christmas breaks.
The Red Rebels went on the road and picked up a 76-54 win over Faith Academy in Mobile, Ala, while both the Indians and Lady Indians stuck around the house and won games in the seventh annual Lady Indians Christmas Classic at the Biloxi Sports Arena.
In Mobile, at the annual Gulf Coast Christmas Classic taking place at Springhill College, Harrison Central faced an early 9 a.m., start in the first game of the event against the Rams, but veteran head coach boo Hardy’s crew came out firing on all cylinders.
The Red Rebels took a 15-9 lead after the first frame, and eventually stretched that advantage to double digits at halftime at 34-22.
A 42-point second half ensured Harrison central of a win and a spot in Friday’s semifinal round of the winner’s bracket.

Junior Shaun Murray paced the Red Rebels in the win with 20 points, while Nehemiah Barnett chipped in 16 points to the winning cause. Sophomore center Jonathan Pace added nine points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds along with blocking a game-high 10 shots, while Aujaylen Barron led the Red Rebels with six assists and four steals.
Harrison Central is slated to play the winner of Theodore and Crescent City Friday afternoon at 3 p.m.
Meanwhile, in Biloxi, the host Lady Indians thumped off St. Scholastica of Covington, La. 57-22 in opening day play of their 24-team, 24-game annual affair.

Biloxi got a career-defining performance from freshman center Zaniya Johnson as she posted yet another double-double by pouring in 43 points and pulling down 13 rebounds in the resounding win.
“We are just proud of the way she approaches the game. I am even more proud of my other girls for their willingness to feed her the ball and celebrate her success,” eighth-year Biloci head coach Devin Hill said Thursday afternoon. “She usually draws a double or triple team, so when she gets singles we try to take advantage of it. We are very proud of not just Z, but we are proud of our entire team. Z is reaping the benefits of the work she has put in. She is a hard worker, and I am glad she is finding success.”
The Lady Indians moved to 14-1 overall with the win, as they also got seven rebounds and four assists from Kylie Cruso, five rebounds and four assists from Aubrey Hill and a game-high eight assists from Aaliyah Davidson with most of those coming from feeding the 6-foot-3 Johnson down on the block.
The Lady Indians take on Greene County (Ala.) at 5:30 Friday to wrap up play in the tourney.

Preceding the BHS girl’s game Thursday afternoon, their male counterparts moved to 12-4 on the season with a 40-point thumping of the boy’s team from Greene County (Ala.) in a 68-28 win.
The Indians got a game-high 17 points from Dayshawn Mcgee and 13 points from Reggie Magee while Reggie Connor dished out a game-high 10 assists in the win.
The Biloxi boys face Holy Spirit Academy from Tuscaloosa, Ala, Friday at 1 p.m.