By MAURICE SINGLETON/Sports Writer

BAY ST. LOUIS — The Long Beach (4-13) boys basketball team opened the Bay High Christmas Tournament on Thursday with a 15-0 start, triggered by a stifling defense that produced ten turnovers in the opening quarter. In the end it was all Long Beach as they would ride strong third and fourth quarters on their way to a 59-35 win over the host Bay High squad at the Tigerdome.

Long Beach led 17-4 after one quarter of play, but Bay High played their best on both ends of the court in the second quarter, holding the Bearcats to six points in the period while scoring 11 points to pull within 8 points at halftime.

The Tigers (2-13) would decrease that margin to six points (23-17) on a Noah Smith layup to open the third quarter scoring, but Long Beach would go on a 21-12 scoring run over the final seven minutes of the period, as the Tigers could not regain the traction they had established in the second quarter and started the third.

Long Beach pulled further away in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Tigers 15-6 in the final period. The Tigers did a better job of managing their possessions as they reduced their turnover count to four in the fourth period, but the first quarter turnovers and the scoring deficit in the period were too much for the Tigers to overcome.

“I knew we could turn them over,” said Long Beach coach Kevin Hunt. “The last game we played, I didn’t press until the fourth quarter, so I said, you know what, I’m going to start pressing early.

“We’re young, and I’ve just got to get them to learn how to win,” said Hunt. “We’re starting to get it. We’ve got something special going. Don’t pay attention to the record. This is my first year with them. I had to teach them a lot of different things that was outside of basketball. Now they’re starting to get it.”

Wayne Ulrich led the Bearcats in scoring with 22 points, followed by Andre Windham with 20 points. Donavan Magee scored 8 points, and Kavion Smyers scored 7 points.

Anthony Robinson led Bay High’s scoring with 15 points, and Smith added 13 points.

“We’ve still just got to learn to play with consistent intensity, effort and focus,” said Bay High coach Kelton Thompson. “We’re too sporadic in that we react to much to the game; we react to plays in the game that are made or not made instead of treating each possession as its own.”

Bay High Lady Tigers 35, Gautier Lady Gators 6

The Lady Tigers (11-5) dominated the Lady Gators (4-13), holding them to six points in three quarters of play, while putting up 34 points during that stretch. The game was called due to a medical emergency in the bleachers with 6:37 remaining on the fourth quarter clock. 

The Lady Tigers’ guards pushed the ball around the perimeter, creating good looks for their post players around the basket. Nakeria Coleman would get the Lady Tigers going with a layup off of a drip assist from Kiara Burney to open the game’s scoring. She would add another layup up late in the period during a 9-0 opening stretch of the first quarter. Burney would sink a three-pointer during that stretch.

Victoria Moore sank a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the first quarter to put the Lady Gators on the scoreboard.

The Lady Tigers would outscore the Lady Gators 11-3 in the second quarter and 14-0 in the third period to build on their one-sided scoring.

“We had some good possessions,” said Lady Tigers coach Kelton Thompson. “We got out and pressured the ball a little bit, which supplemented our offense. Our big girls created some space inside and finished well. 

“I was proud of them today,” said Thompson. “You always worry about coming off the Christmas break, which ours isn’t very long. It’s good to come out and have a little rhythm and flow right off the bat.”

Coleman led Bay High scoring with 14 points. Burney added 8 points.

Pass Christian Lady Pirates 48, Petal Lady Panthers 42

The Pass High Lady Pirates (5-10) pulled away from the Petal Lady Panthers (7-8) in the fourth quarter, outscoring them 14-10 in the period to defeat them for the second time this season. Final score: Pass 48 – Petal 42.

Pass trailed 8-6 after one quarter of play, but the Lady Pirates took a 21-20 lead at halftime, and they increased that lead by one point (34-32) after three quarters, outscoring them 13-12 in the period.

“Last time we played Petal, we go into overtime with them,” said Pass High Coach Caroline Lumpkin. “Petal doesn’t quit, and thank God, we didn’t quit. 

“The high tempo of it helped us out,” said Lumpkin. “We moved the ball a little bit better. We finally did some things we’ve worked on at practice, and they saw it worked. One good thing leads to another.

“We beat them in overtime at Petal. We had to earn every single thing. That’s a well-coached team, a hard-fighting team.

“We’re battling,” said Lumpkin about her team’s growing maturity. “We’re a young group. I’ve got two kids on the floor who have varsity minutes from last year. Any time we battle that’s a plus. They get to see effects of battling through, not quitting.”

Kamaiyah Pruitt led Pass with 12 points. Kyleigh H finished with 8 points and Cassidy Woods added 6 points.

Tamiya McCarty led Petal with 18 points, including fourth 3-pointers. Merrit Johnson added 9 points, followed by Kimora Randle with 8 points and Kennedy Moore with points.