By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PASCAGOULA — It seemed only fitting that former Pascagoula head boys basketball coach Ron Norman was honored during the seventh annual Raising Canes Panther Classic Saturday afternoon.
That’s because, just a few hours after that, the current crop of Panthers came within two mores more wins of matching the 18-game win streak that Norman guided PHS to a decade ago.
Pascagoula overcame an early double digits deficit in the first quarter to overwhelm visiting Williamson High out of Mobile, Ala., 70-53 in the featured clash Saturday night in game four of the annual affair. Pascagoula now sits at 16-1 overall, with a 16-game win streak, just a pair short of the 18 consecutive wins that Norman led PHS to in 2014 when he guided the Panthers to the Class 5A Overall State Final Four in Jackson.

“Pleased with effort in the second half,” Pascagoula head coach Lorenzo Wright said. “When we come out focused and ready we are really good defensively. We did a great job of defending in the second half.”
Senior Dandy Dozen standout Dorian McMillian came up with one of the biggest games of the season for Pascaoula in what was his third and final Raising Canes Panthers Classic appearance, as he poured in a game-high 31 points including a trio of 3-pointers.
“Dorian is unbelievable,” Wright added. “He’s a gym rat, the work he puts in every day shows during game time.”
Pascagoula trailed 14-3 early after a rare slow start for the Panthers, but the Panthers began to get back on track towards the end of the first period as McMillian began his scoring barrage with six points and PHS trailed just 16-13 entering the second stanza.

It was in that period when Pascagoula began to take control, as McMillan drained a pair of 3-pointers and added two more baskets for 10 points in the quarter and Blake Nettles totaled nine first-half points as the Panthers outscored the Lions 21-8 over that eight minutes to take a 34-24 lead into halftime.
Any thoughts Williamson had of ending the win Panthers’ win streak were laid to rest in the third frame, as McMillan hit another trey and scored nine more points while Chris North added five points as PHS continued to lead by double digits throughout the second half and cruise to the win.
The win not only extended Pascagoula’s longest winning streak in a decade but also helped put the Panthers back on the winning side in their own annual event after they fell to Gulfport last year 56-53. It was one of three close losses last season to the Admirals.
“Losing to Gulfport was tough,” Wright concluded. “Last year they swept us and beat us in our own event, so it was great to get a win in the Raising Canes Panther Classic this year.”

In addition to McMillan’s game-high 31 points, the Panthers got 13 points from Nettles and nine points from Kelan Rich in the winning effort. Markeuse Grady had a game-high 11 rebounds.
Williams dropped to 12-6 overall with the loss. The Lions got 20 points from Corien Hawthorne Coleman and 18 points from Jonathan Jackson.
Pascagoula has won six consecutive games since ceasing Region 4-6AA play 10 days before Christmas. The Panthers roll right back into league action this week, traveling to West Harrison on Tuesday and then hosting Picayune on Friday. Both Pascagoula and the Maroon Tide stand atop the region race at 3-0, while the Hurricanes are 3-1 with their only league loss so far a 50-40 decision to Picayune.