By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Editor

PASCAGOULA — Last season, the Hattiesburg boys won the Class 5A state basketball championship with a 55-50 win over Picayune.
After Friday night’s big Region 4-6A showdown between Pascagoula and the Maroon Tide, the Panthers are now the only team in the state that has beaten both of last year’s title tilt teams as they hope to reach that same round this season.
The Panthers notched their 18th straight win, matching their longest such streak in a decade, with a 59-43 destruction of visiting Picayune before a packed house. The win gives Pascagoula sole possession of first place in the region race at 5-0 and 18-1 overall at the mid-way mark of the league schedule, while the Maroon Tide falls to 4-1 in the loop and 15-7 overall.

Pascagoula handed Hattiesburg its only loss of the season to date six weeks ago with a close 55-54 decision. The Hub City Tigers are 18-1 on the season also.
“I thought we were really impressive in the 2nd quarter, defensively we were great.,” Pascagoula head coach Lorenzo Wright said, of his team’s latest outing.. “It fueled our offense. When we lock in on defense we can make it hard for our opponent.”
The game was played with a playoff-type intensity. And it was the visiting team that took advantage of that in the early going as Picayune took its biggest lead of the game at 9-3 mid-way through the first frame on a 3-pointer by freshman Kelton Stewart.
But Pascagoula responded, as Kelan Rich hit a trey of his own and the Panthers cut the deficit to 9-7 at halftime.
Rich’s long-range bucket marked the start of a 15-0 run that in the process gave the Panthers a lead it would never relinquish as Pascagoula scored the last four points of the opening quarter and started the second stanza with an 11-0 spurt to double up on Picayune at 18-9.

Pascagoula would take its first double-digit lead of the night at 22-11 on a putback by Dorian McMillan, but the Maroon Tide trailed by just six at 24-19 as they rallied to outscore the Panthers 8-2 to end the first half.
The second half was all Pascagoula, however. The Panthers opened the third period on a 15-5 run that included 3-pointers by Rich and Chris North and a pair of baskets by Markeuse Grady inside to take a commanding 40-26 lead and never look back.
Another 3-pointer from Rich made the count 51-30 with a litle over six minutes to play.

Grady led Pascagoula with 16 points, while Rich chipped in 15 points to the winning cause and McMillan added 12 points. Stewart paced Picayune with 12 points and Dakeith Quinn added nine points all in the second half. Brunson Stockstill added eight points for the Maroon Tide.

Up next for Pascagoula is a trip to A.E. Wood Coliseum in Clinton on the campus of Mississippi College on Monday afternoon to face Yazoo City in the prestigious “Rumble in the South” event. The Panthers return home to the Gulf Coast the next day and head to Long Beach to resume Region 4-6A play against the home-standing Bearcats.
Picayune is back in league action on Tuesday as well hosting West Harrison.