By MAURICE SINGLETON/Sports Writer

PASS CHRISTIAN – The Pass High Pirates (24-8) breezed past Wingfield in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs with a 66-39 win.

Pirates’ coach Buddy Kennedy said that it was a cool shooting night for his team, but his players turned up the pressure on the defensive end, and the defense created some easy baskets.

“We struggled shooting the ball,” said Kennedy. “Guys that have been real reliable didn’t seem to find it, but those guys and everyone else stepped it up, and our defense carried us throughout the game.

“We defended well and got our press going for us, and we were able to get a lot easier shots,” said Kennedy. “And once we were able to get easier shots, we pulled away from them.”

Wingfield were within three points of the Pirates at the end of the first quarter (14-11), but the Pirates would pull away in the second quarter, outscoring the visitors 19-8 in the period to hold onto a 33-19 lead at halftime.

The second half was more of the same as the Pirates’ defense would hold the visitors to their lowest offensive quarter of the game, limiting them to seven points in the third quarter. The Pirates would have their highest offensive output in the fourth quarter, outscoring the visitors 21-13 in the period.

The Pirates got a boost from their post players, getting 14 points apiece from junior Jonathan Jackson and sophomore Kyran Laneaux inside the paint.

“We’ve been trying to play them together for some time,” said Kennedy. “All their damage was done inside. They played well together, and they’re starting to figure some stuff out together. 

“Kyron was also six for six at the free throw line, which is huge,” said Kennedy, “to have a sophomore who could step to the line and do that.”

Kennedy said that he has more depth with this team than he has had in many years at Pass High. He said that he has sixteen players who dress out, who all have worked extremely hard, and who all deserve playing time. 

This team has gone undefeated (8-0) in district play, outscoring those opponents by an average of 34.5 points a game.

The Pirates will host a second-round playoff game against Forest High on Saturday. That game is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m.