By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PERKINSTON — Veteran Meridian head coach Ron Norman came into Saturday’s first-ever Class 7A South State finals on a five-game winning streak against Ocean Springs.
Unfortunately for the Greyhounds, try as they might that streak remained intact when the final buzzer sounded.
The Wildcats ended Ocean Springs’ season on the hardwood for the second consecutive season, with an exciting and hard-fought 50-46 win here at Dantzler Arena on the campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College with a berth to the inaugural Class 7A Final Four on the line.

Despite the loss, it was an historic season for OSHS which won its first state playoff game in 20 years last week.

“These seniors left their mark that will be remembered for a long time,” first=year OSHS head coach Collin Goley said. “It’s unfortunate our season ended early, but we will learn and grow from it. We will be back.”

The loss ends the season for the Greyhounds abruptly, with a 20-9 mark while the Wildcats will move on to the Overall Class 7A Tournament semifinal round Thursday at The Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.
Meridian knocked off OSHS 74-64 last season in the opening round of the Class 6A state playoffs as well. Norman, who has been at the helm of the Wildcats for seven seasons, came to Meridian after serving as the head coach in Pascagoula for three years and went 4-0 against OSHS during that time.

The game was a tightly contested affair throughout, as neither team managed more than a six point lead at any time.
Meridian took a 15-10 lead after the first frame, thanks to five points including a 3-pointer from Javion Yarborough. But the Greyhounds raced back to knot things up at 24-24 heading into halftime on the strength of 3-pointers from both Maddox Noblitt and Jaylin Goleman as well as four points from senior point guard Elijah Isom.
The teams continued to battle back and forth in the third frame, but despite five points from Kaleb Bradley of OSHS Meridian managed to pull slightly ahead at 36-34 by the end of the period thanks in part to treys by D,J. Johnson and Jorden Harbour.

But the Greyhounds galloped back, as Bradley and Christian Bingham added five points apiece including a 3-pointer from Bradley, and suddenly Ocean Springs led 44-42 with right at three minutes to play.
However, Johnson drained another trey with 2:48 to go to put Meridian up for good at 45-44. The Wildcats made just three of six free throws down the stretch, but that along with eight points by Yarborough in the final frame was just enough to seal the win.
Yarborough led the Wildcats with a game-high 17 points. Meridian, in search of its first state title since 2017, will face Germantown on Thursday in the Final Four.
Bingham guided the Greyhounds with 12 points, while Bradley and Noblitt added 10 points apiece in the loss.