By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

HATTIESBURG — The Moss Point boys have taken some lumps so far this season on the basketball court.

But the Tigers hope a bit of recent success continues as they head to Hattiesburg the day after Christmas.

Moss Point stands just 4-11 overall as it enters the annual Hattiesburg Coca-Cola Christmas Classic Thursday, but half of that win total has come in the past two weeks including a big 65-52 road decision over Long Beach late last week.

In that one, the Tigers jumped out to a quick 16-3 lead after the opening period thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Treylynn Anderson.

Moss Point steadily stretched its lead as the second stanza unfolded, out-scoring the Bearcats 18-10 in the period as JuJuan Nettles tallied six points also on three field goals. The Tigers went into halftime with a commanding 34-13 advantage.

Long Beach continually cut into that double digit deficit in the second half, thanks in large part to versatile two sport senior standout Andre Windham as he tallied 17 of his 21 total points after intermission. His 11 third quarter points helped the Bearcats slice Moss Point’s lead to 49-33 entering the final period.

But Nettles responded with 12 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth frame, as Moss Point secured the win.

In addition to the 25 points by Nettles, he posted a double-double as well with 10 rebounds. Anderson added 10 points to the winning effort and Breland Nicholas chipped in nine points and eight boards. William Rogers had seven rebounds and Gerald Nettles four assists.

For LBHS, Windham’s 21 points led the way while Leroy Cameron added 12 points for the Bearcats and Howard Newkirk nine points on a trio of treys.

Long Beach is now 4-13 overall, after following that Friday night loss to the Tigers up a 58-20 loss to host Biloxi on Saturday in the annual Jackie Laird Classic.

Meanwhile, the win over the Bearcats topped off a 10-day span that included a pair of wins after the Tigers toppled Alma Bryant on the road in Irvington, Ala., 48-39.

Nettles tallied 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds to pace MPHS in that win over the Hurricanes, while Rogers chipped in 11 points. Nicholas and Charles Turner each had six boards apiece also, and Nicholas also dished out a game-high eight assists.

Moss Point could have easily made it two wins in a row following that win over Alma Bryant, but fell to Independence (La.) 33-32 four days later in a close contest in the “Friendly City Classic” in Long Beach. Rogers had 16 points and seven rebounds in that game.

First up for the Tigers in Hattiesburg on Thursday afternoon is an opening round tussle with Oak Grove at 4:30 p.m. Play will continue through Saturday in the true “tournament” style event where winners play winners and losers face losers.

Moss Point is coming off of a 73-47 loss to Magee in the Bay Springs Tournament. Nettles scored 18 points against the Trojans while Rogers chipped in 17 points.