By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

CARRIERE —This week’s “SouthMiss6 Sports Game Ball of the Week” goes to Max Baria as presented by the law firm of Cosmich, Simmons and Brown.

Every week throughout the end of the school year, we will honor student/athletes across the “Southern Six” with our “Game Ball of the Week”.

The junior post product Baria is in the midst of one of the most productive stretches for a “Southern Six” standout this season over the past week.

The 6-foot-5 Baria was a power plant Tuesday night against Kemper County as he poured in a game-high 26 points and pulled down nine rebounds as St. Stanislaus won its first playoff game in six years with a hard-fought 46-39 win in the opening round of the Class 3A South State playoffs.

He tallied 15 points in the first half, including nine in the opening period, to keep the Rocks within striking distance after trailing 14-11 at the end of the first quarter. With the game tied up at 262-26 at halftime, Baria then added seven more points in the third frame to keep the contest knotted up at 35-35 heading into the decisive fourth and final frame.

Down the stretch, Baria scored four points in the fourth period and David Belle sank a three-pointer with 6:08 left in the game to give the Rocks a 38-35 advantage. St. Stanislaus held on for the win thanks in part to

limiting Kemper County to just four points in the period. 

The outing for Baria came on the heels of two other impressive performances in the Region 8-3A Tournament last week when he produced game-high outings of 27 points against Perry Central and 25 points against St. Patrick giving him 78 points combined in the last three Rock wins.

St. Stanislaus hosts Franklin County Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m., in the second round of the Class 3A South State playoffs.

The Baria Law Firm, the Gulf Coast branch of Cosmich, Simmons and Brown, provides a beacon of trust and reliability in a complex legal landscape. Our firm’s unwavering dedication to you is at the core of everything we do. Choose David Baria of Baria Law as your legal ally, and let us handle the details while you focus on what matters most. Reach out to David at 228-395-8303 or dbaria@barialaw.com and at https://barialaw.com.