By MAURICE SINGLETON/Sports Writer

PASS CHRISTIAN –— The Pass High Pirates put on an offensive clinic in the second half as they patiently found the open man for a good shot in their 68-37 thrashing of the Columbia Wildcats in their second-round Class 4A South State playoff game on Saturday.

The open man most often was either Landon Hall or Kyran Laneaux. The two Pirates’ finishers combined for 33 points, nearly half of the Pirates’ offensive production.

And while the offense did their job of executing, the defense did their job as well, forcing tough shot after tough shot for their Wildcats. Jonathan Jackson totaled four blocks and altered the paths of another three or four shots.

The Pirates only low point was at the start of the second quarter when they started the period with five turnovers before they got any points on the board.

“We always equate basketball to life,” said Pass coach Robin Sikes. “You’re going to have ups and downs; you’re going to have times when things don’t go your way. During that second quarter, it seemed more like eight turnovers. You learn to push through.

“I always tell them to respect the game,” Sikes talked about his team’s good shot selection. “They did that tonight, but as we always say, ‘Job’s not done.’”

The Pirates led by 14 at halftime (30-16), and the closest the Wildcats got in the second half was within 12 points (36-24). But from that point, the Pirates closed out the quarter on a 13-4 run to give them a 49-28 lead at the end of the quarter.

Kyran Laneaux and Ellic Laneaux each tallied six points during that third-quarter run, while Hall scored five points in the period.

Avyon Lewis led the Wildcats’ scoring with 15 points. Bryson Foxworth scored 9 points for the Wildcats.

Hall led the Pirates’ scoring with 19 points, and Kyran Laneaux finished with 14 points.

With the win the Pirates’ record improves to 22-9, and their next opponent is Morton (21-7) at Pearl River Community College next Saturday. Morton defeated Jackson Lanier on Friday.