By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

JACKSON —This week’s “Baria Law Firm Game Ball of the Week” goes to Blake Nettles of Pascagoula as presented by SouthMiss6 Sports.

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” sponsored by David Baria, Attorney-Mediator.

Nettles, a junior guard for the Panthers, tallied a game-high 19 points in a 70-60 loss to Ridgeland Thursday afternoon in the Class 6A overall Final Four here at The Mississippi Coliseum.

The Panthers trailed the Titans 32-23 at halftime, despite 12 points in the first half from Nettles, that basically kept PHS within striking distance.

But the Panthers went nine-of-12 shooting from the field in the third period, mostly from around the basket, and used a 15-4 run to retake the lead.

After a defensive rebound, Nettles went coast-to-coast for a fast-break layup to give ‘Goula its first lead since early in the game at 44-42.

“I did all I could to keep my team in the game; we just fell short,” said Nettles. “We had to stay disciplined on defense throughout the game, to get as many possessions as we could.”

The 6-foot-3 junior point guard started the week off with 16 points for Pascagoula in a 59-37 thumping of Terry in the Class 6A South State Quarterfinal Round in Perkinston at Dantzler Arena on the campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College over the weekend.

Pascagoula will be looking for some youngsters to step up next season in support of Nettles, who is back for one more season.

“We lose four guys, Kelan Rich, Quey’sean Taylor, Justin Roque and D.J. Harris,” said PHS head coach Lorenzo Wright. “We’ve got some young guys coming back, led by Blake, of course, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Before his senior season starts, however, Nettles has been picked to play in the annual Mississippi Sports Medicine North/South All-Star Basketball Game scheduled for Saturday, March 15, 2025 at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton.

Nettles will play for the South Squad in the larger classification contest.

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