By Maurice Singleton/Sports Writer

PASS CHRISTIAN — The Pascagoula Panthers boys basketball team answered a late rally by Forrest County AHS rally with a 9-1 run in the last three minutes on their way to a 58-53 win on the opening night of the Pass High Invitational on Tuesday.

Forrest County’s senior guard Darion Griffin capitalized on an Aggie’s steal to score on a layup in a crowded lane to pull within one of the Panthers at 49-48 with just under four minutes left. The Panthers would respond with seven consecutive points as senior guard Blake Nettles got the Panthers going with a mid-range jump shot to start the run.

On the next Panthers’ possession, Evan Beck floated a teardrop basket to pull away at 53-48. And after Forrest County failed to get off a good shot, Tamir Boykin scored on a layup in transition and was fouled. He made the free throw, as the Panthers increased their lead to 56-48.

Griffin would sink the second of two free throws for the Aggies to pull within seven points of the Panthers (56-49). The Panthers would go to their center Boykin on their end, who would score again on a layup to close out their scoring at 58-49. That margin would be more than the Aggies could overcome as they would outscore the Panthers 4-0 the rest of the way.

“Not a bad game for our first game of the year,” said Panthers’ coach Lorenzo Wright. “We had seven guys; we fought through foul trouble. I thought the guys played pretty well.”

The Panthers are missing three players who are currently finishing out the football season.

Nettles was the man for the Panthers as he attacked the Aggies’ defense with penetration, sometimes through double teams. He finished the night with a team-high nineteen points, 13 coming in the second half – 5 of those points coming in the fourth quarter.

“He’s a senior, he’s a three-and-half year starter,” said Wright. “He’s supposed to want it then. He’s our guy.”

The Panthers never trailed in their first game of the season. They opened the contest on a 6-0 run, and the Aggies played catchup the rest of the way. They trailed the Panthers by only four points at the end of the third quarter (45-41), but the Panthers would outscore the Aggies 13-12 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Other double-figure scorers for the Panthers were Beck with 12 points and Boykin with 10 points.
Marcus Cooper and Will Rogers each added 7 points for the Panthers.

Sophomore Kasey Hunter led the Aggies with 20 points, followed by Griffin with 15 points. Senior Ka’darrius Brewster added 8 points and junior Wesley van Brewer sank all five of his free throws.

Forrest County (0-1) will play at Picayune on Friday. Pascagoula will play South Jones on Saturday in the Quitman Classic.