By Maurice Singleton/Sports Writer

GULFPORT — The Gulfport Admirals (14-1) trailed the Pass Christian Pirates (10-6) after one quarter of play, but the Admirals outscored Pass 22-8 in the second quarter, and they never trailed after that on their way to a 61-42 win the 42nd Annual Holiday Classic on Tuesday.

Pass would pull within 3 points of the Admirals near the end of the third quarter (39-36), but that was as close as it would get as the Admirals made big shot after big shot down the stretch.

The Admirals would go on a 3-point shot run that began with about a minute left in the third quarter and would go on until they made five of them down the stretch as they pulled away from the Pirates.

Senior Denzel Jackson sank one to give Admirals a 39-34 lead with a minute to go in the third quarter. Senior Morris Robertson sank another one in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to give the Admirals a 49-36 lead. Then Jackson sank another one to give the Admirals a 52-38 lead.

Robertson would score on a layup next, extending the lead to 54-38. And the next time down, he would sink his third three-pointer of the period to give the Admirals a 19-point lead at 57-38 with just under two minutes to play.

“We were just a little more aggressive, and we shared the ball more,” said Admirals’ coach Brian Butler. “In the beginning we were kind of letting the ball stick. It was kind of like one on five. We started getting more into our offensive scheme, and the ball was passed around more, and we got better looks.

Pass had trailed by 13 points at halftime (34-21), and they pulled within 2 points of the Admirals (36-34), after holding them scoreless in the first five minutes of the third period.

“Part of that was our shot selection,” said Butler. “We kind of held ourselves to zero points. We took some bad ones early, and it made it stagnant. We simmered down offensively and just shared it more.”

The Admirals would sink a total of twelve 3-pointers on the night as Robertson would lead the Admirals with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Travor Frost chipped in 17 points with two 3-pointers, and Jackson added 14 points on the night with four 3-pointers. Jeffery Isabell would also sink two 3-pointers.

“We wanted to disrupt what they were doing by putting a little pressure out there with our extended zone,” said Pirates coach Robin Sikes. “They adjusted, and that’s what great teams do. They have a lot of shooters, and they were able to knock down a lot of shots. You just got to tip your hat to them, and take it like a. man. Gulfport had an extra run in them in the fourth quarter, and they ran away with it.”

Pass Christian senior Landon Hall led the Pirates’ scoring with 17 points.

With the win, the Admirals meet St. Stanislaus in the finals of the Gulfport High School 42nd Annual Holiday Classic on Wednesday at 4:30. Pass will play Terry High School for third place at 3:00 p.m.