By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

HATTIESBURG — In its last outing, St. Stanislaus suffered just its second loss of the season.

However, the Rock-A-Chaws bounced back on the winning track as Region 8-3A action resumed Tuesday night.

St. Stanislaus picked up a key road win in the region race here in the Hub City with a 48-40 win over Presbyterian Christian. The decision moves SSC to 14-2 overall and 2-0 in league play. The Bobcats, who are new to the region after transitioning over to public school status as a member of the Mississippi High School Activities Association this year, now stand 10-8 overall and the loss to the Rocks was the first region game for PCS.

St. Stanislaus senior standout and 6-foot-8 Dandy Dozen post product Max Baria dropped in a game-high 15 points to pace the Rocks to the win. It was an efficient outing for Baria as he went seven-of-10 from the field. Jason Forte had eight points for SSC, while Rafael Cohen and Alan Gilliam added seven points apiece to the winning attack.

Southern Miss head coach Jay Ladner was in attendance, ironically enough. That’s because Ladner led the Rocks to their only state title to date 14 years ago, and his star player on that team was no other than Daniel Grieves, who is now the SSC head coach.

But the Hub City connections didn’t stop there. Forte’s dad, Jason, is a former Golden Eagle standout basketball player as well and Baria’s father David is a graduate of Southern Miss.

The Rocks were coming off of a loss to host Gulfport on New Year’s Eve in the championship game of the annual Admiral Holiday Classic.