By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

WIGGINS — Visiting East Central led Stone by six points at halftime Tuesday night in the first Region 4-5A boys basketball action in 2026 for both “Southern Six” squads.
But the second half was a totally different story.
Down 21-15 at intermission, the Tomcats exploded for 43 second half points and ended up thumping the Hornets 58-38. Stone moves to just 8-11 overall but more importantly 2-0 in the region race, while the Hornets drop to 6-8 overall and 0-2 in league play.

Stone got a game-high 21 points from freshman Elijah Bostic in the win, with 18 of those points coming in the second half. Jabari Moye added 14 points, eight steals and nine assists to the winning effort, while had eight rebounds for the Tomcats.
The loss overshadowed a solid performance from East Central’s Anthony Bonfiglio, as he recorded a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Hornets.

Trey Maryland scored all eight of his points for ECHS in the first half, as the Hornets built leads of 11-4 and that aforementioned 21-15 halftime lead. Brody Howard had seven points and six boards for ECHS.

Both teams were back in region action Thursday night, as East Central hosts Purvis and Stone headed to unbeaten Wayne County.