By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PICAYUNE — For the Pascagoula boys basketball team, the names and faces have pretty much changed from year-to-year over the past three seasons.

But at the end of the regular season, the final result has always been the same. And, after a big road win Friday night, that’s once the case for the Panthers again this year.

Pascagoula finished a perfect 10-0 in Region 4-6A play for the third straight season, wrapping up the region race with a comfortable 65-41 win over home-standing Picayune. The win also pushes the Panthers to 21-6 overall, and PHS has now won at least 20 games in each of the past three campaigns as well.

Pascagoula will once again be the top seed in the league tournament, which it will host beginning on Feb. 9th, and the Panthers have already earned a berth in the upcoming Class 6A South state playoffs as well.

One of the key phases of the game for the Panthers so far this season is their ability to jump out to a fast start at the beginning of region games, and Pascagoula did just that once again Friday night. Jacob Griffin, a recent transfer from Booker T. Washington High in Pensacola, Fla., dropped in a pair of 3-pointers, and his teammate Ireyion Harvey also had five points, including a trey of his own in the opening quarter as the visitors got off to a quick 21-8 lead entering the second period.

Harvey scored six more points in the next stanza, including another 3-pointer, and the Panthers steadily stretched their advantage out to 35-19 at halftime.

The Maroon Tide never cut the deficit to single digits in the second half.

Harvey tallied 18 points to pace Pascagoula to the win, while both Griffin and Will Rogers chipped in 10 points apiece to the winning cause. Griffin’s twin brother Adam, who accompanied his brother over from the Panhandle, added nine points as well to the winning cause and Blake Nettles had eight points.

Picayune got a game-high 21 points from versatile, two-sport standout Jordan Hathorne, but not much else from anyone else. The Maroon Tide dropped to 14-8 overall and will finish as the second seed in the region race at 8-2.

Despite the loss, Picayune has also already secured a spot in the upcoming Class 6A South State playoffs as well.