By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

BILOXI — Defending Region 8-3A champ St. Stanislaus earned the right to defend its league title Tuesday night.

The Rock-A-Chaws thumped Tylertown 68-37 in the semifinals of the region tournament here at St. Patrick High, moving to a solid 25-4 on the season with the win.

St. Stanislaus now moves into the championship game against Presbyterian Christian Friday night at 7 p.m. The Bobcats dispatched West Marion 48-44 Tuesday night as well.

Senior standout and Dandy Dozen product Max Baria got the Rocks rolling right away in their latest win, as the 6-foot-8 center posted eight points in the opening period and SSC jumped out to a slight 12-10 lead entering the second stanza.

St. Stanislaus point guard Rafael Cohen then got going before halftime, dropping in nine points, including a 3-pointer, as the Rocks built up a 30-19 halftime advantage

The Chiefs continued to discover the deep starting line-up for SSC that can hurt you in different ways as the third period unfolded, when forward Alan Gilliam drained a pair of treys and scored eight points in the period and THS was never able to get any closer.

Not to be outdone, SSC forward Jason Forte tallied eight points in the final frame to keep the Chiefs at bay.

Cohen topped the Rocks with a game-high 19 points, while Baria chipped in 18 points to the winning cause and Forte added 14 points for SSC.

Tylertown, which fell to 10-13 overall and will face West Marion Thursday in the consolation contest, got 16 points from Christian Pittman.

The Chiefs ended host St. Patrick’s season Monday night with a 39-27 decision in opening round play.

The Fighting Irish ended the season at 3-24 overall.