SOUTH MISS 6 SPORTS

February 27, 2026

Prep Basketball: Rocks slip past Blue Wave Thursday night to return to the Big House

St. Stanislaus guard Rafael Cohen drives past Port Gibson’s Joe Porter Thursday night. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)

By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director
RAYMOND — After a 15-year drought, St. Stanislaus is headed back to The Big House.
The Rocks went on a 10-5 run in the final three minutes of the game Wednesday night to pull out an exciting 56-51 win over Port Gibson here at Raymond High in the Class 3A South State Quarterfinal round. The decision pushes the Rocks to a solid 29-4 overall, but more importantly sends SSC to the overall Class 3A Final Four next week at The Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.
It marked the second win of the season for SSC over the Blue Wave, after a 61-25 dismantling in late November at the Harrison Central Thanksgiving Shootout.

St. Stanislaus center Max Baria plows down the lane vs. Port Gibson Thursday night. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)

St. Stanislaus guard Rafael Cohen drives past Port Gibson’s Kimonte Cruitison Thursday night. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)

St. Stanislaus guard Tre Schwandt vies with Port Gibson’s Kimonte Cruitison for a loose ball Thursday night. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)

St. Stanislaus guard Rafael Cohen drives past Port Gibson’s Joe Porter Thursday night. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)

But this one was much closer than that one.
Like a pair of proud, prized pugilists in their prime the teams battled toe-to-toe for most of the game, and things were all knotted up at 46-46 with three minutes to play.
Then, Tre Schwandt of St. Stanislaus found Jason Forte in the lane for a short 7-foot jumper to put the Rocks up 48-46 at the 2:53 mark and give SSC a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
A minute later, Rock junior point guard Rafael Cohen stole a Blue Wave pass and sprinted almost coast-to-coast for a lay-up to make it 50-46.

Max Baria of St. Stanislaus surveys the scene vs. Port Gibson Thursday night. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)

St. Stanislaus guard Rafael Cohen glides towards the basket for a lay-up vs. Port Gibson Thursday night. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)

Jason Forte of St. Stanislaus looks for a passing partner amidst a traffic jam in the lane vs. Port Gibson Thursday night. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)

Max Baria of St. Stanislaus ponders his options vs. Port Gibson Thursday night. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)

At the 1:17 mark, Port Gibson’s Jessie Williams drew a foul inside from SSC center Max Baria, but he missed both free throws.
Baria, the 6-foot-8 Dandy Dozen senior standout, then stormed his way down the lane on the other end and converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 53-46 with 67 seconds left and basically seal the deal.
Schwandt added two free throws for good measure with :20 seconds left.
Cohen tallied a game-high 21 points to pace the Rocks, while Baria dropped in 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Forte chipped in 10 points to the winning effort as well.

St. Stanislaus guard Tre Schwandt circles back with the ball vs. Port Gibson’s Thursday night. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)

St. Stanislaus guard Rafael Cohen works his way through some tall timber in the lane vs. Port Gibson Thursday night. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)

St. Stanislaus center Max Baria goes up hard to the hoop vs. Port Gibson Thursday night. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)

St. Stanislaus guard Rafael Cohen reacts as he gets jammed up on his way to the basket vs. Port Gibson Thursday night. (Photo by Bobby McDuffie)

Port Gibson eighth-grade guard Ocie Brown registered 20 points, including four treys, through the first three quarters, to lead the Blue Wave. However, he missed the final four minutes of the game with an injury.
St. Stanislaus faces the winner of Booneville-Independence on Wednesday in the Big House. The last trip for the Rocks to that venue came in 2011, when current Rocks head coach Daniel Grieves led the Rocks to their only state crown ever as a standout player.