By Stan Caldwell/Sports Writer

JACKSON — Blake Nettles was sobbing tears of joy, and Lorenzo Wright was jumping up and down like a kid on Christmas morning.

And why not? After all, Wright’s Pascagoula Panthers had just made history. After more than a century of boys basketball at ‘Goula – and Jackson County – the Panthers have brought home a state championship trophy.

The Panthers gutted out a fourth-quarter comeback , defeating Terry 56-54 Thursday night in the Class 6A State Championship game in front of a raucous crowd at Mississippi Coliseum.

Pascagoula (28-6) ended the season on an 18-game winning streak in winning its first state, title after falling short in the semifinals the previous two seasons. Terry finished 25-9.

Nettles’ power drive through traffic down the lane with 1:04 remaining in the game put Pascagoula ahead for good, following eight previous lead changes and six ties.

“Three years now; we finally did it,” said Wright, now in his 10th season at ‘Goula. “This is not the team you might have expected to do this, but this group was different. They fought all year, so it was all worth it.”

This was a dogfight, as everyone expected in a contest between two teams who were very familiar with each other. The Panthers trailed late in the third quarter by eight points, but rallied behind their seniors.

Principal among these was senior guard Adam Griffin, who scored nine critical points in the in the comeback on his way to a game-high 15 points, earning him Most Valuable Player honors.

“You’ve got to shoot it when you feel it,” said Griffin. “We work on these shots every day in practice. I work with my dad at home, I work with my teammates every day. We’re in the gym working on those shots. I was confident.”

In fact, this was what championship is supposed to be, two great teams playing well and fighting to the very end.

“We just found a way,” said Wright. “I think we’ve got God on our side. We just kept fighting and fighting, and we finally prevailed. We’ve played a lot of close games this year, and I think that gave us a little edge.”

Junior Marcus Cooper hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer to end the first quarter with a 10-10 tie, a ball that seemed to hit every part of the rim before falling through the hole.

That was part of a 10-2 run over the end of the first period and the beginning of the second that put the Panthers ahead 17-12, capping the run on a 3-ball by 6-foot-7 senior Tamir Boykin, who came off the bench to contribute 9 points.

“He’s been battling an ankle injury all year,” said Wright. “For him to play the minutes he played tonight was huge for us. He was big in the win over Jim Hill (in the quarterfinal round), and he showed up big for us tonight.”

The Bulldogs rallied, however, with a 9-2 run to tie it up again at 19-19, finishing with a layup off an inbounds play by senior Quintin Wilson.

Pascagoula answered with a trey from senior Ireyion Harvey from the left side, but Terry cam right back at the other end for a 3-pointer from senior Kamarion Meriwether to tie it up again.

And that’s how the first half ended, an 28-28 after the teams traded the lead three times in the final three minutes of the half.

Truly, the Panthers were probably fortunate to be tied after getting schooled on the glass in the first half, as the Bulldogs owned a 26-11 rebounding advantage. ‘Goula flipped that in the second half, outrebounding Terry 19-7 after halftime.

That, plus the fact that the Bulldogs converted 6 of 8 shots from the field in the second quarter.

“At halftime, we knew we had to lock in on the boards, and box out on rebounds,” said Griffin. “We did a much better job in the second half.

“This is history, man, history. We’re going back to the Coast with the big ball.”

Still, Terry owned much of the third quarter, building a substantial lead before the Panthers rallied.

Senior Tyler Lyles opened the third quarter with a three-point play on a drive down the baseline, drawing a foul and converting the and-one, as the Bulldogs opened up a six-point lead.

But Boykin got a layup, Cooper put back the third of three shots in a bang-bang sequence for a layup, then Cooper again took a brilliant pass from Nettles for a layup on the secondary break for a tie game.

“Man, I just wanted this so bad; I don’t know what to say,” Nettles said. “Special. It’s special. Our names are going to hang in that gym forever.”

Nevertheless, the Bulldogs kept the heat on, as senior Keyshawn Jones went off on a one-man 9-1 run to give Terry its biggest lead of the night with 1:18 to play in the period.

Jones swished a 3-point shot from the right baseline, then pulled up in the lane for a four-foot jumper after Pascagoula missed on three shots at its end.

After Nettles went 1 of 2 from the line, Jones drew a foul and hit both free throws, then took a steal straight down the lane for a layup and a 45-37 lead.

Boykin once again came to the rescue with an authoritative putback of a missed layup, then Griffin closed the third quarter with a 3-pointer from the left side to close the deficit to 45-42 at the end of the period.

‘Goula carried that momentum into the final period, capping a 14-4 surge with a 3-ball by Harvey to take a 51-49 lead with 3:46 to play, setting the stage for a frantic finish.

Like two exhausted heavyweights in the 11th round of a 12-round fight, the two traded the lead twice more in the remaining time.

Senior Jaylin Spruill converted 1 of 2 foul shots, then the Bulldogs converted a steal into a layup by senior Kamel Wiggins and the lead.

But Wiggins had a chance to extend the lead when he drew a foul after a defensive stop, and that was when Nettles stepped up after a frustrating night.

Held in check for most of the night, Nettles blew through the lane like runaway train, then pulled up for a 4-foot floater that found nothing but net and a 53-52 lead.

“I decided I ain’t losing again,” said Nettles, who will be returning in the fall to play for Jackson State. “We’ve lost the last two times we came up here, and I wasn’t going to lose today.

“I showed them what I got. I coming back here to win another ring next year, and the three years after that.”

Nettles, who finished the season as Pascagoula’s leader with 20 points and 7 rebounds per game, was held to just nine points, but chipped in with 5 rebounds and 6 assists.

“He picked up his third foul in the first half, which he shouldn’t have done,” said Wright. “It was a silly foul, and we talked about it at halftime. It was the same thing in the semifinal. He sat out for a bit, came back and played smart basketball for us the rest of the way.

“He’s been huge for us all season.”

After getting a one-and-done on a 3-point attempt, Nettles’ sixth and final assist found Boykin alone under the basket for a layup and a three-point lead with 17.2 seconds to play.

Terry closed with a pair of free throws after drawing a foul, but junior Evan Beck came off the bench to convert 1 of 2 free throws with 4.3 seconds left.

Jones got a decent look from 15-feet at the buzzer, but his shot bounced off the rim no good, setting off the joyous celebrating from the large contingent of Panther fans who made the trip to the coliseum.

“It meant a whole lot,” Wright said of his team’s fans. “We’ve been trying the last two years to put up a banner, and they showed up big for us. They came out in huge numbers on Monday (in the semifinals), and they were big again tonight.”

And Pascagoula’s success has been part of a basketball resurgence on the Gulf Coast.

“We’re back, and we’ve got something to say,” said Wright. “The Coast is back. We got Harrison Central girls coming in tomorrow night for girls, and we got St. Stanislaus playing Saturday. Yeah, the Coast is back, without a doubt.”