Lady Tigers improve record, 6-2

By Brad Greer
In the age of high-flying dunks and ‘look at me’ three pointers, free throw shooting has almost become a lost art.
The South Panola boys basketball team had a chance to add a feather in its cap by picking up a big early season victory but could not convert crucial shots at the charity stripe as the Tigers fell 44-40 to West Tallahatchie Monday at the Cleveland Winter Classic.
Day two of the tournament was canceled Tuesday as severe weather swept through the Delta region. South Panola wrapped up the tournament last night against Ray Brooks
South Panola trailed the defending 2A State Champion Choctaws 32-31 after three quarters of play but went over four minutes of the final quarter without scoring a point as West Tallahatchie surged to a 40-31 lead at the 3:43 left to play.
The Tigers closed the margin to six points twice in the final minutes but could not get any closer as Tyler Berryhill knocked down a pair of free throws with under a minute remaining.
South Panola shot 15-of-33 from the field, but only converted 5 of 12 shots from the free throw line. The Choctaws owned the glass by pulling down 16 offensive rebounds.
Kendricus Carlton paced the Tigers with 19 points including 11 in the second half. Montray Blackburn followed with nine points on a pair of treys and a three point play. Ernest Sanford finished with six points while Davonte Cathey and Ketrell Key added four and two points to round out the scoring.
The contest went back and forth for most of the game as South Panola (1-2) took a 12-10 lead after one quarter before back-to-back three’s by Dan Locke and a pair of baskets from Barryhill gave the Choctaws a 22-17 lead.
South Panola closed out the first half on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 22-22 at intermission on Cathey’s three point play followed by Carlton’s short jumper.
Milton Magee sparked a West Tally rally in the third quarter with six points to give the Choctaws a 30-27 lead before Carlton canned a long range bomb that gave South Panola their last lead at 31-30 in the closing minutes of the third period.

South Panola (girls)-55 West Tallahatchie-32

Sydney Morgan poured in a game-high 18 points as the Lady Tigers improved their record to 6-2 on the year with a easy victory over the Lady Chocs.
Chole Morgan chipped in with 14 points, 11 in the first quarter, while sophomore guard Marshala Doyle registered 11 as the Lady Tigers led from start to finish.
South Panola took a commanding 20-8 advantage after the first quarter while maintaining a 33-18 lead at half time. Chole Morgan was a perfect five of-five from the floor in the first quarter while sister Sydney accounted for half of her points in the second period.
Sedria Joy registered five points while Kaniya Ford finished with two points.