Blackburn scores 20 to lead Tigers past Grenada

Lady Tigers fall hard
By Brad Greer
Montray Blackburn could not have picked a better time to have his best performance of the season in South Panola’s final home game of the year.
The senior guard poured in a season-high 20 points as South Panola eased past Grenada, 66-49, on Senior Night.
Blackburn, along with fellow seniors Marquez Wright, Ketrell Key, Ernest Sanford and manager Willie Campbell, were honored before the varsity boys game. Senior Lady Tigers Breanna Johnson, Sydney Morgan, Tracie Benson and Breanna Bland were also recognized.
Blackburn registered half of his points in the third quarter on a trio of three pointers as South Panola (7-6) out-scored the Chargers 21-9 to pull away from a tight 27-22 lead at intermission.
Kendricus Carlton provided 14 points while Ketrell Key added 11 for the Tigers
South Panola led from start to finish by jumping out to an 11-3 advantage on five straight points by Key and Blackburn’s three-point play. Grenada, however, responded with a 5-0 run to close out the first quarter.
After the Chargers briefly tied the game on a three-pointer, South Panola  reeled off  10 straight points to take a 21-11 advantage as Key led the surge with six points.
The Tigers slowly began to pull away as the second half got underway when Blackburn knocked down the first of his three treys to give the Tigers a 36-27 lead. Carlton  gave South Panola its first double digit lead at 40-27 with back-to-back baskets at the 2:39 mark.
South Panola put on the finishing touches in the fourth quarter as Carlton’s one-handed jam off a fast break brought the home crowd to their feet. Then adding insult to injury, Terriance Jackson rejected Grenada’s Josiah Lewis’ dunk attempt on the following possession.
Other scorers for South Panola included Davonte Cathey with five points followed by Shaquille Jackson and Robert Hentz with four each. Sanford and Terriance Jackson chipped in two points each.
In the Junior Varsity boys contest, Deronte Thomas paced South Panola with 11 points as the Tigers came away with a 26-12 victory. Markevious Vaughn and Eldridge Brooks contributed with five points each. Issac Sturdivant and Thaddeus Kirkwood had two points while Detierriye Reed finished with one point.
Grenada (girls) 62, SP 43
The Lady Chargers ran their win streak to eight games after  blowing  open a close game early in the second quarter to win going away.
Grenada sped out to a 13-2 lead in the first quarter before back-to-back treys from Temaye Williams and Sydney Morgan closed the gap to 13-8.
South Panola pulled within two at 18-16 early in the second quarter before a 17-2 Charger run put the game out of reach. Grenada out-scored the Lady Tigers 27-25 in the second half.
Sydney Morgan paced South Panola (8-11) with nine points. Marshala Doyle added eight fourth-quarter points. Williams, Chloe Morgan and Tracie Morgan garnered seven each. Breanna Bland added three points while Breanna Johnson finished with two.
Grenada (JV girls) 18, South Panola 17 (OT)
The Chargers escaped with the junior varsity victory despite missing two free throws with one second left in regulation.
Ladayshia Robinson paced South Panola with six points. Takyra Webster and Kahlena Hentz followed with four  points. Aziyah McGhee finished with two and Ke’Amber Jackson added one point.
South Panola returns to district play tonight at Hernando beginning at 4 p.m. with a pair of junior varsity contests.