SP basketball ends season

By Brad Greer
Both South Panola boys and girls basketball teams found themselves in do-or-die situations against Hernando in a pair of District 2-6A consolation games Friday at Columbus.
But unfortunately neither squad could keep their post-season hopes alive as they dropped both games to Hernando thus ending their seasons.
Hernando (girls)-57 SP-51
Hernando built a 15-point lead after three quarters before holding off a furious fourth quarter rally by South Panola to advance to the North State playoffs.
South Panola (10-15) trailed 46-31 going into the fourth period before going on a 16-3 run to close the margin to 49-47 with 2:23 left to play.
Sophomore point guard Marshala Doyle sparked the rally with seven of her team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter.
Hernando, who despite being held to one field goal over the final eight minutes, extended its lead to 54-47 on five straight free throws with 1:01 remaining.
Still the Lady Tigers would not go away as a Sydney Morgan layup followed by Doyle’s basket in the lane drew South Panola to within three points at 54-51 with 34 seconds left on the clock.
Hernando however sealed the game as Rachel Greer knocked down three free throws in the final 20 seconds.
Chloe Morgan followed Doyle in the scoring column with eight points while Breanna Bland and Sedria Joy each registered five. Temaya Williams chipped in with four points while Sydney Morgan added three. Tracie Benson and Breanna Johnson contributed two points each.
Free throws turned out to be the deciding factor as Hernando was 24-of-31 at the line while South Panola hit on 8-of-19 shots from the charity stripe.
Hernando (boys) 45, SP 36
In what turned out to be a low-scoring affair where neither could get on track offensively, Hernando held South Panola to 13 points in the second half to pull out the victory.
South Panola (9-9) led 23-22 at halftime but could not buy a bucket over the following 16 minutes as they connected on four field goals in the second half.
C. J. Maxwell’s three-pointer with 3:11 left to play gave Hernando the lead for good at 37-35, this after Kendricus Carlton’s two free throws tied the game at 33-33 with 4:25 remaining.
The final three minutes became a free throw shooting contest as Hernando drained eight straight shots from the line in the final two minutes.
South Panola took a 10-4 lead early on and led for most of the first half thanks in part to Shaquille Jackson’s nine points which included the team’s lone three-pointer to start the game.
Carlton paced South Panola in scoring with 15 points while Devonte Cathey added five. Robert Hentz chipped in with three followed by Ketrell Key and Terriance Jackson with two points.