By Will Dickins
South Panola played two varsity games against district opponent Columbus Friday night. Columbus took both games home with wins as the Lady Tigers lost 67-57 and the Tigers lost 61-47.  
Columbus girls 67, SP 57
South Panola controlled the middle of the game but could not hold on in the fourth quarter as Columbus came back strong to take the win.  
The game started with two turnovers but got on track with an offensive rebound that turned into points from Alexis Smith. The quarter stayed close until the end of the period with the score 14-9 in favor of the Lady Falcons.
The second quarter was back and forth the whole way.  The Lady Tigers tied it with 4:47 left on a Marshala Doyle layup.  The rest of the quarter would be fast paced with a three from Sydney Morgan and two more layups off of steals by Doyle to end the half.  South Panola took a 29-28 lead to halftime.
Jasmine Wright came out in the second half to carry the offensive load for the Lady Tigers when she scored 13 points in the quarter alone. There were two lead changes before the Tigers went on a  six point run but went into the fourth quarter leading 46-42.  
The Lady Tigers kept their lead until Columbus came out in a pressing defense that caused numerous turnovers.  This caused South Panola to lose their lead at the 4:23 mark and could not catch up as Columbus pulled away in the final minutes.
Wright led the team in scoring with 20 points.
Other scorers include Sydney Morgan, 11; Smith and Doyle, 10 points each; Chloe Morgan, Tracie Benson, and Temaye Williams, two points each.  
Columbus Falcons 61,
SP 47
On a big night from Jordin Smith, the Tigers could not keep up with Columbus as they used a big second half to pull away from the Tigers.  
The game started back and forth. The Tiger zone held Columbus in check for most of the quarter. Smith started his big night as he scored the Tigers’ last seven points to pull within one point of the Falcons. The quarter ended with Columbus leading 12-11.  
The second quarter began with South Panola struggling but saw an aggressive Smith score eight points and Kenon Johnson score four. The Tigers hung around and used defense to keep the game close as the score was 28-23 at the half in favor of the Falcons.  
After a hard fought first half, Columbus began to find holes in the defense. The Tigers could not hold on as the lead started to increase. The score was 41-32 Columbus at the end of the third quarter, and South Panola had used up their arsenal as the Falcons built their lead to the final score of 61-47.  
One bright spot for the Tigers in the fourth quarter was Montray Blackburn coming off the bench to hit three straight threes to end the game. He ended the game with 10 points. Smith led the Tigers with 22 points, three rebounds and three steals.
Other scorers included  Johnson with 10 points, three rebounds, and one steal and Bobby Thomas with five points, one rebound and two steals.
South Panola will be home tonight to close out the regular season against Senatobia at 4 p.m.
They closed out the district season at Tupelo last night but the score was not available at press time.
The regional tournament will be held at Hernando, Tuesday, February 16. South Panola girls and boys will face Columbus in the first round.
The winners will advance to the championship round next Friday, February 19.