By Will Dickins
Hernando came into Batesville Thursday night, and was swept by South Panola in the district matchup.
The Lady Tigers won 79-58 and the Tigers 56-47. South Panola junior varsity teams also won both games, girls, 23-20 and  boys, 34-24.  
SP Girls 79, Hernando 58
The Lady Tigers took advantage of forced turnovers by the defense and turned them into 79 points to run past Hernando.  
The game started slow but soon picked up a fleeting pace after Sydney Morgan hit a three-point basket at the 3:48 mark in the first quarter.  South Panola would then turn steals into Marshala Doyle and Alexis Smith layups to secure a 19-8 lead to end the first quarter.
The second quarter started with a quick put back from Smith, a free throw from Doyle, and a three-pointer from Sydney Morgan but action soon faded to a slower pace.
The Lady Tigers let Hernando back into the game by only scoring 11 points in the second quarter compared to Hernando’s 23. The half time score was 31-30 in favor of Hernando.  
South Panola came out in the second half eager to duplicate what they did in the first quarter. They succeeded as they used defense to create offense to outscore Hernando in both quarters by 10 and 12 to cruise to a 21-point victory.  
Scoring for the Lady Tigers were Sydney Morgan, 23 points; Smith, 23 points; Doyle, 16 points; Jasmine Wright, 16 points; and Chloe Morgan, two points.  
SP Boys 56, Hernando 47
South Panola found a way to get the victory in Thursday’s back and forth game against district foe Hernando.  
The game began with a three-pointer from Jordan Smith to get the Tigers going after missing on second chance points in the Tigers’ first possession.  Offense did not come easy after that for the Tigers as they mustered eight total points for the quarter and fell behind 17-8.  
The second quarter was better for South Panola as they leaned on their defense to hold Hernando to four points.  
The Tigers’ offense was led by Joshua Sims’s 11 points after hitting the game tying three pointer with 4:43 left in the half. He helped the Tigers get in rhythm to take a 26-21 lead into halftime.  
Kenon Johnson came out in the third quarter and hit two threes to start it off.  He would continue to lead the Tigers’ offense through the third quarter.  Hernando struggled with the Tiger defense for the second straight quarter.  The teams stayed static through the rest of the period and ended with a 40-32 lead for South Panola.  
South Panola continued to hold off Hernando as Jordan Smith used a 12-15 night at the free throw line to seal the victory for his team.  
Jordin Smith led the Tigers in scoring with 15 points and one rebound.
Other scorers included Johnson, 14 points and one rebound; Sims, 13 points and four rebounds; Robert Hentz, seven points, four rebounds, and one steal; Kendricus Carlton, four points, seven rebounds, and one steal; and Bobby Thomas with three points, five rebounds, and two steals.  
SPJV girls 23, Hernando 20
The Jr. Varsity girls played a slow paced game with neither team pulling ahead.  Each team fought to a halftime score of 11-8 with Hernando having the advantage.  
With 4:39 left in the game, South Panola took the lead 16-15.  The Lady Tigers would extend the lead to five and hold Hernando off to pull out the win with the final score of 23-20.
Scoring for the Lady Tigers were Gracie Holloway with four points; Temaye Williams, four points; Kanlya Ford, four points, Christy Hubbard, four points; Sedria Joy, four points; and Tracie Benson, three points.  
SP JV Boys 34, Hernando 24
The Jr. Varsity boys played Hernando in another slow paced first half that ended with a 8-5 lead for Hernando.  
The game picked up in the second half with both teams trading baskets.  The Tigers worked their way in front at the 12:16 mark when Montray Blackburn hit a free throw to go up 13-12. The Tigers would build their lead up to six before Ketrell Key’s six free throws and a layup close out the game.  
Scoring for the Tigers were Blackburn, 14 points; Key, 12; Earnest Sanford, four; Terrance Jackson and Shaquille Jackson, two points each.
The Tigers will close out the regular season tonight hosting Senatobia at 4 p.m.