By Myra Bean

The North Panola Cougar boys sailed to a  58-41 district win over the Byhalia Indians Tuesday night.

Cougar head coach Dannis Jackson said he is glad to see one player, Vonte Howard, take charge on the court.

“Vonte is key,” Jackson said. “He is a very skilled offensive player. He is getting in the rhythm of what I expect of him. He plays mostly up the middle.”

Howard was the leading scorer of the night with 20 points.

North Panola (8-10 overall, 5-1 district) is tied with Winona (18-2, 5-1) for first place in the district. Charleston, who split district series with both teams, is in third place followed by Independence, Byhalia and Palmer.

Jackson said the Cougar team is scoring the way he envisioned, it but individual players are not doing as well as he expected.

“We are scoring in the upper 50s and keeping our opponents in the lower 40s,” he said. “We have shot a lot of free throws.”

However, the free throw percentage is not high. Tuesday night, the Cougars hit 21 of 30 for 70 percent.
Lady Cougars

The Lady Cougars lost in a close game, 60-55.

North Panola led 12-8 at the end of the first quarter, but Byhalia outscored them 18-9 in the  second quarter to take a 26-21 lead into halftime.

Both teams scored 34 points in the second half, keeping the Lady Cougars from gaining an advantage to win.

O’Nesha Hunt led the Lady Tigers with 18 points and six rebounds, followed by Teariny Wheatley with 11 points, two rebounds and three assists.

Other scorers include Daryleshia Ward, 10 points, eight rebounds; Angelica Davison, seven points, seven rebounds; Candace Mottley, six; Anatasia Johnson, two; and Takymdris Clay, one.

The Lady Cougars (6-13, 2-4) shot 66 percent from the free throw line.

In the district, Charleston leads the girls with a 6-0 district record, followed by Independence, Byhalia, Winona, North Panola and Palmer.

The Cougar teams return home tonight to M. S. Palmer of Marks in a district rematch from January 3.