By Brad Greer
It is tough to win the Kentucky Derby when you are a show horse racing against thoroughbreds.
The South Panola boys  closed out their 2014-15 home basketball schedule by hosting a high flying Calhoun City squad Tuesday night and unfortunately the Wildcats proved to be rude guest by easing past the Tigers 76-46 on Senior Night.
Sophomore Ladavius Draine paced the No. 2 ranked team in Class 2A with 23 points followed by Brieton Sykes’ 15 points which included a pair of ally-oop jams that got even the home crowd on its feet.
Both teams came out firing in the first quarter as Calhoun City grabbed an 18-15 advantage. Kenon Johnson connected on three baskets while Stegan Smith and Terry Johnson added two field goals each for South Panola.
Calhoun City (20-5) began to pull away as the second quarter got underway by going on an 11-0 run to take a 29-15 advantage. The Wildcat lead ballooned to 37-19 highlighted by Austin Burl’s one-handed flush off a Tiger turnover. Drain added 10 points in the quarter while Sykes chipped in with nine. The Wildcats took a 47-22 lead at intermission and led 62-33 at the end of three quarters.
Johnson paced South Panola with 12 points followed by Smith’s nine. The Tigers shot 32 percent from the floor and was six-of-seven from the free throw line. Williams and Andre Gleaton added six points while Cameron Brown and Ketrell Key supplied four. Jordan Matthews contributed with three points and Robert Hentz finished with two markers. Howard Smothers did not figure into the scoring but did pull down six rebounds.
Calhoun City (girls) 68, SP 51
Much like their counterparts, the South Panola Lady Tigers fell behind early and never recovered as they fell to 15-9 on the season.
Jasmine Wright scored the Tigers’ first two points before Calhoun City reeled off 20 unanswered points. The Lady Wildcats led 28-8 after one quarter of play and 47-21 at halftime. Tyra Tucker led Calhoun City (20-3) with 22 points
Wright paced South Panola with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field while Alexis Smith followed with 12 points. Sydney Morgan registered 10 points on three treys. Chole Morgan finished with six points with seniors Shanterrica Hunt and Ty’Raveen Collins rounding out with four and two points each.
South Panola closes out the regular season tonight at Senatobia in a 6 p.m tipoff.