SCS boys win another thriller in OT

OXFORD – Starkville Christian School trailed Regents School for most of Friday night’s boys basketball action on the road, but the Cougars made enough plays down the stretch of regulation to get the game tied up, then won 72-67 in overtime.

Regents held leads of 13-12 after the first quarter, 33-27 at halftime and 53-44 after three quarters, then Starkville Christian forced a 63-63 tie by the end of the fourth quarter.

“We just kept playing even though we were behind most of the game,” Cougar coach Matthew Rye said. “I was so proud of our guys competitive spirit. I thought the defensive effort and us attacking the basket was key.”

In what has been a trend in Starkville Christian’s 3-0 start to the season, Kendrick Harris led the team in points once again with 20. Holden Gines added 16 points, Cael Chrismond had 15 points and Alex Hunley chipped in 11 points.

“Kendrick was huge on rebounding the ball all night,” Rye said. “Holden had a really good game and just wouldn’t be denied driving to the basket. He shot the ball well also.

“Alex Hunley (ninth grader) played a really good game. Proud of his effort. Cael scored 10 points combined in the fourth quarter and overtime.”

The Lady Cougars lost a 45-34 decision against a tall and athletic Regents team.

Starkville Christian (0-3) fell behind 19-6 after the first quarter and could never recover.

“The press got to us in the first half,” Rye said. “I am proud of the way our girls competed in the second half. We could have stopped playing but they didn’t.”

Lana Ballard and Jayla Riddle led SCS with 10 points each.

The Cougar teams host Grace Christian on Tuesday.

EMCC loses Thursday outings

The EMCC Lions dropped a hard-fought 70-65 home men’s decision to Northwest Mississippi, while the Lady Lions fell 65-50 at Coahoma during Thursday’s MACCC basketball action.