Three teams in the Greenwood area came up on the winning side Tuesday night in basketball playoff games.
The Greenwood High School boys will be playing for a district championship Friday night after knocking off Clarksdale 70-55 at Yazoo City High School in the Region 3-4A Tournament.
The Bulldogs (17-8) will take on the Indians, who defeated Gentry Tuesday, Friday at 8:30 p.m. Gentry and Clarksdale will play in the consolation game at 5:30 p.m. All four teams advance to the State 4A Tournament, which starts next week.
The Bulldogs had four players score in double figures en route to their win over the Wildcats. Joseph Warren led the way with 22 points and seven rebounds, and Markell Johnson hit for 19 points, grabbed six boards and dished out five assists.
Javeon Smith tacked on 15 points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds, and James Holmes had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Greenwood held a slim 17-14 lead after the first frame. The Bulldogs pulled away in each quarter from Clarksdale. They led 35-28 at the half and 50-40 after the third period.
-Pillow Academy: The Lady Mustangs moved into the semifinals of the North State 5A Tournament with a 57-45 win over East Rankin Academy Tuesday night at Simpson Academy in Mendenhall.
Pillow (23-5) will play the winner of Wednesday’s contest between Leake and Bayou on Friday at 4 p.m. in the semis. A win and the Lady Mustangs play Saturday at 12:15 p.m. in the championship game. The consolation game is at 11 a.m. The top four teams advance to the State 5A Tournament, which is being held at Pillow’s Stribling Gymnasium next week.
“We’re very proud of our girls,” said PA head coach Durwin Carpenter. “We didn’t play one of our better games but we had a lot of determination to win. Defensively, we played really hard. It’s always good to get that first win.”
The Lady Mustangs trailed 9-6 after the first period but took a 25-19 lead by halftime. Pillow led 43-30 after the third quarter.
Avery Howard led Pillow with 17 points, seven rebounds, six steals, four assists and blocked two shots.
Alanna Hodo had 16 points, six rebounds and four steals, and Elise Howard had nine points, five rebounds and four steals. Karle Aldridge tacked on nine points, six rebounds and two steals.
In one other first-round girls game Tuesday, Heritage beat Lamar School 54-36. Heritage will play the Simpson-Starkville winner Friday at 5:15 p.m. in the semis.
-J.Z. George: The Jaguars pulled off the mild upset as the No. 5 seed as they beat No. 4 seed Bruce High School 78-55 in the Region 4-2A Tournament Tuesday at Calhoun City.
The Jaguars (5-16) will play top-seeded East Webster Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the semifinals. The boys consolation and championship games are Friday at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. The top four teams advance to the State 2A Tournament next week.
J.Z. George and Bruce both scored 14 points each in the first quarter. The Jags began pulling away in the second quarter as they outscored the Trojans 23-9 for a 37-23 lead at the half. A 33-20 explosion in the third period gave J.Z. George a 70-43 lead headed to the final period.
B.J. Green led the Jags with 19 points. Deshawn Hemmingway had 14, and Rodney Catron and Nehemiah Williams had 12 points each.
-Leflore County: The Tigers and Lady Tigers were both eliminated from the Region 3-2A Tournament at Riverside High School Tuesday.
The boys dropped a 56-51 decision to O’Bannon to end their season at 6-16. Leflore led 25-15 at the half but the Greenwaves went in front 36-33 by the end of the third.
Ladarius Pleasants led the Tigers with 11 points, and Keveunte Parker and Sandford Parker had nine points each. D’Arnez Bell tallied eight points.
The girls closed out their season with a 29-6 loss to Coahoma County. Coahoma led 8-0 after the first, 10-4 at the half and 20-4 after the third.
Jakyrra Sandifer had seven rebounds, and Autumn Howard had six boards for Leflore. Antionette Holston had two points and four rebounds.
-Contact Calvin Stevens at 662-581-7234 or cstevens@gwcommonwealth.com.
