FLOWOOD — Both Pillow Academy basketball teams entered the State AAAA Tournament hopeful for upset wins to keep their seasons alive.
The Lady Mustangs almost pulled it off if not for a dreadfull fourth quarter. Jackson Prep outscored them 21-5 in the final eight minutes to rally for a 43-33 victory Tuesday night at Prep.
“We missed some easy shots that really hurt us. We played well and did what we needed to do on defense but just really struggled to score in the second half,” PA coach Durwin Carpenter said. “I am really proud of the way our girls played. They came out determined to win against a team that had our number in the regular season and gave themselves a chance to win.”
The Pillow boys faced a much tougher first-round obstacle in top-ranked Madison-Ridgeland Academy. Things looked good early for the heavily outmanned Mustangs, who led 12-9 at the end of the first.
But it was all MRA from there as the Patriots ran out to a 43-20 halftime lead and rolled to a 71-34 victory to end the Mustangs’ season at 12-a15.
It was the final game for three PA seniors: Will Jennings, Bailey Mangrum and Clayton Harper. Jennings was the lone Mustang in double figures with 13 points.
“I give a lot of credit to our seniors this year. We made tremendous improvement from start to finish, probably the most I have seen from a team I have coached, and a lot of that is because of those guys,” PA coach Russ Whiteside said. “We struggled a lot early, and there were a lot of times where those guys stepped up and kept everybody going.”
MRA (28-3), which hasn’t lost to an MAIS school this season, advances to Friday’s semifinals to face Jackson Prep, which beat Hillcrest Christian 55-53 on Tuesday.
In the girls game, Pillow trailed 10-9 at the end of the first after being up twice in the first eight minutes of play — both times on buckets by senior Abby Bailey.
The Lady Mustangs then outscored Prep 12-2 for a 21-12 halftime lead. Senior Lane Colquett had a three-point play that gave PA a 16-12 advantage, followed by a basket from Bailey.
Senior Callie Lane Lyon hit a 3-pointer off an assist from freshman Jane Rob Pannell with 57 seconds left to make it 21-12.
Pannell hit a 3-pointer late in the third to put the Lady Mustangs up 28-22 heading into the fourth.
Prep took the lead for good at 34-31 with 2:29 to play on a trey by Clayton Noblin. The Lady Mustangs never got closer than three points the rest of the way as the Lady Patriots iced the game at the free throw line.
Bailey led the Lady Mustangs with 13 points and six rebounds, while Lyon dished out six assists to go with seven points and four rebounds.
Lane Colquett pulled down a team-high 10 boards to go with six points.
For the Lady Mustangs, who finish the year at 17-13, it was the last game for seniors Bailey, Lyon, Lane Colquett, Helen Colquett and Dayjounque Wilson.
“It’s a great group of seniors who will be truly missed,” Carpenter said.
Prep (22-8) advances to Friday’s semifinals.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
