Basketball Roundup: East Prairie boys, Portageville girls win

East Prairie defeated Hayti 66-65 in the opening round of the Gideon Bulldogs Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 28.

The fourth-seeded Eagles (1-0) held on to secure the victory despite the Indians’ (0-1) late-game comeback attempt.

“We’re happy to come out with the victory,” said East Prairie coach Gary Scott. “We have to be better down the stretch in taking care of the ball and making free throws. I’m proud of our guys for hanging on. Hayti is a scrappy team. They were relentless. Credit to them for getting back in it.”

East Prairie will face top-seeded Caruthersville (1-0) in a semifinal at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30.

__PORTAGEVILLE BEATS SOUTH PEMISCOT IN AL JACKSON CLASSIC__

The Portageville girls’ basketball team opened its season with a 59-25 win over South Pemiscot on Tuesday, Nov. 29.

“It was an overall good game for us,” said Portageville coach Kellye Fowler. “We executed our game plan well and gave great effort. We started a little slow. It just took us a few minutes to knock the dust off and get back in the groove of things. Once we did a lot of good things happened. It’s nice to have that first win under our belt and have a better idea of what we need to improve on moving forward.”

Portageville will face Hayti (2-1) in a semifinal on Thursday, Nov. 30.

__EAST PRAIRIE 66, HAYTI 65__

Hayti 14 7 21 23 — 65

E. Prairie 10 24 11 21 — 66

Hayti (65) — Isaiah Love 18, Prince Black 15, Jeremy Alexander 9, Dwayne Grant 9, Arnez James 6, Jahiem Dunn 6, Rodquan Jones 2. FG: 27. FT: 7-16. F: 20. (3-pointers: Alexander 3, Grant 2, Love 1. Fouled out: James, Love).

East Prairie (66) — Connor Marcum 20, Noah Johnson 16, Evan Kennedy 14, Kamron Farmer 8, Ty Wallace 6, Tavion Ware 2. FG: 29. FT: 7-19. F: 15. (3-pointers: Marcum 1. Fouled out: none).

__PORTAGEVILLE 59, SOUTH PEMISCOT 25__

S. Pemiscot 7 2 8 8 — 25

Portageville 22 12 14 11 — 59

South Pemiscot (25) — Ta’Kylah 11, Mataiya Phillips 10, Ayleighonna 2, Maleah Duckworth 22. FG: 12. FT: 1-2. F: 11. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none).

Portageville (59) — Jayla Weddington 20, Ja’Niyah Smith 13, Laney Stone 12, Taryn Irby 7, Aubrey Greenwell 3, Glo Farmer 2, Lily Beth Priggel 2. FG: 25. FT: 6-12. F: 9. (3-pointers: Stone 2, Irby 1. Fouled out: none).