The Pascagoula Panthers’ winning streak and quest for a state basketball championship came to a disappointing end Wednesday night in Jackson at the hands of the defensive-minded Ridgeland Titans, who prevailed 48-42.
The loss in the Class 6A semifinals at the Mississippi Coliseum snapped Pascagoula’s winning streak at 29 games and left the Panthers with an impressive 29-2 record but with a big hole in their hearts.
“We lost our first game and we lost our last,” Pascagoula coach Lorenzo Wright said.
He gave credit to Ridgeland (24-9) for taking the Panthers out of their aggressive style of play.
“All credit goes to Ridgeland,” Wright said. “They made the plays and we didn’t. Their zone gave us problems and slowed us down. We couldn’t get our rhythm. Give them credit.”
Ridgeland will play Olive Branch for the 6A title Saturday night. Olive Branch upset Terry 70-68 on a 3-point basket at the buzzer on Wednesday.
Pascagoula built its winning streak with an aggressive defense that fueled its offense. Most teams struggled to get the ball up court all season, and in their haste to beat the Panthers’ pressure, turned the ball over and took bad shots.
But Ridgeland was patient and took advantage of opportunities with numerous wide-open baskets.
“Usually our defense feeds our offense and gives us transition points, but we just couldn’t get into it going tonight,” Wright said.
The Panthers had fewer turnovers, 20-12, but they were not able to convert the chances. The big difference came in shooting percentage, where Olive Branch outperformed Pascagoula 47 percent to 34.
“We struggled to shoot the ball in the Coliseum all night,” Wright said. “We missed easy buckets early. Missed a lot of layups. We had good looks but didn’t make them. We kind of rushed things a little.”
Wright said he told his team to hold their heads up.
“We fell short of our goal tonight,” Wright said. “Twenty-nine in a row is a great season. Everybody wants to win the trophy, but only one team can, and tonight it wasn’t our night.”
Pascagoula led after each of the first three quarters—16-12 after one, 20-16 at halftime, and 29-28 after three. But in the fourth quarter, Ridgeland took control and outscored Pascagoula 8-2 to open the quarter with three easy baskets inside and a short jumper.
Pascagoula fought back from a 36-33 deficit to tie the game at 40 with just over two minutes remaining on a long-range 3-pointer from Class 6A Player of the Year Dorian McMillian, who had an off-night shooting but led the Panthers with 17 points.
The free-throw shooting put the Titans ahead for good as they made eight of nine down the stretch to vanquish the Panthers’ dream of a state title.
Stevent Watkins led Ridgeland with 18 points and Phil Nelson and Ebo Wilson netted 10 apiece.
Pascagoula last played for a state basketball title in 1977 when the Panthers of the late Tom McKiernon lost to Florence, which was led by future Mississippi State guard Greg Grim.