The Poplarville boys’ basketball team held off a late rally to defeat Purvis, while the Lady Hornets fell to the Lady Tornadoes in Tuesday night’s games at the Marvin R. White Coliseum on the Pearl River Community College campus.

The Hornets improved to 7-1 on the season with their victory. After trading baskets with Purvis throughout the evening, Poplarville trailed 33-32 with a little time remaining in the third.

The Hornets then ignited an 18-6 scoring run that gave them an 11-point lead in the middle of the fourth quarter. The game looked to be over until Purvis drained five 3-pointers over the course of a few minutes to cut in the Poplarville lead. Purvis guards David Davis and Cornelius Bolar each sank two threes in the fourth quarter. The score was 53-50 with two minutes to play when Poplarville took a timeout to slow down the Purvis attack.

Out of the timeout, junior guard Dekevian Coleman scored to extend the Poplarville lead. After forcing a stop, junior guard Zack Taylor scored to make the score 57-50.

Sophomore forward Tyler Griffin hit 4 of 4 free throws down the stretch to hold the lead and secure the victory for Poplarville with a final score of 61-57.

Poplarville Head Coach Chareck Cable said he was happy with his team’s balanced attack late in the game and excited to be 7-1. Cable gave credit to Purvis and said he appreciated the hospitality of PRCC for hosting the game on their home court.

The Lady Hornets went cold at the wrong time in their match-up against Purvis. Despite holding a lead for the majority of the first three quarters of the game, the Poplarville girls were outscored 10-2 in the final quarter and lost by the final score of 30-23.

With 4:29 remaining in the fourth quarter, Purvis junior forward India McGinty sank two free throws to give the Lady Tornadoes a lead that they would not lose again. McGinty finished with six points in the final quarter and shot 5 of 6 from the free throw line down the stretch.

Purvis senior guard Samantha Sattler also had a great game, scoring seven straight points in the third quarter to keep the Lady Tornadoes in the game.

Lady Hornets Head Coach Deatra Robinson-Caboe said that while it was a tough loss, she’s impressed with how hard her girls are working.

“We’re very young and we’re getting so much better,” said Robinson-Caboe, “It’s all about growth for us. We’re not counting success on wins and losses.”

The Poplarville boys and girls teams are on break for the Christmas holidays and will host Picayune at home on December 27.