GRENADA — Trinity Episcopal got some unexpected offense from Parker Brumfield as he connected on three three-pointers and finished with 12 points as the Saints defeated the Canton Academy Panthers 60-44 Tuesday afternoon.

With the win, Trinity Episcopal improved to 26-6 overall and advanced to the semifinals of the MPSA Class AA State Tournament being hosted by Kirk Academy and will take on the winner of today’s game between Columbia Academy and Kirk Academy Friday at 7:15 p.m.

As one of the four remaining teams in the boy’s bracket, the Saints also advanced to next week’s Overall Tournament, which will take place on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton.

Trinity, the South State champion, didn’t exactly get off to a good start against a Panthers team that played much better than their fourth-place finish at the Class AA North State Tournament would have indicated. The Saints were sluggish on both ends of the court in the first quarter and found themselves trailing 17-11.

But the Saints relied on what got them this far — defense. They forced numerous turnovers which led to easy lay-ups and they got some timely shots not only from Brumfield, but also from Brandon Daggs and Matthew Freeman. The Saints outscored the Panthers 21-8 in the second quarter and took a 32-25 halftime lead. Daggs led Trinity with 19 points and Freeman added 11 points.

Even though Canton Academy tried to stay with Trinity in the second half, the Panthers could not get over the hump. Davin Riebock led the Panthers with a game-high 20 points while Mason Canoy and Micahel Jerome had 11 points.

Jefferson County 89, Purvis 57

FAYETTE — Percy Turner and Kadon Day led a balanced scoring attack with 22 points each as the Tigers defeated the Tornadoes in the first round of the Class 3A South State playoffs.

With the win, Region 7-3A champion Jefferson County (23-10) advanced to the 3A Boys’ South State Tournament in Columbia and will take on the winner of the Southeast Lauderdale/Hazlehurst game Thursday at 7 p.m.

“It was a very good game to get over the hump. Tonight our defense stepped up,” Tigers head coach Marcus Walton said. “That set up our transition game. Our defense was able to change the momentum. They jelled at the right time and they’re believing in their defense.”

The one player the Tigers couldn’t contain was 6-7 Micah Jordan, who led all scorers with 35 points. However, Jordan didn’t get a lot of help from his teammates.

“He takes up a lot of space. Scored good around the basket. Hit a couple of threes. He’s a good player,” Walton said. “We stopped a lot of their other players.”

Jefferson County also contributions on the offensive end from Davion Noble, Trelvillion Gaines and Jeffrey Collins, who scored nine, nine and eight points, respectively.

“We’ve been able to have a balanced attack and get some easy baskets,” Walton said.

Pass Christian 86, Wilkinson County 48

PASS CHRISTIAN — Willis Brownlee and Eric Dawkins scored 22 points each as the Pirates defeated the Wildcats Tuesday night in the first round of the Class 3A South State playoffs.

Pass Christian, the Region 8-3A champion, jumped out to a 23-12 lead over the Wildcats, the Region 7-3A No. 4 seed, and never looked back from there. Blake Evans added 11 points and Demetrius Lee chipped in with 10 points for Pass Christian, which will take on the winner of the Heidelberg-Raymond game Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in the 3A Boys’ South State Tournament at Columbia.

Greene County 38, Franklin County 37

MEADVILLE — The Wildcats, the Region 8-3A No. 3 seed, held on for a big win over the Region 7-3A runner-up Bulldogs Tuesday night and will take on the winner of the Collins-Morton game Thursday at 4 p.m. in the 3A Boys’ South State Tournament at Columbia. No other information on the game was available as of press time.

Brandon 60, Natchez High 59

BRANDON — Things looked good for Natchez High as the visiting Bulldogs had a 20-3 lead over the host Bulldogs at the end of the first quarter of their Class 5A South State first-round game.

Unfortunately, Natchez High couldn’t sustain that momentum for the remainder of the game and Brandon took advantage in an amazing come-from-behind win Tuesday night.

Even though Division 6-5A runner Natchez High was outscored a combined 39-25 in the middle quarters of the game, it still had a three-point lead by the end of the third quarter. But Brandon, the Division 5-5A champion, won the game with an 18-14 advantage in the fourth quarter and advanced to the 5A South State Tournament.

James Reed led Natchez High (15-14) with a game-high 20 points while Kendall Logan and Deshawn Griggs scored 16 points each. T. Adams led Brandon with 18 points and D. Evans chipped in with 14 points.

Vidalia 85, Epps 71

EPPS, La. — The regular-season finale for Vidalia and Epps turned out to be a high-scoring game as the Vikings used a big first quarter to defeat the Panthers Tuesday night.

Vidalia, the District 3-3A champion, jumped out to a 25-13 lead over Epps and then kept its double-digit lead throughout the remainder of the game. By halftime the Vikings led the Panthers 48-33.

Gary Stewart led Vidalia (23-7) with a game-high 25 points and Jeremy Randall had 18 points. Epps was led by Percy Bell with 22 points and Reggie Clark with 16 points.