MERIDIAN &045; The way things have been going for the ACCS Rebels, driving three hours is a small price to pay for a district win.

The Rebels went out to Meridian Saturday and hammered Lamar, 67-46, to notch their second 3-AAA win so far. The win may have felt plenty good after playing well at times against earlier foes but coming up short at the end.

&uot;That’s a big conference win for us,&uot; AC head coach Ricky Gray said. &uot;We needed one of those. When you play AAA ball and don’t play well, you’re going to get beat. We’ve played well but not good enough to win. We’re trying to get four good quality quarters. Tonight we had three good quarters.&uot;

The Rebels (12-6, 2-5) did their best after the first quarter when the Raiders &045; who started the game on a 9-0 run &045; held a 13-8 lead. From there ACCS went to the press and took advantage of its matchup at the guard position to manufacture points.

The Rebels rallied for a 22-11 edge in the second to lead 30-24 at halftime. Then in the third they came with the knockout punch, a 26-8 surge, to lead 56-32 heading into the fourth quarter.

&uot;We played real sloppy early,&uot; Gray said. &uot;They’re huge &045; 6-7, 6-5 and 6-5. They killed us on the boards in the first quarter. We turned it over a lot. I think their size was a little intimidating. Once we got our press set, we took over. We had an advantage there (at guard). Once we got up and down the floor, the game changed our way.&uot;

Beau Brashier led AC with 18 points, while Luke Ogden had 17. Austin Roebuck led Lamar with 10 points.

ACCS girls 58, Lamar 21

MERIDIAN &045; This much is certain &045; the Lady Rebels are hoping to get back to being defensive.

That was their biggest weapon Thursday at Amite, and they came back with a big win Saturday at Lamar to stay close in the District 3-AAA race.

&uot;Overall I thought we played really well,&uot; AC head coach Bruce Pickle said. &uot;Hopefully we can keep it going when we get Copiah Tuesday, which is another important game. This was a big game, too, as far as seeding for the district tournament. Our goal is to get to the state tournament. We’ve got to just keep improving.&uot;

The Lady Rebels (13-8, 2-5) held a 27-14 lead before putting the game away in the third quarter with a 22-3 run for a 49-17 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Lady Raiders cut the lead to six at one point in the second quarter before AC put a run together for the 13-point halftime lead.

Meghan Marchbanks led AC with 16 points, and Amy Mardis had 10.

Trinity boys 74, Centreville 43

NATCHEZ &045; The Saints (18-4) did what they’ve done in recent weeks &045; explode early, empty the bench late and get out with an easy win.

Trinity led 30-6 by the end of the first quarter, used a 24-8 run in the second to lead 54-14 at half and

pulled its starters for the second half against the Tigers.

Centreville trimmed the lead in the second half with a 15-11 edge in the third and a 20-8 run in the fourth.

Trinity’s top scorers were Dudley Guice Jr. with 18 and Chase Brown with 17. Jamie Watts led Centreville with 21.

Centreville girls 74, Trinity 43

NATCHEZ &045; Things were going well early for the young Lady Saints, who trailed by just seven at halftime and was closer than that earlier in the second quarter.

Then the Lady Tigers (10-5) went to their inside game of Jenae Jackson, who finished with 28 points, to help take the convincing win.

Centreville outscored Trinity 24-11 in the third quarter to lead 56-36 heading into the fourth quarter.

Centreville guard Jenny Watts led all scorers with 30 points, while teammate Anna Goudeau had 12.

Sierra Massey had 19 points, while Mallory Archer had 12 to lead Trinity (6-13).