FERRIDAY, La. – With only eight players, two seniors and several football players with little practice time on the court, Adams County Christian School coach Paul Hayles knew it would take a few games for his team to gel.

It took three.

The Rebels (1-2) won their first game of the season Tuesday, defeating Huntington 55-44 in Ferriday.

&uot;It’s good to get that first win under our belt,&uot; said junior Ty Smith, who led the team with 23 points. Smith was also a force on defense with 18 rebounds, three steals and three blocks.

&uot;Huntington is a very good team,&uot; Hayles said. &uot;We’re very pleased to walk out of here with a win.&uot;

Huntington (1-3) took a 5-4 lead early in the first quarter and didn’t relinquish it until only six minutes remained in the game. When Smith’s two free throws gave the Rebels a 42-40 lead however, they never looked back.

Trey Mardis scored 16 for ACCS and Garrett Gamberi had nine points and 13 rebounds.

Huntington spread its points around, with Randy Hinson scoring a team-high nine points, and Josh Johns and Patrick Clayton each scoring seven.

ACCS’s junior-varsity team won easily, defeating the Hounds 56-20.

Lady Hounds 55, Lady Rebels 31

The Huntington Lady Hounds answered a 21-14 halftime deficit with a 23-2 run in the third and fourth quarters Tuesday to defeat the ACCS Lady Rebels 55-31.

Tessa Tauton scored 19 second-half points to lead Huntington with 25 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

&uot;Tessa rarely scores a lot of points, but we needed her to tonight,&uot; Huntington coach Penny Moak said.

&uot;That’s the good thing about this team. It seems like it’s different ones in each game that step up. When someone is down, someone else can step in and play well.&uot;

Emily Hazlip had another solid game for the Lady Hounds (3-1) with 16 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and a block.

Holli Hankins led the Lady Rebels (1-4) in scoring with eight points, although they all came in the first half.

The Huntington junior-varsity Lady Hounds edged the Lady Rebels 28-26 in double-overtime. Erin Hedrick scored 16 for Huntington.

Huntington’s varsity teams travel to Winnsboro today to play in the Franklin Tournament.

ACCS next plays Thursday at home versus Central Hinds Academy.