NATCHEZ — The Terry High School boys basketball team deserved to win Friday night.

That was Natchez High School boys assistant coach David Haywood’s assessment of his team’s 68-45 loss at the hands of the visiting Bulldogs.

“They attacked us and made layups, and the few times we did attack and not settle, we didn’t (make layups),” Haywood said.

“They made free throws and we didn’t. We just have to continue to get better each day, come to practice, get more reps in and have a better showing next time we step onto the court.”

Natchez High fell behind quickly in the first quarter and didn’t even get on the scoreboard until 2:33 left in the first on a layup by Dearius Griffin.

The hometown Bulldogs trailed 15-5 after the first quarter and went into the half down 25-14. NHS then proceeded to give up 21 and 22 points in the final two quarters of play, while the offense continued to struggle.

“We had poor shot selection, which comes from our lack of mental toughness tonight,” Haywood said. “It was much easier to shoot 30-footers than actually putting some pressure on Terry and trying to penetrate them.

“We took the easy road, and sometimes the easy road leads to a dead end.”

Dearius Griffin led in scoring with 12 points for NHS. Bryce Perry scored 11 points for Terry, while Dontarrius Moore added 10 points for the visiting Bulldogs.

NHS (6-6) will now head to the Hardwood Tournament in Gulfport, which begins Dec. 27.

“We don’t have time to hang our heads,” Haywood said. “We have to get better right now. They have some great athletes and great teams, so it’s going to take our best effort so far this year, mentally and physically, to be in the games down there.”

NHS girls 49, Terry 26

A stifling defense and a strong inside game paved the way for an easy win for the NHS girls against Terry.

Post player Zyaire Ewing tallied 15 points for the hometown Lady Bulldogs while pulling down five rebounds, and NHS girls head coach Alphaka Moore said the offense went through Ewing and Rashonae Rice.

“We always want to play to our advantage, and tonight she was our advantage in the post,” Moore said of Ewing. “Her height and (Rice’s) strength were both an advantage. When one missed, the other was there to take it.”

Kiana Jones added 11 points for the hometown Lady Bulldogs, who led 26-11 at the half.

Moore said she saw glimpses of what her team would be capable of doing later on down the road with their strong play. The only downside, she said, was a sluggish end to the second quarter, which carried over into the third quarter.

“I could see it on their faces, they just kind of got out of it,” Moore said. “That’s when we had to go back to playing our game.”

NHS (11-1) will play in the Hardwood Tournament starting Dec. 27 in Gulfport.