NATCHEZ — James Coley scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and R.J. Givens poured in 13 points as the Cathedral Green Wave routed the St. Aloysius Flashes 71-44 Tuesday night in an MHSAA Division 7-1A game.

Cathedral trailed St. Aloysius 7-0 early in the game, but ended the first quarter on a 10-5 run to trail by only two points. From the second quarter to the final buzzer, the Green Wave dominated the rival Flashes on both ends of the court.

“It was senior night. We started our five seniors. We got off to a sluggish start,” Green Wave head coach Peter Arnold said. “We were able to right the ship early in the second quarter. We didn’t miss a beat from the second quarter on.”

Cathedral outscored St. Aloysius 21-10 in the momentum-changing second quarter that gave the Green Wave a 31-22 halftime lead. The Green Wave had a letdown offensively in the third quarter, but its defense continued to put the pressure on the Flashes and by the time the quarter was over, Cathedral had a 45-31 advantage.

The Green Wave did not let up in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, when it led by as much as 25 points and cruised to the 27-point victory. Wyatt Boothe added nine points, William Doss had eight points, and Jardarius Anderson and Alex Weadock contributed with seven points each.

“We played good defense. When you can do that, you’ll have the chance to win the game,” Arnold said. “We’re feeding the big guys when they’re open. It’s good team basketball. Nobody is concerned about how many (points) they score. Everybody’s unselfish on offense. The guards are doing their part and taking care of the ball and feeding the big guys when they’re wide open.”

Connor Smith led St. Aloysius with 15 points, but he was the only player for the Flashes to score in double figures. The next high scorer for them was Drake Dorbeck with nine points.

With the win, Cathedral improved to 9-9 overall and clinched the No. 2 seed for the Division 7-1A Tournament with a 7-3 division record. The Green Wave will take on No. 3 seed and tournament host St. Aloysius Thursday at a time to be determined.

“This will be the fourth meeting between us and the third one up there. It’ll be a huge game,” Arnold said.

Riverdale Academy 66, Trinity Episcopal 52

HAYNESVILLE, La. — Chris Percival led Riverdale Academy with a game-high 26 points as the Rebels defeated the Trinity Episcopal Saints 66-52 Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the MAIS Class A South State Tournament at Claiborne Academy.

Ty Hester finished with 17 points and Hogan Nealy added 10 points for Riverdale Academy (17-7), the No. 3 seed out of District 8-A.

The Rebels took control of the game early and had an 18-8 lead over Trinity Episcopal, the No. 2 seed from District 7-A, at the end of the first quarter. The Saints’ offensive woes continued in the second quarter and went into halftime down 34-19.

The Saints picked up the pace offensively in the second half, but the Rebels almost matched point for point with them to ensure the stunning upset victory.

David Jackson scored 15 points and Kevontaye Caston had 10 points while Jakarius Caston was held to just six points for Trinity Episcopal, which saw its season come to an end with a 9-9 overall record.

Jefferson County 62, Wilkinson County 59

FAYETTE — Even though Jefferson County High School had just one player score in double figures, the Tigers had more balanced scoring than Wilkinson County High School did and that proved to be huge in the Tigers’ 62-59 win over the Wildcats in MHSAA Division 7-3A action Tuesday night.

Christian Day led Jefferson County with 21 points while Akeem Williams and Keshawn Brinkley chipped in with eight points each and Jeffrey Mims added seven points. The Tigers led Wilkinson County 13-8 after one quarter of play and 31-25 at halftime.

The Wildcats’ duo of Travion Jones and Ja’Quorias Stewart tried to help get them back in the game in the second half, but it was not meant to be. Jones led all scorers with 29 points and Stewart finished with 12 points.

Wilkinson County outscored Jefferson County 14-11 in the third quarter, but unfortunately for the Wildcats both they and the Tigers put up 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Wilkinson County (8-14, 3-6) next plays at Wesson on Friday night. Jefferson County (8-12, 5-4) will also be on the road Friday night when it visits Franklin County.

Marksville 59, Vidalia 49

MARKSVILLE, La. — The Vidalia High School Vikings got off to a good start, but they were not able to sustain that momentum as they lost to the Marksville High School Tigers 59-49 in an LHSAA District 3-3A game Tuesday night.

Vidalia led Marksville 19-15 at the end of the first quarter, but the Tigers outscored the Vikings 15-11 in the second quarter to make it a 30-30 game at halftime. The third quarter was almost a carbon cop of the second quarter as Marksville controlled the action and put up 16 points while Vidalia managed just 12 points to make it a 46-42 game in the Tigers’ favor.

Diontray Bonton led the Tigers with 15 points while both Deondre and Jordan Pierite had nine points each.

Then it actually got worse for the Vikings as they were held to just seven points in the fourth quarter, ending any thoughts of a possible comeback. Malik Jefferson led them with a game-high 16 points while Overton Lewis had 10 points and Julius Wilson added eight points.

Vidalia (13-11, 4-4) plays host to Buckeye at 6 p.m. Friday.