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Cathedral senior Hailey Ellis goes up for two as Adams County Christian's Haydel defends. Ellis scored eight points. (Courtesy Bill Barksdale)

Adams County Christian senior Vic Lassiter dunks for two of his game high 22 points in a 73-46 victory over Cathedral Tuesday night. (Courtesy Bill Barksdale)

After knocking the ball loose from Cathedral's Cate Drane, Adams County's Cassi Haydel scrambles to obtain possession and prevent a shot from Cathedral's highest scorer for the night. Drane had 13 points in a 27-22 district win over ACCS Tuesday night. (Courtesy Bill Barksdale)

Adams County's Josh Credit elevates for a basket as JT Taylor, Jordan Henry, and Kaden Batieste defend. (Patrick Murphy, The Natchez Democrat)

Cathedral's Madeline Smith drives into the paint against Adams County's Maliyah Boyd Tuesday night at ACCS. Boyd was the highest Rebel scorer on the night with 11 points. (Courtesy Bill Barksdale)

Adams County JD Granger takes advantage of a Green Wave turnover for a basket. Granger had fifteen of the 73 points the Rebels earned on their 73-46 victory over Cathedral Tuesday night. (Courtesy Bill Barksdale)

Former Adams County Christian School Lady Rebels Head basketball Coach Melanie Hall stepped down ahead of next season after she coached for 32 years in Natchez. (Courtesy Bill Barksdale)

Cathedral Lady Green Wave Head Coach Bernita Dunbar (Courtesy Bill Barksdale)

By Bill Barksdale

Special to The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Firing on all cylinders, Adams County Christian senior Vic Lassiter made quick work of Cathedral’s defense, scoring 22 points Tuesday night at ACCS and contributing to an Adams County Christian 73-46 victory over Cathedral.

“My teammates deserve the credit for lifting me up through my mistakes,” Lassiter said. “They just kept encouraging me. I was able to put up 22 points because I’ve been practicing in the gym everyday with nobody watching me. Plus, I played in memory of Kobe Bryant, a hero of mine.

“I remember the first time I saw Kobe dunk, so I was happy I could get one tonight.”

In the game, Lassiter made a crowd-pleasing dunk. Lassiter stands at 6 feet tall but his vertical leap easily covers the distance to the goal.

Lassiter combined with JD Granger and Wes Stockstill who each scored fifteen points for ACCS in a crushing district win. The Rebels took advantage of multiple Cathedral turnovers and a low percentage of Green Wave shots.

ACCS Head Coach Matthew Freeman said the Rebels started off a little slow because of the pressure of the game.

“Playing a rival team in front of a big crowd and all their friends,” Freeman said. “But I love the attitude and energy the guys brought to every minute of the game. We made some runs that really sparked the team and gave us momentum for a strong finish.”

Though the Green Wave scored two more points in the third quarter than the Rebels, they were never able to change the momentum. Taylor Strahan, Cathedral head coach, said the Green Wave are doing better.

“We’ve got to put in a lot more practice time on shooting,” Strahan said. “We aren’t getting any clean looks, we continue to take bad shots and we lack patience.”

The Rebels will host Brookhaven Academy at 7 p.m. today. Meanwhile, the Green Wave will host Silliman Institute at 7 p.m. today.

Cathedral Varsity Girls 27,

ACCS 22

NATCHEZ — The Cathedral varsity girls’ basketball team entered the Adams County Christian School gym as an underdog. But Cathedral came away with their first district win of the season, defeating ACCS, 27-22.

Cathedral has struggled all season to make shots, free throws and limit turnovers. The win comes in part from good coaching by Bernita Dunbar. Not only has Dunbar been encouraging each individual player through a tough season, she gave the girls confidence in the dressing room and told the Lady Green Wave: “just go out there, have fun and don’t worry.”

“I was very, very proud of them tonight and couldn’t ask for anything more,” Dunbar said. “ If we can come out with that same energy and confidence (tonight), then we will be in good shape.”

Senior Hailey Ellis led the Green Wave as point guard and often found Cate Drane for the open shot. Drane led the team with 13 points, followed by Ellis with eight points.

The Lady Rebels next game is today at 6 p.m. home against Brookhaven Academy.

The next game for the Lady Green Wave is today 6 p.m. at home against Silliman Institute.

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