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NATCHEZ — Copiah Academy’s game plan was simple — stop Adams County Christian School junior point guard Landon McGuire. However, that strategy turned out to be much harder than the Colonels expected.

In a pivotal MAIS District 4-5A game for both teams, McGuire had a huge game with a game-high 28 points and fellow junior Braxton Hunt came through for ACCS with 12 points as the Rebels defeated the Copiah Academy Colonels 59-45 last Tuesday night.

The third quarter proved to be the turning point in the ball game. ACCS was trailing Copiah Academy 24-23 at halftime before the Rebels cranked up the defensive pressure as they went on to outscore the Colonels 16-7 for a 39-31 lead.

The Rebels finished off the Colonels by putting up 20 points in the fourth quarter while holding the Colonels to 14 points to remain undefeated in district play.

“Landon McGuire, their game plan was to stop him. He had a big game for us (Tuesday) night. He dictated the flow of the game at the point guard,” ACCS head coach Matthew Freeman said. “He hit some big shots for us when we needed it.”

Freeman added that he was pleased to see Hunt contribute in a big way offensively with senior Tyson Young being held to just three points.

“Braxton stepped up for us and scored in double digit for us for the first time this year in a big district game, a must-win game,” Freeman said. “Tyson does so much stuff on the defensive end. He didn’t have a good offensive game, but he did a good job rebounding and playing defense down low. He was more of a facilitator (Tuesday) night on offense.”

Another player for ACCS who stepped up offensively was senior Charles Brooks, who contributed with eight points. Jamarius Grayer led Copiah Academy with 23 points, but he was the only player for the Colonels to score in double figures.

The Rebels improved to 13-1 overall and 3-0 in District 4-5A. They stepped out of district and traveled to St. Joseph, La. to take on Tensas Academy at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Then they return home and back to district play to face off with district newcomer Providence Classical Academy of Bossier City, La. at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Copiah Academy girls 55, ACCS 19

NATCHEZ — Copiah Academy senior shooting guard/small forward Charley Grace Davis scored almost as many points by herself as Adams County Christian had as a team as she led the Lady Colonels to a 55-19 win over the Lady Rebels in an MAIS District 4-5A game last Tuesday night.

Davis finished with a game-high 18 points and Stella Roberts finished with 10 points to lead Copiah Academy in scoring. The Lady Colonels dominated the action on both ends of the court in the first half as they jumped out to a 23-2 lead over ACCS by the end of the first quarter and then outscored the Lady Rebels 19-2 in the second quarter for a commanding 42-4 halftime lead.

With the starters on the bench for much of the second half, the Lady Rebels were more competitive. They were only outscored by the Lady Colonels 8-6 in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, ACCS managed to outscore Copiah Academy 9-5.

Maddie Donaldson and Reagan Rabb led ACCS with four points each while D’Kiyah Davis was held to just three points. 

The Lady Rebels fell to 4-10 overall and 1-2 in district play. They next played at Tensas Academy at 6 p.m. Thursday in a non-district play before returning to district action at 6 p.m. Friday when they play host to district newcomer Providence Classical Academy.