NATCHEZ — Natchez High may not have matched Ferriday’s size Tuesday night, but the Bulldogs more than matched the Trojans’ fight.

Natchez and Ferriday played three quarters of a close game before the Bulldogs took a definitive lead for a 60-43 win at home.

And it was a collective effort both on the floor and crashing the boards that led Natchez to the victory.

“We’re small, so I have to send all five guys and make sure we’re all trying to rebound,” said Natchez coach Haywood Thomas. “We don’t have the luxury of 6(-foot)-9(inch) guys to rebound the outlet so our guards have to get in there and rebound.”

And rebound they did. The Bulldogs scored 8 points on putbacks and another 13 came off defensive rebounds.

Ferriday’s main troublemakers, Demarco Lewis and Carlton Robinson, scored 21 and 10 points respectively, but no other Trojan reached double figures.

Haywood attributed that to quick moves on both sides of the ball.

“We’re undersized inside so we try to use our quickness to benefit us,” he said.

Natchez trailed by one at the end of the first quarter, but after trading shots to start the second quarter, the Bulldogs began to take control of the game.

Lewis missed an and-one shot for Ferriday, but James Reed sunk his three-point play for Natchez to get the run started. The Bulldogs then reached the foul line three times to end the half, sinking four free throws to go take a 31-27 lead at halftime.

The third and fourth quarters, however, are where the Bulldogs really began to shine. Taking a 9-point lead going into the final eight minutes, Brandon Holden scored on a putback to stretch the lead to double digits.

Javon Washington then stole the ball and scored on a fast break, and Reed put up two points on the next possession after Ferriday missed its shot.

“It was just a continuous effort throughout the game,” Thomas said. “It was close through the majority of the game, but we just kept pushing and kept pushing to get as much out of our guys as we could.

“They responded by playing hard and causing turnovers. We started making a few more shots in the second half to put us in control of the game.”

Natchez went on a 10-2 run in the middle of the fourth quarter to seal the win, and the Bulldogs also forced 12 Trojan turnovers in the game.

Holden put up 19 points for Natchez, and Reed added 14.

“He gives us some kind of offensive presence inside, although he’s really a guard playing the post position,” Thomas said.”

Ferriday girls 74, Natchez 38

What started out as a decent effort for the Lady Bulldogs turned into a second-half disaster against the Lady Trojans.

Natchez was only down 10 points at halftime but quickly saw that deficit grow, as the Lady Bulldogs scored 7 third-quarter points to Ferriday’s 23.

“I’m more pleased with the first half than I am with the second half,” said Natchez coach Sue Johnson. “I feel like we just gave up in the second half. They just flat gave up.

“I’m very disappointed because I know were better than that. I feel like they didn’t give it their best.”

Two key Natchez players, Alia Frank and Keosha Bradley, were out for the game, but Johnson said that was no excuse for the poor play.

She said the second-string players need to learn to take over in case key players are injured or foul out of a game.

“It was good experience for those that don’t get to play much, but I was just disappointed,” Johnson said. “Even though we put our bench in there, they can do a whole lot better than that. We just laid down and quit.”