Photo: Olive Branch forward Terry Joyner drives toward the basket in Tuesday’s region tournament contest against Lewisburg. (Bob Bakken/DeSoto County Sports)
Both Olive Branch basketball teams advanced to their Region 2-6A tournament championship games Tuesday night with convincing wins over county rival Lewisburg.
In the semifinal contests played at DeSoto Central, the Lady Quistors beat the Lady Patriots 78-33 and that was followed by the Conquistadors outrunning the Patriots 83-58.
In the girls’ contest, Olive Branch held Lewisburg without a point until the final minute of the quarter as the Lady Quistors took a 15-7 lead.
Rhema Pegues and the Lady Quistors broke it open in the second quarter to take a 34-17 halftime lead. Pegues led Olive Branch with nine points in the half, while Allie Carroll paced the Lady Patriots with seven.
Olive Branch continued the push in the third quarter to a 59-28 lead and held Lewisburg to five points in the fourth quarter.
Olive Branch’s Rhema Pegues (32) drives against Laney Moss of Lewisburg Tuesday night. (Bob Bakken/DeSoto County Sports)
Pegues was the catalyst for the breakaway in the third quarter, hitting for 14 points, all from the field, and with two three-pointers in the eight minutes after halftime. The third quarter was also when Hodges picked up the slack, as Carroll was shut down. Hodges scored nine of the Lady Patriots’ 11 points in the period.
For the night, Pegues scored 26 points and was followed by Lamonnie Owens with 16 and Addison Howell scored 14 more. Hodges finished with 12 points and Carroll with seven.
Lewisburg now takes on Center Hill in the third place game Thursday night at 6 p.m. with a berth in the state playoffs on the line for the winner. Olive Branch plays DeSoto Central Friday at 6 p.m. for the region championship and a number one seed in the playoffs, although both teams will advance.
In the boys’ contest Tuesday night, Olive Branch broke out to a 20-9 first-quarter lead and extended the margin to 43-21 at halftime. The Quistors’ hot shooting continued after intermission, but Lewisburg did rally to get within nine points on two occasions before Olive Branch grabbed a 59-47 advantage going into the final eight minutes of play. Lewisburg was held to 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Quistors controlled the quarter and the rest of the game.
Jaylyn Tyler of Olive Branch goes up against Lewisburg defenders in Tuesday’s contest. (Bob Bakken/DeSoto County Sports)
Ten Olive Branch players scored in the first half, led by Landon Jeffries with six. Hayden Drumwright countered with 10 for Lewisburg, which included two three-pointers. Drumwright was then held to only one more from beyond the arc in the second half as he finished with 13 points.
For the night, Terry Joyner and Darren Davis each scored 12 , followed by Jaylyn Tyler with 11 points and Trevor Joyner scored 10 more.
Noah Jorgenson, held scoreless in the first half, finished with 15 to lead Lewisburg, followed by Drumwright’s 13. Josiah Nelson added 11 more for the Patriots.
Thursday, the Patriots come back to DeSoto Central to meet the host Jaguars with a playoff spot on the line in the consolation game at 7:30 p.m. Friday, it’s Olive Branch against Center Hill for the region championship and the top seed in the state playoffs, although both teams again advance to next week’s state postseason.
A third-quarter clip from Lewisburg-Olive Branch basketball
THE VITAL STATISTICS
MHSAA Region 2-6A girls basketball tournament at DeSoto Central Olive Branch 78, Lewisburg 33
WORTH NOTING: Olive Branch scoring leaders were Rhema Pegues with 26 points, Lamonnie Owens with 16 and Addison Howell with 14. Lewisburg scoring leaders were Haylie Hodges with 12 and Allie Carroll with 7.
MHSAA Region 2-6A boys basketball tournament at DeSoto Central Olive Branch 83, Lewisburg 58
WORTH NOTING: Olive Branch scoring leaders were Terry Joyner, Darren Davis each with 12 for Olive Branch and Jaylyn Tyler scored 10. Lewisburg scoring leaders were Noah Jorgenson with 15, Hayden Drumwright with 13, and Josiah Nelson with 11.
MHSAA Region 3-6A girls basketball tournament at Southaven Hernando 59, South Panola 49 Horn Lake 49, Southaven 35
WORTH NOTING: Hernando scoring leaders against South Panola were Abbey Harrison with 24 points and Damiya Cummings with 16. Horn Lake scoring leaders against Southaven were Tori Johnson with 18, Talayeah Lipford with 15, and Indiya Bowen with 14.
MHSAA Region 3-6A boys basketball tournament at Southaven Southaven 69, South Panola 47 Horn Lake 71, Hernando 52
WORTH NOTING: Horn Lake scoring leaders were Dimp Pernell with 17, Ky Pernell with 16, and Trevon Jackson with 13.
MHSAA Region 2-5A boys basketball tournament at Cleveland Central Lake Cormorant 42, Oxford Lafayette 38
WORTH NOTING: Lake Cormorant scoring leader was Lamar Done with 12.
