Biloxi, Bay remain on top of rankings, but they have plenty of company | Biloxi Sun Herald

No. 2 Pascagoula hasn’t missed a beat under new head coach Lorenzo Wright.

The Panthers spent plenty of time in the top half of the Sun Herald’s basketball rankings under Ronald Norman and have once again gotten off to a hot start with the former D’Iberville shot caller roaming the sidelines.

After narrowly beating Gulfport 49-48 in the season opener, Pascagoula has had its way against Collins and Quitman to open the season 3-0.

Wright credits the team’s cohesion for its early success.

“They play hard together and they play for one another,” he said.

PHS ran away late in the 55-44 win at Quitman, but Wright said it was the team’s defense that made the difference.

“We played really well in the second half. I think our kids just locked down defensively and that was the key,” he said. “If we continue to get better guarding the ball man to man, we’ll be fine.”

Pascagoula quite literally has a big test Tuesday when it travels to No. 6 Bay (1-0).

The Tigers are led by Galen Smith Jr. and Galen Smith III, a tall tandem up front who stand at 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-9 respectively. Bay also has a talented senior guard in Chris Moody, making the Tigers one of the more intriguing boys teams on the Coast.

“We expect them to come out and play hard,” Wright said.

Boys Top 10

The top half of this week’s rankings stayed largely the same, with No. 1 Biloxi (1-0) and No. 2 Pascagoula (3) leading the way. George County (3-0), Gulfport (1-1) and Harrison Central (2-0) tied for third, followed by No. 6 Bay, which jumped up one spot. No. 7 Pass Christian (3-1) joined the rankings, followed by No. 8 Vancleave (2-1). St. Martin (2-2), West Harrison (2-1) and St. Patrick (2-0) all tied for ninth, while D’Iberville (2-1) slipped out of this week’s rankings.

Girls Top 10

Bay High’s girls remained on top this week after a 3-0 start to their season. No. 2 Harrison Central (2-0) leapfrogged St. Martin after winning a head-to-head contest last week. The Lady Yellow Jackets (2-1) and Gulfport (3-1) enter the week tied at No. 3. No. 5 Hancock (3-1) showed the biggest improvement this week, up five spots. No. 6 Pascagoula (1-3), No. 7 Biloxi (3-1), No. 8 Ocean Springs (1-2), No. 9 D’Iberville (1-1) and No. 10 Pearl River Central (3-0) round out the poll, with both the Lady Indians and Lady Blue Devils new this week. East Central (2-1), West Harrison (1-2) and Pass Christian (1-3) all fell out of the rankings.