Pass Christian, Long Beach battle into fourth quarter

Pass Christian rallied from a 13-point deficit to upend Long Beach 55-49 in the second game of Hoopsfest on Saturday in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

Justin Brown hit a pair of free throws to give Pass a 50-49 lead with 1:31, capping a comeback from a 42-29 deficit in the third quarter.

Aydarius Young paced Pass with 15 points. Tionne Frost had 12, Demarcus Boyd 10 and Brown 8.

Darren Cook led Long Beach with 20, including 5 treys. Monta Davis had 10.

Long Beach sizzled from the perimeter, hitting 12 treys in the game and 11 in the first half.

“We made some defensive adjustments – maybe a little later than I was hoping for,” Pass coach Willie James said. “We were down 10 to open the fourth, and I told the guys we would have to make a push and clamp down on defense. We talked about a man to man scheme and they went out and executed it.”

“We stayed together and played as a team,” Young said. “It was unbelievable – I’m still excited about the win. They had two people on their team that were making all their shots. I’m glad we got the win.”

Long Beach led 36-24 at half, courtesy of 11 3-pointers. Darren Cook hit five of those treys.Long Beach led 42-29 with 2:01 left in the third quarter before Pass ran off 11 straight points to shave the lead to 42-40 with 4:18 left.

Long Beach coaches Joel Boone was pleased with his team’s effort but said his team just needed to finish in the fourth quarter.

This story was originally published January 28, 2017 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Pass Christian, Long Beach battle into fourth quarter."