Zachary Scales lifts D'Iberville in thriller at Jackie Laird Classic

BILOXI - D'Iberville senior guard Zachary Scales scored a season-high 44 points as the Warriors rallied to beat Harrison Central 85-83 Friday night at the Jackie Laird Classic at the Biloxi Sports Arena.

In later tournament games Friday night, Oak Grove took on Mobile Murphy while host Biloxi dueled Moss Point.

Scales, a 5-foot-10 guard, gave the Warriors the lead for good at 84-83 on his final basket of the night with 49.7 seconds left. He scored 21 points in the fourth quarter.

D'Iberville (9-2) meets Biloxi at 4 p.m. Saturday in round two of the tournament. Harrison Central fell to 5-6.

Harrison Central led 67-54 early in the fourth quarter. But the game was tied four times down the stretch, and Rajon Blackston's free throw gave HCHS its last lead at 83-82 with 1:01 remaining in regulation.

"That's my best game this season,'' Scales said. "I told the guys this was a big one for us. Harrison Central is a rival game. They bought in, we came together and won.''

"I didn't know if he had 44 or 46, whatever he had,'' D'Iberville coach Lorenzo Wright said. "He put us on his back and carried us. We were down 13 and I told them in the huddle to try and cut it down to six and see what happens. We got it down to seven just under the 4-minute mark, and those guys played their butts off to pull it off. It was a great win for us. It's not just Zach, it's the other guys coming off the bench and doing the little things.''

Biscuit Floyd led HCHS with 24 points. Dayquon Perkins had 20, Blackston 12 and Anthony Barnett 10. HCHS led 17-16 after the first quarter, 43-39 at halftime and 65-52 after three quarters.

Evan Howard, a 6-8 senior, added 17 for D'Iberville in the low post while Malik Hubbard chipped in 14, five coming in the fourth quarter.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 7:26 PM with the headline "Zachary Scales lifts D'Iberville in thriller at Jackie Laird Classic ."