Ramsey-Thompson starts hot, Biloxi pulls away from D'Iberville, 55-37

BILOXI - Junior forward Fred Ramsey-Thompson set the pace early and the rest of his Biloxi teammates helped close the deal in a 55-37 win over D'Iberville in the first round of the Class 6A boys playoffs.

Ramsey-Thompson scored 10 points in the first quarter on the way to a 16-point performance.

"Fred Ramsey in the first half put us on his back and showed us the way," Biloxi coach Seber Windham said. "That's what good players do."

Biloxi (21-10) will travel Forest Hill (17-11) in Jackson at 7 p.m. on Saturday with the winner earning a spot in the state quarterfinals in Jackson.

Biloxi did a good job of limiting D'Iberville's star guard, senior Zach Scales, to 13 points after he averaged 19.1 points this season.

"They wore him down," D'Iberville coach Lorenzo Wright said. "They sent two guys at him at a time. They wore him down over 32 minutes. He was a little fatigued. We turned it over and they got a bunch of shots inside the paint that hurt us. Those two things together sent us on our way."

D'Iberville's season comes to a close with a record of 19-12.

For the first time in 10 years, the Warriors had a winning record and made the playoffs.

"Overall, it's been a great year for us," Wright said. "We did something D'Iberville hasn't done in 10 years. That's a credit to the hard work these guys put in. I'm extremely proud of them. I just wish the result was a little different."

Both teams started the game at a quick pace and the game was tied at 12-12 at the 3:13 mark of the first quarter when Scales hit a basket.

Biloxi rolled off six consecutive points to lead 18-12 after one quarter.

Wright hoped his team could keep up the pace much like it did when it won 66-62 at Biloxi on Dec. 19 when Scales scored 30 points, but that wasn't to be.

Biloxi made sure Scales never got going.

"Zach Scales is a heck of a basketball player," Windham said. "He scored 30 on us last time. I kept emphasizing, "30." Your pride has to step up sooner or later. He didn't have the dominant performance like when we played them the second time. I told my guys that the best defensive team would win the game."

Scales had just four points when Biloxi entered the half with a 27-20 advantage.

Ramsey-Thompson went to the bench early in the second half with three fouls, but Windham felt no need to put his top scorer back in the game with the Indians in command.

Biloxi had its biggest lead at 50-31 with 5:01 remaining.

Ramsey-Thompson, who is seeing more time on the wing, set the tone for the game by hitting four baskets in the first quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers.

"I started inside out," Ramsey-Thompson said. "I was working in the paint and then I started stretching the floor and taking good shots."

Junior guard Martell Turner joined Ramsey-Thompson in double digits with 12 points.

Six-foot-6 senior forward Marques McGee also played well inside for Biloxi with eight points, including a couple of impressive dunks.

D'Iberville senior forward Evan Howard added 12 points for the Warriors.

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 9:35 PM with the headline "Ramsey-Thompson starts hot, Biloxi pulls away from D'Iberville, 55-37 ."