Senior guard Zac Smith pumped in 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help the Brookhaven Academy Cougars knock off a very talented Royal Ambassadors Lions ball club 65-51 Friday night in BA’s Christmas Invitational Tournament.

In other boys’ tournament action, the Royal Ambassadors kicked off the tournament with a 59-56 victory over Canton. The Parklane boys edged Bowling Green 42-41, Trinity Episcopal crushed Prairie View 70-44 and Marshall clobbers East Rankin 71-39.

Tournament games continued Saturday and will conclude on Monday with three consolation games and two championship games. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. for the consolation games, while the championship games are slated to start at 7 p.m.

Brookhaven Academy will also be in action Friday as they visit Natchez for their first district test against the Adams County Christian School Rebels and Lady Rebels. Six games are scheduled for the contest beginning at 3 p.m.

Brookhaven Acad. 65, Royal Ambassador 51

The Cougars and Lions provided a tough defensive and offensive battle for the local basketball fans, as both teams fought hard in a late night red-eye special.

In the first quarter, BA relied on their fresh legs and depth to secure a 19-13 lead, but the Lions charged back to trim into BA’s lead and outscored the Cougars 15-14 in the second quarter. Brookhaven Academy went into halftime with a 33-28 lead.

In the second half, the Cougars (12-2) came out and managed to gain control of the contest by overpowering the Lions with 32-23 run in the final two quarters.

Junior forward Peyton Hood was the second leading scorer for the Cougars with 16 points and five assists. Ethan Harris contributed 10 points and paced BA on the boards with eight rebounds.

“This was a tough and physical game,” said BA coach Kyle Ray. “Royal Ambassadors has a very talented team, and our boys had to work and play hard to compete. Overall, I was very pleased to get the win. The guys did a good job and made the plays needed to get the victory.”

Clarence Alkinson was the top scorer for the Lions with 15 points. Deymeion Lewis chipped in with 10 points.

Royal Ambassadors 59, Canton 56 

Desmon Alkinson was the offensive leader for the Royal Ambassadors Lions with a game-high 28 points.

Canton had three players to score in double figures as Sterling Jones lead the charge with 17 points. Kanfit McClean chipped in with 14 points, and Jacob Fedullia had 11 points.

Parklane 42, Bowling Green 41

Brady Lea was the top scorer for the Pioneers with 26 points.

Conner McCain and Patrick Roublow were the offensive leaders for the Bucs with 11 points apiece.

Trinity 70, Prairie View 44 

The Trinity Saints provided an offensive show for their basketball fans as four players placed in double figures. Tommy McCoy sparked the charge with 26 points. Dre McCoy contributed 17 points, Wyatt Boothe helped with 14 points and Michael Whitley had 10 points.

Brandon Jacobs paced Prairie View’s offense with 16 points. Hunter Carpenter provided 12 points.

Marshall 71, East Rankin 39 

Marshall used their sized to overpower East Rankin as Johnny Crnogorac pumped in 21 points to lead Marshall. Christian Compton chipped in with 12 points.

Peyton Cross was the top scorer for East Rankin with 18 points.