WESSON – The Wesson Cobras and the Loyd Star Hornets renewed their heated rivalry in high school basketball Tuesday night, after a two year absent, with two exciting games in the Snake Pitt.

In the girls contest, the Lady Hornets rallied back in the second half to squeeze out a 40-39 victory over the Lady Cobras.

In boys action, the Cobras fought back from being 12-points down in the fourth quarter to edge the Hornets 61-60,

Loyd Star resumes action Friday night as they travel to Madison to take on the Madison St. Joseph Bruins for a pair of varsity games, starting at 4 p.m.

Wesson will also be in action Friday night as they prepare to host the McLaurin Tigers for two varsity games, starting at 6 p.m.

Loyd Star 40, Wesson 39 

Wesson and Loyd Star fans gathered at the Snake Pitt to witness the renewing of both schools longtime rivalry. In the opening the opening of the first quarter of the girls contest, the Lady Cobras and Lady Hornets came out swinging in a defensive low-scoring ball game as Wesson secured a 10-7 advantage after one quarter of action.

In the second quarter, both teams continued their defensive battle as each school scored seven-points each and Wesson tool a 17-14 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Lady Hornets (8-3) rallied back by putting together a 11-8 run to tied the game at 25-all at the end of the third frame.

In the final quarter, the Lady Hornets and the Lady Cobras fought back and forth in a exciting defensive battle. In the closing seconds of the fourth frame, Loyd Star was nursing a one-point lead but the Lady Cobras had to foul to keep time on the clock for the final play. The foul put Loyd Star’s Victoria Cupit on the line and she nailed two big free throws to give the Lady Hornets a three-point lead.

The Lady Cobras race down the court on the next play and score a two pointer, but ran out time at the end on Loyd Star’s inbound pass to foul again to save time.

“The girls did a great job fighting back into the contest,” said Loyd Star coach Gene “Moochie” Britt. “We had several of our bench players stepped up and played a key role in helping us get the win. Overall, I was very pleased with their effort and glad to get the victory.”

Mackenzie Smith powered the Lady Hornets with 15 points and six rebounds. Hannah Dickerson contributed eight points and lead on the boards with eight rebounds. Megan Givens chipped in with seven points. Jordan Shelby scored four points and grabbed six rebounds. Cupit added two points and Faith Bergeron had one point.

Jashia Smith was the top scorer for the Lady Cobras (4-6) with 13 points and eight rebounds. Aurianna Vaughn provided nine points. Tashay Glasper netted six points. Kayla Britt helped with five points and three steals. Carnesha Green and Aysha Thomas had three points each.

“The girls played well early on, but got content as the game went on,” said Wesson coach Rusty Newman. “Overall, we just missed too many free throws down the stretch that would help us win the game. Loyd Star did a good job fighting back into the contest to get the win.”

Wesson 61, Loyd Star 60 

The boys contest was a lot similar to the girls’ game, as both teams came out and provided another exciting match for the basketball fans.

In the first quarter, the Hornets and Cobras came out firing on all cylinders as Loyd Star took control of the first frame to claim a 18-15 lead.

In the second quarter, the Hornets (9-2) continued to fight through Wesson’s aggressive defense to extend their lead with a 21-14 push to carry a 39-29 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, Loyd Star managed to win the third round by outscoring the Cobras 14-12 to carry a 53-41 lead into the final frame.

In the final quarter, Wesson (9-1) rallied back with a strong 20-7 run to steal away the Loyd Star’s victory. In the closing second of the game, Cobras’ Will Hulon hit a big three point shot cut the Hornets’ lead to 1-point with 20 seconds left, after getting the back on a turnover by Loyd Star.

Wesson shot the ball several time to claim the lead but on the final attempt by the Cobras. Farrod Green secured the rebounds and put it back up for the basket to put Wesson ahead 61-60 and was foul on the attempt. Green did not make the foul shot, but came down with the rebound to secure the win.

“The guys played sluggish throughout most of the game,” said Newman. “Loyd Star has a very good team and they made us pay for our mistakes throughout the contest. Overall, I extremely proud of my guys for not giving up and fought hard to get the job done by getting the win.”

Tyler Robinson pumped in a team-high 21 points to the Cobras. Dartavious Dixon and Anthony Jones chipped in with nine points apiece. Eric Rhymes provided seven points. Green scored six points and had seven rebounds. Hulon had five points and Tyler Christmas added four points.

Edrick Alsworth paced the Hornets with a team-high 21 points and 11 rebounds. Levi Redd contributed 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Javion Beard nailed nine points. Caleb Yarborough netted seven points, while collecting seven rebounds and six assists. Brad Jasper and Ryan Smith added four points apiece.

“We just gave it away,” said Britt. “We did not make the plays and shots down the stretch to help us win the game. Overall, we just shot ourselves in the foot by not protecting the ball when Wesson was fighting back into the contest.”

In junior high action, Loyd Star and Wesson captured a decision in a pair of basketball games.

In the girls contest, the Lady Hornets surpassed the Lady Cobras 23-17. Andrea Butler led the Lady Hornets with 13 points. Destiny Vaughn paced the Lady Cobras with seven points.

In the boys game, Wesson defeated Loyd Star 47-41. Kenner Bizot pumped in 22 points to lead Wesson. Dane Smith directed the Hornets with 16 points.