HATTIESBURG – Loyd Star senior forward Javion Beard fired in a game-high 43 points to help his Hornets knock off the North Forrest Eagles 80-75 Wednesday night in the opening round of the State Class 2A playoffs.

“This was a huge win for us,” said Loyd Star coach Gene “Moochie” Britt. “The guys came out strong and battled a very good North Forrest ball club until the very end. Javion Beard had a outstanding game for us tonight and our subs did a great job stepping up for us tonight as well. Overall, I was very pleased with our effort, everyone did a great job contributing tonight.”

The Hornets (14-10) will advance to the second round and play the winner of tonight’s Pelahatchie-Heidelberg contest on Saturday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m., but the location has not been determined.

<cTypeface:Bold> Loyd Star 80, North Forrest 75 <cTypeface:Plain>

The Hornets and Eagles kicked off the first quarter with an offensive battle as both teams scored 19 points. In the second, Loyd Star went on an 18-13 run to take a 37-32 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the battle continued as both Loyd Star and North Forrest came out firing. The Hornets won the scoring spree 45-40 to escape with the win.

“The guys played an outstanding game from start to finish,” said Britt. “Free throws was the decided factor in the contest as we finished 19-of-23 from the line, while North Forrest was 10-of-16.”

Levi Redd was the second-leading scorer for the Hornets as he chipped in 18 points, five rebounds and had six assists. Beard was hot behind the arc as he nailed six 3-pointers with six rebounds, three steals and had one blocked shot. Zac Arnold contributed six points and had four steals. Cade Hodges provided five points, five assists and three steals. Greg Hooks, Patrick Price and Avery Leggett scored four points each. Leggett was the leader on the boards with seven rebounds.

Khary Wilson paced the Eagles’ scoring with 25 points. Terrance Kyzar pumped in 15 points. Kobe Lei score nine points. Armonte Barnes and Christian Williamson finished with three points each.