If Matthew Evans and his Brookhaven Academy teammates achieve their goal, they will celebrate an MAIS Class AA South State Tournament championship Saturday night in John R. Gray Gymnasium. The Cougars roared past Sylva-Bay Academy 73-28 Thursday night in their first tournament test.

Senior Will Hickman’s 18 points directed the rout. He was joined in double digits by Peyton Hood with 14 points, Zac Smith with 12 and Gage Posey with 11.

The victory placed the Cougars in tonight’s 7:15 semifinals game against Bowling Green, a 61-46 winner over Laurel Christian. In the 6 p.m. semifinals, Central Private plays Simpson.

In the girls bracket, semifinals are this afternoon. Oak Forest plays Bowling Green at 1 p.m. and Columbia Academy faces Simpson at 2:15. Win or lose, all 8 semifinalists play Saturday, either in the consolation or championship games. The girls consolation is at 1 p.m., followed by the title test at 2:15.

The Cougars (23-11) played like title contenders after drawing an opening round bye. They blitzed the Saints with 9 treys and overwhelmed them with a quick, aggressive defense.

“We wanted to play and get back in the groove,” said Evans. “Everybody was shooting really good. Will, Gage, Zac and Peyton were hitting.”

Evans, working at point guard, handed out 5 assists last night. “If we do what Coach (Dale) Watts tells us to do, we can play with anybody.”

Watts said he was pleased with his team’s performance. “We felt like we could play a more up-tempo game against them. I was pleased with our first-half offense,” when his team cruised to a 45-22 halftime lead.

“Defensively, we played with intensity but we had a few breakdowns,” Watts noted. “You always play better when you have the student body cheering for you.”

Energized by a loud group of students stationed behind their bench, the Cougars broke a 4-4 tie with an 8-0 run. They added a 15-0 blitz, fueled by 4 treys, and led 32-13 at the quarter.

The Saints (10-12) faded fast and only scored 6 points the second half. Coach Tim Bean’s team went scoreless in the fourth quarter as Watts began wholesale substitutions.

On the backboards, Hickman led the Cougars with 6 rebounds. Hood had 5 rebounds and Smith made 5 steals.

Michael Ducksworth, a strong 6-foot-4 senior post player, led the Saints with 15 points and 7 rebounds.

B. Green 61, Laurel 46

The Buccaneers got 24 points from Patrick Ruebelow and 13 from Mac McElveen in the win over Laurel Christian.

The Lions got 17 points from Ryan Stevenson and 10 from John Walters.

B. Green 58, ACCS 40

The Lady Bucs (31-1) were paced by Kristina Jerrell with 16 points and Reagan Moody with 9.

Simpson 43, Silliman 37

Fourteen points by Maegan Griffith and 13 by Abby Dunston led Simpson (28-9) over Silliman.

Silliman’s Bradleigh Brigna scored 13 points and Ashley Hurst netted 10.