Daily Leader / Marty Albright / Bogue Chitto’s Zariah Matthews (2) drives to the basket to score a layup against Mount Olive Thursday night.

BOGUE CHITTO – Bogue Chitto celebrated Senior Night Thursday with a non-divisional split against Mount Olive at the Bobcat Palace.

In the girls’ contest, the Lady Cats (24-3, 4-0), ranked No. 1 in Class 1A, feasted on the Lady Pirates in a 64-27 victory.

In boys’ action, the Pirates rallied in the closing seconds with a 7-2 run to escape with a 59-55 win over the Bobcats.

Bogue Chitto continues action today as it hosts Prentiss for two games in its final regular season contest of the season. The varsity girls will tip off at 6 p.m., followed by the boys at 7:30.

Lady Cats 64, Lady Pirates 27 

Bogue Chitto’s high-powered offense and dominating defense was too much for the Lady Pirates to handle. The Lady Cats kicked off the first quarter on fire as they clobbered Mount Olive and commanded an early 27-2 lead. They continued their dominance in the second quarter to take a comfortable 52-8 lead into halftime.

With a huge lead, BC coach Christi Terrell emptied her bench to give everyone plenty of playing time. The Lady Pirates won the scoring battle in the second half with a 19-12 run, but it wasn’t enough to spoil the Lady Cats’ celebration.

“It was great to everyone plenty of playing time tonight,” said Terrell. “I was very pleased with my girls’ efforts, but we need to stay focused and continue to improve. I would like to thank the fans for coming tonight. We had a big turnout for our senior recognition night.”

Senior Zariah Matthews powered the Lady Cats’ attack with 15 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Taneshia May chipped in eight points and three rebounds. Pertashia Henderson provided six points and grabbed three rebounds. Karlie Williams netted six points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists. Christian Black, Baileigh Jackson and Terrah Nelson contributed five points each. Takiyah Godbolt had four points. Lineka Newson and Shakirianna Jefferson netted thee points each. Karly Leake had two points. Charlsie Wilson and Kylie Hux finished with one point each.

Syria Hathorn was the top scorer for the Lady Pirates with 12 points. Jasmine Ducksworth scored eight points.

Daily Leader / Marty Albright / Bogue Chitto’s Damarcus Godbolt (35) and Brandon Blackwell (15) apply defensive pressure on Mount Olive Thursday night.

Mt. Olive 59, Bogue Chitto 55 

The Pirates and Bobcats battled in a much closer contest in the first half as Mount Olive carried a 22-16 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, BC came out strong and outscored the Pirates 22-17 to cut into Mount Olive’s lead 39-38 at the end of the period.

In the final quarter, the Bobcats took a brief 53-48 lead with under two minutes left. But in the last minute of action, the Pirates reclaimed the lead after a steal and layup by LaTravius McNair. Through the rest of the contest, both teams shot free throws and Mount Olive won the battle with a 7-2 run to escape with the win.

“This was a great game for my guys,” said BC coach Mark Pitts. “We had a chance to win the game, but we did not hit our free throws at the end and Mount Olive did.”

D.J. Nunnery directed the Bobcats’ offense with 19 points. Malik Richardson finished with a double-double performance of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Tyler Brumfield chipped in 11 points and had three rebounds. Darius Porter scored five points. LaFredrick Dillon had four points. Dee May provided two points. Zac Upkins added one point.

McNair paced the Pirates’ scoring with 16 points. Clyde Nelson contributed 11 points. Elliot Thompson scored seven points and Dexter Jordan had six points.