MOSS POINT, Mississippi --- Moss Point's shots stopped falling with about seven minutes left against West Harrison on Tuesday night, but the Hurricanes' transition game never went into a slump.
Maurice Stephens led four West Harrison players with 20 points in a 75-65 victory at Arthur Haynes Gymnasium. Kentucky signee Devin Booker scored a game-high 27 for the Tigers, but managed just five in the second half.
"Our shots weren't going in and we gave up a lot of rebounds," Moss Point coach Micoe Cotton said. "They really dominated on the boards. The last four minutes we were just in disarray, ill-advised shots and a lot of bad decisions. I saw some good things. We had a lot of fight."
Moss Point (1-2) led 52-44 with three minutes left in the third quarter, before West Harrison (3-0) closed out the period on a 10-0 run. Laterris Brown's 3-pointer gave the Tigers a 55-54 advantage with 7:09 to play, but that would be the last lead for Moss Point.
Stephens and Harvey Smart hit back-to-back buckets to put the Hurricanes up by three, then Stephens made a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 60-55 with 5:30 left. Moss Point twice got within three in the final three minutes --- the last on Booker's 3-point play with 1:59 remaining --- but could not get any closer.
Smart and Deshawn Jones each had 16 for West Harrison, while Zeke Lee chipped in 11. Brown was the only other Moss Point player in double figures with 17, including five 3-pointers.
Moss Point guard Marcus Watson left the game late in the third quarter due to severe leg cramps, but returned to finish with four points.
Moss Point hosts Laurel on Saturday.