STEENS — Matthew Phillips spun around on one foot in disgust after his attempt at a behind-the-back pass sailed out of bounds near the Columbus Christian Academy bench.
It was a mistake Phillips and the Rams could get away with.
Up by more than 20 points in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s home rivalry game against Hebron Christian School, Columbus Christian had plenty of margin for error.
Senior Lawson Studdard poured in 39 points, the Rams’ defense locked in, and Columbus Christian took control with an 86-50 win on Thursday in Steens.
“It feels great,” Studdard said. “We’re on a good win streak right now, so we’re just trying to keep it going.”
In the Rams’ three most recent games — all wins — Studdard scored 35, 33 and 31 points, but he topped it all Thursday as the Rams improved to 3-0 in district play. Studdard simply credited the team around him, but coach Jason Williams still had kind words for his senior star.
“He’s playing with a lot of intensity,” Williams said. “He’s playing with self-confidence on both sides of the ball. He’s playing with confidence underneath. He rebounded tonight, did a lot of good things.”
The coach credited his entire starting five — Studdard, Jonathan Peal, Will Teague, Tyler Looney and Dakota Shaw — for their efforts Thursday.
Multiple technical fouls were called during the chippy rivalry contest: Peal and Tanner Dolan fouled out for the Rams, and after a hard foul in the second quarter, players from the two teams had to be separated. But even still, Columbus Christian kept its composure.
“Tonight, we really just remained intense all game,” Williams said. “It was a physical game — probably a little bit too physical at times — but our kids responded in a positive way.”
After taking a six-point lead into the second quarter, the Rams stepped up big to create some breathing room going into halftime. Studdard exploded for 16 points in the period, going 6 of 9 from the line in the quarter to send Columbus Christian into the locker room up 47-24.
The Rams let up a bit on defense in the second half, but they nearly kept up the offensive pace.
Studdard scored 14 points in the second half despite hardly playing in the fourth quarter, and Columbus Christian coasted to a win.
“We played hard,” Williams said. “We have a lot of potential.”
The Rams will travel to face Marshall Academy on Friday in Holly Springs.
Hebron Christian will travel to face Kemper Academy on Tuesday in De Kalb.
Columbus Christian Academy girls 42, Hebron Christian 27
STEENS — Taylor Tipton provided an early spark, Kylie Emerson took over from there, and the Columbus Christian girls handled Hebron 42-27 on Thursday.
Tipton made a big impact within the first minute of the contest to shock the visiting Eagles. She made a layup to open the scoring, stole the inbounds pass and set up another score, then recorded a steal a few seconds later and zoomed to the hoop for the layup.
“It made me really excited because I was just trying to energize them and trying to help them out as much as I could,” the junior said.
The quick 6-0 spurt proved to be all the impetus the Rams needed to take down the Eagles.
“I think it’s really big for us because it gets us energized and makes us think, ‘We can do this,'” Tipton said. “As a team we can work together and just go out there and win the game together. Those small points can mean so much at the end.”
Emerson, the Rams’ lone senior, contributed 21 points for the Rams, fighting through a nagging ankle injury to lead her team in scoring again.
But it was Columbus Christian’s lockdown defense that stole the show Thursday, pressing all game and trapping the Eagles in the backcourt numerous times.
“They are extremely fast, and they’re a great team,” Hebron coach Heather Parrish said.
The Eagles, who don’t have a senior on the roster and have just one junior, struggled with ball security, throwing the ball into the hands of Rams defenders all night. Hebron fell to 1-2 in district play.
“We are very young, and we’ve got a long way to go,” Parrish said.
With the win, Columbus Christian improved to 3-0 in its district ahead of Friday’s road matchup with Marshall Academy in Holly Springs.
“Those girls play really, really hard,” Williams said. “They’ve got a good team chemistry.”
Pickens Academy boys 59, Russell Christian Academy 38
The Pickens Academy boys basketball team earned a dominating 59-38 win over Russell Christian Academy Thursday.
Seth Peeks had 14 points, while Hayden Dyer and Rafe Brown each had 11.
Pickens Academy (9-5) will play at South Choctaw Academy Friday.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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