The chronicle., 1963-01-21
Commodores fulI
on Friday night
by 53-49 score
BY TOMMY HOUSTON
Chronicle Correspondent

The Pascagoula Panthers re-
turned to winning form over the
weekend with thrilling 53-49 up
set over Gulfport in Commodore
gym Friday night, followed by a
64-39 win over Moss Point Satur-
day night in the Panther gym.
After failing in two successive
bids for their 18th win, the locals
of coach Jim Milestad pulled
themselves together and put forth
a fine team effort to turn the
Commodores of Bert Jenkins.
The Gulfport game preceded an
other fine effort Saturday night
when the Panthers trimmed the
Tigers for their 14th win against
seven losses.
Taking an early lead and cling
ing to it throughout the contest,
Pas whipped Gulfport in Gulf
port, something few cage teams
in Mississippi can claim. The
loss was the fifth for the highly
rated Commodores, who gained
three wins over Pas in previous
meetings this season.
Bill Wilkerson, 1876 pound SEN
ior forward popped the nets with
% points and grabbed several
key rebounds. The performance
pushed his scoring average over
Is points per game, one of the
highest in the conference.
Jim Farmer, Bruce Scarborough,
John Frazier, and Mike Noblitt
also handed in fine efforts. Far
mer camped on the backboards
while Scarborough waited until the
final seconds to come through
with three key free throws. Fra
zier and Noblitt showed leaping
jump shots. driving lay-ups, and
expert ball-handling.
The fired-up locals grabbed an
early lead and maintained it until
the final seconds of the first
half, when the hOme-Standing
Gulfport cagers took a one point
halftime lead. After picking off a
missed Panther shot, the Com
modores came down court and
set up for one shot to grab the
lead.
The Panthers came roaring
back in the second half to take
the lead and maintain it through
out most of the third and fourth
periods.
Farmer popped in two clutch
field goals in the final minute
and Scarborough added three cru
cial free throws to extend the
Panther lead and insure the VIC
tory. With only 10 seconds left,
Scarborough sewed up the win by
sinking both shots on a one-and-
one situation.
Gautier led Gulfport scorers
with IL points while Adams con-
tributed II, all in the first half.
Not letting up, the Panthers re-
turned to their home court Satur-
day night to blast the Tigers for
their second win of the weekend.
With the starters seeing only
limited action, Milstead substi-
tuted freely with his bench
strength.
Taking a big lead in the first
half, the Panthers built it up the
second half as the Juniors and
the bodies" ran the fast break
with skill. With John Galley and
Larry Henry leading the charge,
the subs maintained the lead.
Pumping in 25 points the first
half, Pas fired in over 40 markers
the second half to extend their
lead. Wilkerson, Noblitt. and Far
mer led the charge while Scar
brough and Frazier added to it
with jump shots.
Noblitt and Wilkerson shared
high-scoring honors with II points
each while Farmer added 10. Jim
Shields combined hard drives and
a soft on-handed jumper from the
outside to chalk up 10 points, the
high for Moss Point.
The Panther Bees split a pair
over the weekend, dropping a de-
cision to Gulfport and whipping
Moss Point. Maurice Walker led
the locals both nights with 13 and
IL points, several points below his
Is point scoring average.
The Gulfport win was the 80
in row for the Commodore Bees,
who found going rough the first
half when the Panther Bees
stayed within striking distance.
The Gulfporters, however,
stretched their lead in the second
half to win by a considerable
margin. Mayette led Gulfport
with 81 points.
The Panthers resume action
Tuesday night with a home bat
tie against Notre Dame, followed
by Friday engagement with
Biloxi in the Indian gym. Pas
Journeys to Pensacola Saturday
night for a return bout with the
Florida team.