PELAHATCHIE — Lamar’s Ross Polizzi was challenged at halftime, and he responded.

Behind Polizzi’s second-half play, the Raiders were able to hold off a late East Rankin rally to win 57-49 in an MAIS Region 2-4A matchup on Tuesday night.

“An ugly win is better than a pretty loss, and I thought we had some really good moments, and then we relaxed,” Lamar School coach Steve Nelson said. “Give East Rankin credit, they made shots, and we tightened up, and I’m proud of the guys for making free throws at the end to seal it.”

The Raiders (8-13, 4-4) never trailed.

Lamar held a slim 14-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and then ended the first half on a 7-2 run to extend their lead to 29-21 at halftime.

In the second half, the Raiders built a 41-26 advantage midway through the third quarter before East Rankin began its comeback attempt.

The Patriots ended the third quarter on a 10-4 run to cut the Lamar lead to 45-36.

To open the fourth quarter, East Rankin went on a 10-2 run and cut the lead to 47-46. From that point, Polizzi scored eight straight for Lamar to extend the lead to 55-49. He finished with a game-high 18 points to lead the Raiders.

“I challenged him at halftime because he wasn’t being productive in the first half, and he stepped up in the second half,” Nelson said. “Every now and then you have to have a heart-to-heart at halftime, and he played big in the end.”

J.T. White had 18 points to lead East Rankin, while Preston Turnage added 14 points for the Patriots (5-13, 1-6).

“Tough one, because we left opportunities out on the floor,” East Rankin coach Chris Goodman said. “We had our chances, but we missed layups, free throws and didn’t block out on those one-and-one situations. We’re so close to winning close games, we just can’t catch a break.”

EAST RANKIN 46, LAMAR GIRLS 37

Kealey Bradford had a game-high 15 points as the Lady Patriots got past the Lady Raiders.

Riley Scoles added 11 points for East Rankin (9-11, 3-4).

Lydia Hutcherson had 12 points to lead Lamar, while Skylar Norman added 11 points for the Lady Raiders (12-11, 3-5).