MOOREVILLE - Aberdeen knocked off South Pontotoc 69-54 in the semifinals of the Division 2-3A Tournament on Thursday.

South's Lady Cougars fell Nettleton, 69-55 in the night's opener.

A steady lead throughout the game, South Pontotoc cut a 15-point lead to 11 twice in the fourth period. It never went lower though as Rashad Pargo scored four straight of his game-high 21 points to help fight off surging South. He had a double-double with 12 rebounds, seven on the offensive end.

“We knew it was going to be a game where we had to come in and play hard,” said Aberdeen coach Roy Hazzle. “Early we were a little jittery, but we settled down and played pretty good, solid basketball.”

It didn't help South that Aberdeen (15-11) out-rebounded the Cougars (15-13) 27-17.

Kelsey Scott's 3-pointer cut Aberdeen's lead to 62-51, but Pargo extended it to a 13-point margin.

Anthony McDonald had 15 for the Bulldogs. Channing Ward added 11 and 11 rebounds.

Jermaine Bean led South with 16, Gary Lipsey had 15 and Kelsey Scott 14.

South Pontotoc coach Chris Vandiver said the rebounding margin was closer than it was in a 73-55 loss to Aberdeen on Jan. 26, but still not close enough.

“Because they have that size and athleticism, they're going to get away with some mistakes,” Vandiver said. “Our margin for error is smaller. We've got to rebound better than that.”

(G) Nettleton 69 South Pontotoc 55

Camry Jones was lights out for No. 3-ranked Nettleton (20-4), the tournament's two-seed, dazzling with the dribble and the shot. Jones scored 32 points for the Lady Tigers, who are now scheduled to face Aberdeen in the title game at 7 p.m. tonight.

South Pontotoc had cut Nettleton's lead to 47-41 until Jones connected from long range for a 52-43 lead.

Lady Cougar Emily Henson later connected on a 3-pointer and followed with a steal and layin that pulled her team within 52-48. Elizabeth Henson would hit a 3 for South Pontotoc to pull within 54-51, but Memory Shumpert scored the first two of eight straight points as Nettleton breezed past South's press.

Lavontra Hall had 13 points for Nettleton. Taylor Scott added 10. For South Pontotoc (16-10), Lana Goggins led with 15, Emily Henson 14 and Elizabeth Henson 13.

Without Jones and Shawntina Collier, nearly 41 points per game, Nettleton lost 60-39 at Aberdeen on Feb. 2.

Nettleton had beaten South 45-44 this season.