Mt. Salus no longer has a facility to practice or play in, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming a contender for the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools’ Class A championship.

Coach Richard Elam’s team has had to use Rebul Academy in Learned as its home gym this season. They can only practice twice a week, or once if they’re playing like they did Thursday night at Porters Chapel Academy. The Jaguars (15-2) worked on their half-court game and that was enough to cruise past the outmanned Eagles, 59-20.

“My kids are capable of playing really well. We usually press, but after playing them earlier, we didn’t press tonight. I wanted to see how well we could do in just a half-court kind of game,” Elam said.

The Jaguars’ only losses this season have been to  Class AA powers Brookhaven Academy and Canton. One benefit to coming to Vicksburg on Thursday was picking up another game on Jan. 25 against Tallulah Academy.

“We have a date open and I wanted to play someone,” Elam said after setting up the game with Tallulah Academy coach John Weaver, whose team is 13-6 after beating St. Aloysius and Tensas Academy in the past week.

The Jaguars held Porters Chapel (4-5, 4-4 District 5-A) to just three made field goals in the first half while taking a 37-6 lead. Mt. Salus went to a zone in the third quarter and cleared its bench in the fourth.

“Obviously, Mt. Salus is a class by themselves in our league, but even after tonight, we’re 4-4 in the district. But I feel strongly that two of those losses I thought we could’ve won,” PCA coach E.J. Creel said. “We get Veritas again Saturday and I’m confident we can win that one. We seem to have adjusted since we lost Jay (Wiley) because of his dad’s transfer.”

The Eagles could’ve used Wiley’s rebounding against the taller Jaguars. Michael Phillips, a 6-foot-4 senior, controlled the inside with 14 points and eight rebounds in the first half. He finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.

George Thomas may be one of the top point guards in the MAIS ranks. He scored 12 points and cut up the PCA defense with eight assists. When Thomas and Phillips departed in the third quarter, Mt. Salus enjoyed a 52-11 lead.

The Eagles did better against the Jaguars’ reserves, outscoring them 9-7 in the fourth quarter. Zach Rachal led PCA with five points and eight rebounds. Matthew Warren had five points and Talbot Buys had four points and six rebounds.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com