The crowd at Friday's non-league challenge between the Walnut Wildcats (Walnut, MS) and the host Pine Grove Panthers (Ripley, MS), observed Walnut's basketball team edge Pine Grove by a score of 59-55.

The Wildcats (9-5) will now prepare for their challenge against Lawrence County (Moulton, AL). The Red Devils come into the non-league challenge with a 10-10 record. In their last challenge, Lawrence County was tipped by Madison Academy (Madison, AL), 85-55, in a non-league challenge.

In their next game, the Panthers encounter the Myrtle Hawks (Myrtle, MS) in a 1A Region 2 challenge, on Tuesday, January 7. Pine Grove will attempt to improve on its 8-6 season record. The Hawks come into the challenge with a 3-10 record after their 81-53 league loss to Byers (Holly Springs, MS).