Fans at Thursday's non-league challenge between the Starkville Yellowjackets (Starkville, MS) and the host Northwest Rankin Cougars (Brandon, MS), saw Starkville's basketball squad hold off Northwest Rankin by a tally of 62-58.

With the victory, Starkville improves its record to 14-1 on the campaign. The Yellowjackets travel to Germantown (Madison, MS) to confront the Mavericks in a 7A Region 2 challenge on Friday, January 5. The Mavericks come into the challenge with a record of 8-6. Germantown lost 53-37 in their recent non-league challenge against Madison Central (Madison, MS)

Next up, the Cougars confront the Clinton Arrows (Clinton, MS) in a non-league challenge, on Friday, December 29. Northwest Rankin will attempt to improve on its 8-8 season record. The Arrows come into the challenge with a 11-4 record after their 37-34 non-league win over DeSoto Central (Southaven, MS).