EJ PAYMON HAS 25 POINTS AND 23 REBOUNDS, LEADS DEFENDING MHSAA CLASS 4A STATE CHAMPION RAYMOND TO 73-70 OVERTIME WIN OVER MHSAA CLASS 6A BILOXI
Jan 17, 2023
By Robert Wilson Photos by Chris Todd
CLINTON – Raymond’s 6-foot-9 sophomore EJ Paymon – rated the No. 1 player in Mississippi in the Class of 2025 by ESPN – had 25 points, 23 rebounds and 3 blocked shots to lead the defending MHSAA Class 4A state champion Rangers over MHSAA Class 6A Biloxi 73-70 in overtime Monday night in the Rumble in the South tournament at Mississippi College’s A.E. Wood Coliseum.
Raymond, which has won the 4A state title four of the last six years, improved to 15-6. Biloxi dropped to 16-2.
Paymon – who has been offered by Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Texas Christian University and New Mexico State – made 10 of 15 from the field, 2 of 2 from 3-point range, and 3 of 4 from the free throw line. He had two steals and one assist. Senior guard Zhakeius Jackson had 10 points and three assists for Raymond.
Senior guard Duran Parish, a Vanderbilt football signee, led Biloxi with 23 points, including a 3-pointer with 4 seconds to play to send the game into overtime. James Turner had 13 points and Beau Miles had 10 points for Biloxi.
Raymond scored the first six points in overtime and Biloxi couldn’t catch up. Biloxi missed a game-tying 3-point shot with 3 seconds to play to send the game into the second overtime.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
The 2023 Boys Rumble in the South featured 18 teams from around the state in nine games on Monday, January 16, 2023, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton, Miss.
Robert Wilson is a national award winning sportswriter, author, publisher and editor from Jackson, Miss. He won dozens of awards on the national, regional and state levels in his 23 years as a sportswriter for The Clarion-Ledger/Jackson Daily News, covering high school and college sports and writing a tennis column. Wilson also produced Victories in Metro Jackson, a Christian sports publication. He co-authored a book with Dr. Joe Haynes about the life of Dr. Haynes, who was the first black football official in the SEC and was an NFL official and a Mississippi educator for several decades. Wilson is well known among Mississippians for his ability to paint a picture of the subject he is writing about and not only about their ability, but about their personality as well. Wilson is a Jackson Wingfield High, Hinds Community College and Ole Miss graduate.
