JACKSON - Pontotoc shot lights-out in North state play to earn the program its first trip to the state tournament.

However, those same Warriors fired mostly blanks - 29 percent shooting - in Monday's 65-39 loss to St. Stanislaus in the MHSAA Class 4A semifinals at the spacious Mississippi Coliseum.

"We didn't shoot the ball very well out of the gate," said Pontotoc coach Jon Ginn, whose club was 3 of 16 from the field in the first half. "I thought they did a great job defending."

Despite its offensive struggles, Pontotoc trailed just 10-8 after the first quarter. However, the opening four minutes of the second quarter changed the game.

The Rock-a-chaws (27-7), behind 3-pointers from Jonathan Romain and William Reed, went on a 10-2 to push their lead to 20-10.

"We had the game moving kind of the way we wanted defensively," Ginn said. "We missed a couple of easy baskets and some free throws that would have made a difference early.

"We got behind five, then 10, and the game kind of changed on us."

Pontotoc (21-14) also had to deal with the Rock-a-chaws' 6-foot-8 twin towers Johnny Zuppardo and Manuel Gandara. Zuppardo scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Gandara had 11 points and 10 boards.

"That's a big advantage for us," St. Stanislaus coach Jay Ladner said of his team's height. "Gandara was able to get some putbacks early to get us started."

Josh Green scored 17 points to pace the Warriors in his final game.