The turn of the calendar to February means that high school basketball seasons across Mississippi are approaching their ends, and such is certainly the case in Pike County.
Parklane's girls and boys teams will take part in the MAIS 4A South-State Tournament this week at Copiah Academy, while McComb, North Pike and South Pike each have two more regular season games remaining.
In the girls 4A South-State bracket, the Lady Pioneers earned the second seed out of district three and thus will face third-seeded Silliman Institute at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. A win in that matchup would advance Parklane to Thursday's semifinals, where it would face the victor of the No. 1 Jackson Prep vs. No. 4 Brookhaven Academy game. MRA and Oak Forest are the top seeds in the upper half of the bracket, and the championship bout is slated for Saturday.
At the same time, the Parklane boys squad will be kicking off its postseason stay. The third-seeded Pioneers face second-seeded Oak Forest at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, and a win there would advance them to Thursday's semifinals against the winner of the No. 1 MRA vs. No. 4 Cathedral matchup. Jackson Prep and Simpson Academy are the top seeds in the bottom half of the bracket, with the championship also being held Saturday.
Meanwhile, McComb will wrap up its regular season with a Tuesday matchup against Poplarville (home) and a Friday clash with Kentwood (away).
North Pike will be hitting the road for both of its final games, as the Jags will visit Natchez on Tuesday before heading up to Brookhaven on Friday.
And lastly, South Pike will conclude its regular season with a road trip to face Lawrence County on Tuesday and a Senior Night matchup with Columbia on Friday.
All of the public schools will take part in their respective district tournaments the following week. North Pike will host its bracket while McComb and South Pike will both venture to Columbia for their playoffs.
