Right now is a great time to be a prep basketball fan in southwest Mississippi.
The season is drawing to a close, but they’re are still a slew of squads vying for state championships.
On the boys’ side, the South Pike Eagles punched a ticket to the Mississippi Coliseum with a 61-34 win over Pass Christian.
South Pike will play at 8:30 p.m. Thursday against the Gentry Rams.
The Eagles finished fourth in Region 6-4A, but that district proved to be the toughest in Class 4A as all four of the playoff teams remain in the playoffs out of the eight-team field. Florence, Raymond and Lanier are the other three teams still looking to advance.
In Class 3A, the Tylertown Chiefs are in the Elite Eight following a 82-78 win over Hazlehurst last Saturday.
The Chiefs will have a week off before they face the winner of the Amanda Elzy at Choctaw County, which will be played at 7 tonight. Tylertown will take the floor at the Coliseum at 8:30 p.m. Friday.
After struggling earlier in the season, the Amite County Trojans are still standing and will compete in the Coliseum at 1:30 p.m. Friday against Coahoma County.
Fifty-six has been a good number for the Trojans so far during the playoffs. Amite County defeated Mize 56-40 in the first round before taking down Heidelberg 56-47 Saturday to clinch a trip to the Big House.
On the private school side of things, the Parklane Pioneers finished third in the state tournament, which earned them a berth in the overall tournament, which begins today at Mississippi College. Parklane will face Riverdale Academy at 3 p.m.
McComb’s Lady Tigers are in Jackson for the third straight year and will take on the Ripley Lady Tigers at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. McComb edged Northeast Lauderdale 54-44 to advance.
Similarly to the boys, Region 6-4A is tough when it comes to girls basketball as well. Three of the four teams will be playing in Jackson.
The North Pike Lady Jaguars made the move to 5A before the season started and have excelled. Their 38-34 win over West Harrison propelled them to Jackson for a matchup against the Ridgeland Lady Titans Friday at noon at Jackson State.
Parklane’s Lady Pioneers were the state runner-ups in Class 4A Division I and have qualified for the overall tournament at Mississippi College. They begin the quest for an overall championship today at 4:15 against Kirk Academy.
With all the teams that actually advanced deep into the playoffs, a few teams were a play or two away from joining the others.
The Tylertown Lady Chiefs suffered a two-point loss to Hazlehurst while the Amite County Trojans suffered a one-point loss to North Forrest.
Even if the teams don’t all win, the area is well represented.
