By By Marty Stamper/staff writer
Feb. 11, 2002
The MHSAA basketball postseason begins this week with division tournaments, while the MPSA teams enter the second round of their postseason play.
Many tournaments involving area teams open today, while others get under way on Tuesday.
2-5A at Meridian: The Meridian teams are part of a four-school tournament which MHS will host. Play begins on Tuesday with the top-seeded girls from Tupelo (29-1) playing Starkville at 4 p.m., followed by the boys from Columbus (25-2) and Tupelo (23-6) at 5:30. The 15-12 Meridian Lady Wildcats take on Columbus (25-3) at 7, with the top-seeded Meridian boys (16-10) meeting Starkville at 8:30.
The 2-5A finals are set for 6 p.m. Friday.
6-5A at Brandon: The Wayne County teams are seeded No. 1 in both the boys' and girls' divisions in the 6-5A event.
The 28-1 Lady War Eagles take on Brandon (9-18) Tuesday at 4 p.m. with Northwest Rankin (20-12) getting Forest Hill at 6:30 in the other girls' semifinal.
The 25-1 Wayne County boys meet Brandon at 5:15 in one semifinal Tuesday with Northwest Rankin (16-14) facing Forest Hill at 7:45 in the other.
The finals are slated for 6 p.m. Friday.
5-4A at Northeast Jones: This tournament was switched from Magee to Northeast Jones. The top seeds are the Northeast Lauderdale boys and the West Jones girls.
Play begins on Tuesday with the second-seeded Lady Trojans of Northeast Lauderdale (18-13) taking on Magee (12-16) at 6 p.m. At 7:30, the second-seeded Northeast Jones boys (17-11) play Florence (4-17).
In Wednesday's girls' games, Northeast Jones (13-16) plays Florence (16-9) at 4 p.m. with Quitman (4-21) facing Mendenhall (22-7) at 7. On the boys' side, Quitman (10-14) takes on Magee at 5:30 with Mendenhall (16-14) getting West Jones at 8:30.
The Northeast boys will face the Mendenhall-West Jones winner Thursday at 5:30 in semifinal action, while the West Jones girls will meet the Northeast Jones-Florence winner Thursday at 4 p.m.
The finals are set for Friday at 6 p.m.
2-4A at Neshoba Central: Play begins today at Philadelphia with both host teams taking to the court.
At 5:30 p.m., the Neshoba Central boys will face Kosciusko (16-14), while the 21-10 Neshoba Central girls play New Hope at 7. The 18-12 Louisville girls face Kosciusko (14-16) at 4 with the Noxubee County and Aberdeen boys squaring off at 8:30.
In Tuesday's action, the West Point and Aberdeen girls play at 6 p.m. with the New Hope and 18-10 West Point boys getting it on at 7:30.
The top-seeded Noxubee County girls play the Louisville-Kosciusko winner Thursday at 4 p.m. with the top-seeded Louisville boys meeting the Noxubee County-Aberdeen winner at 8:30.
The finals are set for Friday at 6:30 p.m.
5-3A at Heidelberg: West Lauderdale's Lady Knights and Heidelberg's Oilers claimed the top seeds in this seven-school tournament.
Play begins today with the 20-9 Philadelphia boys taking on Carthage at 4:30 p.m. Today's other boys' contest has second-seeded West Lauderdale (21-10) meeting Southeast Lauderdale (5-24) at 7:30. In today's lone girls' game, defending Class 3A state champion Southeast Lauderdale (23-8) takes on Newton County (13-12) at 6 p.m.
In Tuesday's action, the second-seeded Choctaw Central girls meet Carthage (8-21) at 4:30 p.m. with Heidelberg's 18-13 Lady Oilers taking on Philadelphia (11-18) at 7:30. Tuesday's only boys' game has Newton County facing Choctaw Central at 6 p.m.
Thursday's semifinals have West Lauderdale's 28-3 Lady Knights meeting the Southeast-Newton County winner at 7 and the Choctaw Central-Carthage girls' survivor meeting the Heidelberg-Philadelphia winner at 4. On the boys' side, the 25-6 Heidelberg Oilers will face the Newton County-Choctaw Central winner at 8:30 with the West-Southeast winner meeting the Philadelphia-Carthage winner at 5:30.
The finals are slated for 6 p.m. on Friday.
5-2A at Lexington: The top seeds in this six-team tournament belong to the Kemper County boys and the Williams-Sullivan girls.
Four games are slated for Tuesday with the girls from Scott Central (18-14) taking on Kemper County (8-17) at 4 p.m. The 5:30 contest has the 4-19 Scott Central boys facing Williams-Sullivan. At 7, the Clarkdale girls take on South Leake (19-5), while the 7-22 Clarkdale boys play South Leake (16-8) at 8:30.
On Thursday, the second-seeded Newton girls (24-4) will play the South Leake-Clarkdale winner at 4 p.m. with the second-seeded Newton boys (16-12) to meet the South Leake-Clarkdale winner at 5:30. At 7, the Williams-Sullivan girls get the Scott Central-Kemper County survivor with Kemper County's 24-6 Wildcats to take on the Williams-Sullivan-Scott Central winner at 8:30.