Provine puts WC out of playoffs

If the Warren Central basketball teams want to go to the state tournament this year, they’ll have to buy a ticket.

Both the Vikings and Lady Vikes were eliminated in the opening round of the Division 4-5A Tournament at Warren Central. Provine advances to Friday’s championship games and will face Greenville in both the boys and girls finals. Greenville swept Clinton in the first two games Tuesday night.

“Any time you lose a game like this, one you fight hard the whole time, it hurts. It hurts the team and it hurts me as a coach,” said WC girls coach Donny Fuller, who was trying to return to the Mississippi Coliseum for the state tournament for the second year in a row. “I told our kids I won’t sleep much tonight, but that is nothing new. The thing is, I thought we played one of our best defensive games all year.”

Warren Central held Provine in the 40s deep into the fourth quarter and had a 49-44 lead with 3 minutes, 29 seconds to play.

Provine used a 6-1 run to tie the game at 50 with less than 20 seconds to play. On an inbounds pass, the receiver stumbled backward with the ball, but did not get a traveling call. The Lady Rams worked the ball around, finally finding Cierra Ramsey under the basket for a basket and a foul. She nailed the free throw to give the Lady Rams a three-point lead with 4.6 seconds to play.

“Coach told me I was going to get the shot, I squared up and let it go,” said Ramsey, a vivacious post player who scored 13 points. “I was just praying, ‘Please go in.'”

Ramsey was one of four Lady Rams in double figures — and one of four to score all game. Sareatha Brown led Provine with 16 points, while Kianna Harris had 14 and LaShondra Dunson netted 10.

Junior Sha’Kayla Caples scored a game-high 21 points to lead Warren Central and Karnina Bunch added 11. Caples had a desperation toss at a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded, but it fell harmlessly to the court, ending the Lady Vikes season at 15-13.

“I am proud of our kids and their effort, but this has been a very disappointing season,” said Fuller, who came into the season with two players — Caples and Bunch — with extended playing time in their careers. “We lost so many close games. Of our 13 losses, 10 are by nine or less and nine are by seven or less.”

The losses landed the Lady Vikes as the No. 4 seed in the division. They lost to top-seeded Provine for the third time this season.

Trailing 32-27 at halftime, WC used an 8-2 run to open the third to take a slim lead. The lead shifted back and forth until WC’s last run gave it a 49-44 lead late.

(B) Provine 81, WC 60

Provine scored 51 second-half points to break open a close game and douse Warren Central’s upset bid.

University of Connecticut recruit Scottie Haralson led five Rams in double figures with 18 points to earn a championship matchup with Greenville. Carl Blair scored 14 points, Julen Courtney netted 13, Kenny Thomas scored 11 and Marcus Hooten added 10 in the victory.

The game got heated with three minutes to play in the third quarter when Provine coach Luther Riley and Warren Central coach Jesse Johnson began jawing at one another at midcourt. Warren County Sheriff’s deputies and WCHS officials quickly rushed the court, but no further incidents occurred the rest of the night.

Provine was holding a six-point lead at the time of the flare-up, but Hooten connected on two 3-pointers to close out the quarter with Provine holding a 57-45 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Dino Harris scored a game-high 20 points and Malcolm Harper netted 12 for Warren Central.

Provine hit 18 of 30 free throws in the second half, while Warren Central connected on only 2 of 10.

(B) VHS 38, Yazoo Co. 28

Jonathan Phelps scored 13 points, Kelsey Howard added 11, and the top-seeded Vicksburg Gators survived an upset bid from No. 8 seed Yazoo County in the first round of the Division 3-4A tournament at Lanier. Yazoo County led 17-16 at halftime, but Vicksburg (25-5) held the Panthers to just four points in the third quarter to take control.

Vicksburg advanced to face Ridgeland, a 39-37 winner over Yazoo City, in the semifinals on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. VHS also advanced to next week’s satellite round with the victory, and can host a satellite game by beating Ridgeland. Callaway and Lanier will play in the other boys’ semifinal on Thursday at 8:30.

Next Game(B) Vicksburg vs. RidgelandThursday, 5:30 p.m., at Lanier