St. Aloysius got to take home the title of best of the rest. Hinds AHS earned the right to claim it’s the best of all.

Hinds AHS routed St. Al 76-41 in the Division 7-1A championship game Saturday night, completing a dominating, perfect run through the regular and postseason league schedule.

Hinds’ closest game in a dozen division contests was a 17-point victory over Piney Woods in late January. The 35-point margin Saturday night was the closest of three meetings with St. Al (12-14).

“They’re 10 deep. Their back ups are just as good as their starting five. That wears you down,” St. Al coach Delvin Thompson said of Hinds (23-4).

The Flashes kept up with Hinds for a bit, but quickly slid out of contention in their bid for the school’s first division title since 2007.

“My boys weren’t focused. I think they said we’re already second place and we’ve got our home game,” Thompson said. “We’ve got to come out focused every game.”

Despite the loss, being the best of the rest in Division 7-1A does come with a reward for the Flashes. By virtue of finishing second in the division, they’ll get to host a Class 1A South State satellite round game Tuesday night against Dexter.

It’s the second straight year the Flashes have reached the satellite round, but the first time they’ve hosted since 2007.

“That’s a big step,” Thompson said. “They worked their butt off this season.”

Dexter (14-16) beat Mount Olive 92-80 in the Division 8-1A tournament consolation game on Saturday. The Bulldogs had lost three in a row entering the division tournament, but beat Resurrection Catholic in the first round to clinch a spot in the satellite game.

St. Al and Dexter did not play each other this season. Their only common opponent was Sacred Heart, which split two meetings with Dexter and lost twice to St. Al — including a 44-point beatdown in December.

Up next

Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Dexter at St. Aloysius