The St. Aloysius Flashes have done a good job this season of beating the teams they were supposed to beat and compiling a winning record. The challenge has been beating good teams.

Considering there are two of the latter standing in their way of the District 3-AAA championship, it’s a problem they need to solve quickly.

St. Al will begin its run in the District 3-AAA tournament Tuesday at 5:15 p.m., when it plays crosstown rival Porter’s Chapel Academy in an elimination game. The winner advances to face No. 2 seed Riverfield Academy on Thursday, with top seed Hillcrest waiting in the wings. St. Al went 0-4 this season against the top two seeds and 6-0 against the other three teams in the district.

The District 3-AAA tournament is at Central Hinds Academy in Raymond.

“Riverfield is playing good basketball. Hillcrest is phenomenal. We’re playing pretty good and we have to get past Porter’s Chapel. We’re not overlooking them at all,” St. Al coach Eddie Pickle said. “We’ve got to find a way to beat a good team.”

St. Al (12-8) finished the regular season on Thursday night by beating Central Hinds 79-54. Sean Simpson scored 12 points to lead a balanced effort. Fourteen of the 16 players on the roster scored, with Simpson, Markeese Wilson (11 points) and Thomas Trichell (10) finishing in double figures.

Ross Mitchell led Central Hinds with 21 points.

“I’m glad I’ve got kids that can come off the bench and score and play defense. That helps a lot,” Pickle said. “We tend to lose focus. But they did better tonight.”

The top four teams in the six-team district tournament advance to the MAIS Class AAA South State tournament, which makes Tuesday’s matchup with Porter’s Chapel an elimination game. A victory Tuesday sends the winner on to South State.

Park Place takes on Central Hinds in the other first-round game at 7:45 p.m.
Pickle said playing a rival like PCA should help the Flashes from looking too far ahead.

“It does help. That’s going to help us focus on and work on some things to prepare for the Riverfield game. We’re not overlooking Porter’s Chapel at all, though,” Pickle said.

The girls’ District 3-AAA tournament also gets under way Tuesday, with St. Al (0-20) taking on Park Place at 4 p.m. and Porter’s Chapel playing Riverfield at 6:30 in a pair of elimination games.

Riverfield beat PCA 51-38 in the regular-season finale on Thursday. Anna Grace White had a double-double for PCA with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five steals, while Brittnee Martin had 15 points and six rebounds.

The Lady Eagles finished the regular season with a 12-13 record and are the No. 4 seed in the tournament.

St. Al, meanwhile, has not won a game and is entering the postseason off a 56-19 loss to Central Hinds. Taylor Chewning led St. Al with six points, and Keri Hodges led Central Hinds — the No. 2 seed in the district tournament — with 16.

Although they’re a decided underdog for the tournament, Pickle was excited about the Lady Flashes’ prospects. Both games with Park Place were competitive, and St. Al even led early in the third quarter when the teams played in Vicksburg two weeks ago.

Pickle admitted the Lady Flashes were an extreme longshot to make a Cinderella run to the tournament championship, but did feel they were capable of springing an upset and getting to South State.

“We were in both of those games (vs. Park Place) midway through the fourth quarter. We made some mistakes late and they pulled away. I really believe if we take care of the basketball we can do something,” Pickle said. “We had some kids out (against Central Hinds) and a few that were limited. I wouldn’t be shocked if they were to pull that upset against Park Place.”

MAIS District 3-AAA basketball tournament
All games at Central Hinds Academy
Girls
Tuesday
4 p.m. – St. Aloysius vs. Park Place
6:30 p.m. – Porter’s Chapel vs. Riverfield
Thursday
4 p.m. – St. Al/Park Place winner vs. Central Hinds
6:30 p.m. – PCA/Riverfield winner vs. Hillcrest
Saturday
4:30 p.m. – Third-place game
8:30 p.m. – Championship game

Boys
Tuesday
5:15 p.m. – St. Aloysius vs. Porter’s Chapel
7:45 p.m. – Park Place vs. Central Hinds
Thursday
5:15 p.m. – St. Al/PCA winner vs. Riverfield
7:45 p.m. – Park Place/Central Hinds winner vs. Hillcrest
Saturday
3:15 p.m. – Third-place game
5:45 p.m. – Championship game