It hasn’t been the easiest season to endure for Warren Central’s boys’ basketball team, but they showed this week that they’ll be a tough out in the MHSAA Class 6A state tournament.

Jaylon Winters led a balanced effort with 17 points, and Roosevelt Harris added 14 points and nine assists as Warren Central beat Callaway 60-43 on Friday in the third-place game of the Region 2-6A tournament.

The Vikings led nearly the entire game. Davon O’Neal finished with 11 points, and Micah Moore had seven points and six rebounds. Larry Reynolds Jr. also came off the bench to score five, and Nash Morgan grabbed nine rebounds.

“It was the best game we’ve played in a minute,” Warren Central coach Keith Williams said. “They played well. I’m proud of them. It’s been a long, tiresome week, but we persevered and played together.”

Warren Central (7-18) went winless in its last eight regular-season games, then won two of three in the region tournament to play its way into the state tournament. It beat region tournament host Neshoba Central in the first round, as well as Callaway, and lost 61-44 to Ridgeland in the semifinals.

The Vikings will be the No. 3 seed from Region 2-6A and go on the road to face either Olive Branch or Center Hill in the first round of the state tournament on Feb. 14.

Williams thinks the good showing in the region tournament will provide the Vikings with a shot of confidence for the big dance next week.

“It should,” Williams said. “They know we can play with anybody. We had a very, very tough schedule this year. That’s why we played that schedule, was for moments like this and not being afraid of this moment. You’ve got this opportunity. Let’s seize the moment.”