When it comes to boys’ basketball, Warren Central and South Panola have not played each other in at least 20 years yet they have a lot in common.

Both teams are entering the MHSAA Class 6A tournament with a losing record. Neither has ever had much success in the postseason. And both of them have a chance to put their history behind them when they go head-to-head in a first-round game Friday at 7 p.m. in Batesville.

“No one gave us a chance but us, so let’s keep it going. Why can’t it be us?” Warren Central coach Keith Williams said.

Both Warren Central (7-18) and South Panola (7-19) finished last in their regions in the regular season and then played their way into the state tournament by winning two of three games in their region tournaments.

South Panola earned the No. 2 seed from Region 1-6A and the right to host this first-round game. Warren Central is the No. 3 seed from Region 2-6A.

For Warren Central, the region tournament run was the first positive result in nearly a month. It started 2-0 in region play, then lost eight in a row.

There were several competitive losses mixed in, like an overtime defeat against Region 2-6A champion Columbus, that provided encouragement amidst the gloom. The Vikings said they tried to take those moments as signs that they weren’t nearly as bad as their record indicated.

After beating Neshoba Central and Callaway in the region tournament, sophomore forward Nash Morgan said, those thoughts were validated.

“We’ve been playing some really difficult games, close games, where we could’ve won or should’ve won. We finally got the win against Neshoba to get us going and push us through this week. We fought for each other and kept on going,” Morgan said. “Things started falling the way they were supposed to. Sometimes it just comes down to making or missing something as simple as free throws. We finally started doing the little things right.”

Morgan was one of the Vikings who stepped up in the region tournament. He had a double-double in the 64-61 win over Neshoba Central and nine rebounds against Callaway in the third-place game.

He was far from alone, though. Seven players scored at least eight points in one of the three tournament games. It was a balanced effort that the Vikings say shows an unselfish attitude and can carry them even deeper into the postseason.

“We don’t care who’s getting 40, 30, 20 points. We just want to find a way to win at the end of the game,” said senior guard Roosevelt Harris, who had 20 assists in the Vikings’ two wins last week.
Besides the obvious reward of getting to keep playing, senior guard Jaylon Winters said the region tournament run provided a fresh start.

“It was just realizing it was a new season ahead of us entering the district tournament, and really focusing on getting that win. It came out to be some good battles we had,” Winters said. “It was very relieving. But we knew the task wasn’t done. We still have another season coming in the playoffs.”

Indeed, this is just the start of what the Vikings hope is not a very brief new season.

The winner of Friday’s game will advance to the second round to face either Ridgeland (26-4) or Lake Cormorant (20-7) on Feb. 21 at Mississippi Valley State. After that, the final four in each classification goes to the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson for the semifinals and finals.

Warren Central has not been to the state semifinals in 50 years. The Vikings are an underdog to break that drought, but feel like they have a good chance to do it.

“It’s great, after all the hard stuff we’ve faced this year, to have the reward of a chance to go to the Big House,” Morgan said. “All we need is a chance.”

MHSAA CLASS 6A TOURNAMENT
Boys – First round
All games at 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 14
Warren Central at South Panola
Saturday, Feb. 15
Lake Cormorant at Ridgeland
Pearl River Central at Pascagoula
George County at Terry
Callaway at Olive Branch
Center Hill at Columbus
Hancock at Hattiesburg
Jim Hill at West Harrison