Lincoln County will be bouncing this weekend.

The South Mississippi Class 1A girls and boys basketballtournaments are coming to Bogue Chitto and West Lincolnrespectively. Action starts Friday night and runs through Saturdaynight.

In Bogue Chitto’s R.L. “Bob” Calhoun Gymnasium, Lake meetsDurant at 6:30 and the host Lady Bobcats tackle McAdams at 8.

In West Lincoln’s Jack Case Gymnasium, the host Bears battleDurant at 6:30 Friday and Dexter plays McAdams at 8.

Win or lose Friday night, all four semifinalists advance toSaturday night’s consolation or championship games. The top threeteams advance to the Class 1A State Tournament at the MississippiColiseum in Jackson which begins next week.

Certainly, Coach Mickey Myers and his Lady’Cats are keeping the basketball flames burning at Bogue Chitto.They picked it up a notch as the regular season came to a close andthe results are encouraging. The Lady ‘Cats could very well makeanother trip to the coliseum, also known as their home away fromhome.

At West Lincoln, Coach Jason Case has his Bearsplaying well. They whipped Pisgah on the road Tuesday night.They’ll test a tough opponent in the Durant Tigers Friday night butanything can happen.

Dexter, which beat West Lincoln in the Division 7-1A Tournamentfinals last Friday, is considered a favorite. The Bulldogs are bigand strong on the backboards, very athletic.

At neighboring Lawrence County, the Cougars might need toinstall a new pair of nets for their goals. They are hosting theSouth 4A Boys Tournament this weekend. The Cougars, coached byBobby Lee, meet South Jones at 6:30 Friday nightand Vancleave tests surprising Crystal Springs at 8:30.

Coach Lee’s Cougars have been shooting the ball extremely wellin recent weeks so they could win the South title Saturday night.Don’t be surprised if they face Crystal Springs in a rematch of theDivision 6-4A Tournament finals.

Crystal Springs, coached by Lee Payton, sentshock waves through the Magnolia State, from the Gulf Coast toMemphis, Tuesday night. The Tigers (18-14) upset No. 1-rankedPicayune 83-76 on the Maroon Tide’s home floor. Picayune closed itsseason with a 32-3 record.

Brookhaven Academy’s Lady Cougars were aiming for a rematch withCruger-Tchula Academy in the MPSA Overall Tournament at MississippiCollege. but both teams bit the dust Wednesday. Cruger-Tchula hadbeaten the Lady Cougars last Saturday at Grenada Kirk, in the ClassAA State Tournament championship game, avenging last year’s finalsloss and wrecking BA’s dreams of a threepeat.

Coach Barry Gray’s Lady Cougars (40-3) were ona mission. They were seeking the school’s first Overallchampionship since 1983. With five senior starters, the LadyCougars were a pleasure to watch play the game. Unfortunately,their offense sputtered in the last few games.

On the bright side, Coach Gray and three of his players, guardsKatie Newman and Amy Smith andcenter Lindsay Altman, have the Class A-AAAll-Star Game to look forward to, next Saturday at MC. Seniorcenter Turner Havard will represent the BA Cougarsin the boys all-star game.

Hats off to the Copiah-Lincoln Community College basketballteams. The Lady Wolves (23-1) are enjoying another great year underthe direction of Coach Gwyn Young. They are ranked No. 5 inthe NJCAA poll. Upset in the South Division semifinals by PearlRiver in double overtime Wednesday night, the Lady Wolves canregroup and prepare for the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament atMississippi College in two weeks.

The Co-Lin men, coached by Dennis Sims, are in aposition to win the South Division Tournament and host the StateTournament Monday and Tuesday night, Feb. 26-27, in MullenGymnasium. After beating archrival Southwest in the semifinals,they must beat Jones County tonight at Summit. The top two teamsout of the North and South Division Tournaments willparticipate.