West Lincoln’s Chad Herring pair proved to be the difference inthe game as the host Bears eliminated the Edinburg Eagles 56-55 inthe South Mississippi Class 1A Boys Playoffs Tuesday night in JackCase Gymnasium. Herring, who finished with 10 points, 10 reboundsand four blocked shots, hit a pair of free throws with nine secondsremaining to give West Lincoln a 56-52 lead. Edinburg’s KiwashiMcBeath nailed a trey to cut the deficit to 56-55 at thebuzzer.

West Lincoln (20-9) faces the winner of the Mt. Olive-Noxapatergame Thursday night at Dexter. The game begins at 7 p.m.

Last night’s game was close in the first half with the Bearsholding a 1-point, 32-31, lead at halftime. West Lincoln carried a47-39 lead into the final frame. Edinburg went on a 16-9 run andremained one point short of the tie.

“For three and a half quarters we played pretty good,” said WestLincoln coach Lane Young. “But the last four minutes, we had toomany turnovers. But we made our free throws toward the end.”

Powering the Bears with 19 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists was JayCase. Jared Case netted 11 points, pulled down 6 rebounds and had 5assists.

“It was a good game on both ends,” said Edinburg coach ChrisBloodsaw. “It came down to the last shot. West Lincoln is a goodteam. They made the plays to win and made their free throws.”

Shun Luckett directed the 14-11 Eagles with a game-high 33 points,plus 5 rebounds and 2 steals.