The Bogue Chitto boys’ basketball team is headed back to the MHSAA 2A semifinals at the Mississippi Coliseum aka The Big House after beating Newton High 67-46 on Saturday in the quarterfinals held at Holmes Community College in Goodman.

The BC boys are the only area team to reach the final four in their bracket as the Bogue Chitto girls, Brookhaven High boys and Lawrence County girls all had their seasons ended in quarterfinal losses.

Bogue Chitto 67, Newton High 46 (Boys)

Coach Marc Howard and his Bobcats (28-1) take the court on Tuesday for a 12 p.m. tipoff against the New Site Royals (23-6) in the semifinals.

Howard has a veteran team that returned nearly the entire roster from a semifinal appearance last season. On Saturday, Bogue Chitto played close through three quarters with the Newton High Tigers, before turning it up in the fourth quarter and pulling away for a 22nd consecutive victory.

New Site, located in the northeast corner of the state in Prentiss County, reached the semifinals with a 66-51 win over Northside High. It was Northside who bested BC last season in the semifinals. Like several other schools in the basketball loving top right corner of the Magnolia State, New Site does not field a football team.

The Royals haven’t played in a state championship game since 1969. The Bobcats are seeking their first title game opportunity since 1993.

The other semifinal on Tuesday will be played after the Bogue Chitto game and has Ingomar (25-9) meeting Bay Springs (19-7). Ingomar, like New Site, is located in northeast Mississippi and does not field a football team.

Bogue Chitto led 32-30 over Newton at halftime on Saturday. Junior wing Noah Magee was the high scorer for BC, finishing with 21 points.

Magee nailed a 3-pointer after an offensive rebound to put the Bobcats up 55-42 midway through the fourth quarter, which felt like a dagger to any comeback hopes held by Newton High.

Senior guard Shomari Jenkins chipped in 13 points for the Bobcats while junior guard Devonta “Bam” Thompson added 12 points. Sophomore forward Tripp McCaffrey gave the Bobcats a big boost inside with nine points and junior wing Shakell Jenkins added eight points. Jayden Poole and Randy Crisler rounded out the BC scoring with two points each.

Bay Springs 55, Bogue Chitto 43 (Girls)

A dream season for the Bogue Chitto girls came to an end on Saturday at Holmes Community College in Goodman.

The loss was the first of the season for the Bobcats (29-1) and moves Bay Springs (22-5) on to the MHSAA 2A semifinals, where they’ll play New Site (22-8) at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. The other 2A semifinal has Ingomar (30-4) taking on Heidelberg (21-7).

Bay Springs jumped ahead 10-0 on Saturday, but Bogue Chitto coach Marc Howard saw his team respond, although the Bobcats could never pull ahead.

A basket by senior DeMya Porter tied the game at 14-14 early in the second quarter. The Bobcats had cut that Bay Springs advantage to 14-12 after the first quarter.

Bay Springs and coach Nedra Hosey led 25-22 at halftime and 39-32 after three quarters.

Junior Zaria Keyes led Bay Springs with 19 points as the Bulldogs had three players in double figures.

Porter, who’s signed to next play at Southern University in Baton Rouge, led BC with 17 points. Senior Ty May scored 12 points for Bogue Chitto, junior guard Neeli Magee scored seven points, sophomore Destinee Thompson scored five points and junior Layla McKnight rounded out the Bobcat scoring with two points.

Provine High 60, Brookhaven High 28 (Boys)

The 2023-2024 season ended on Friday in Poplarville at Pearl River Community College for the Brookhaven High boys’ basketball team with a MHSAA 5A quarterfinal loss to the Provine Rams.

It was the third matchup of the season for the Panthers and the Rams as they play in the same 5A Region. On Friday, BHS struggled to get the ball into the basket as Provine held them scoreless in the second quarter to take a 30-8 halftime lead.

Provine (23-6) moves on to face Yazoo City (27-5) in the 5A semifinals at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The other 5A semifinal will be played afterwards and features Canton High (25-4) facing Wayne County (23-5).

BHS head coach Charlton Grey and his team finished the season with a 22-7 record with three of those losses coming at the hands of Provine. The quarterfinal appearance for the Panthers was the deepest postseason run for BHS since the 2016-2017 season.

Seniors on the team this year for BHS include Jaylen Haliburton, Ronntrell Williams, Jamarius Malone and Ty Moore.

Quitman High 57, Lawrence County 50 (Girls)

A solid year which included a region title for the Lawrence County girls’ basketball team ended on Saturday at Pearl River Community College in Poplarville with a close quarterfinal loss to Quitman High.

Coach Candance McDuffey and her team reached the third round of the MHSAA 4A bracket after beating Forest 40-33 in the first round and Greene County 53-41 in the second round.

Quitman is coached by Jennie Vance, who herself was head coach at Lawrence County 20 years ago. Quitman (25-5) will play Tishomingo County (28-3) on Wednesday in the 4A semifinals at the Mississippi Coliseum. Choctaw Central (27-3) and Morton (28-2) meet in the other 4A girls’ semifinal.

The LC girls end the season with an 18-11 overall record after repeating as region tournament champs in year number three of McDuffey leading her alma mater.