Amite County High School’s gym was Lincoln County South Thursday as fans from Bogue Chitto, Loyd Star and West Lincoln filled every seat, space and corner of the building.

The fans wearing red were treated to a gutsy performance in the championship game from the Loyd Star boys’ team. Playing an Amite County (16-8) group that had beaten them twice in regular season, Loyd Star led for nearly the entire game before AC took a late 2-point lead.

LS senior guard Nathan Calcote hit a layup that tied the game up at 40-40 to send it to overtime, but the extra period was ruled by the Trojans as they gained a 51-40 victory.

“We had a couple shots in close that didn’t fall late in regulation that would have stretched our lead,” said LS head coach Seth Britt. “Amite County took advantage of that. It was an awesome atmosphere to play and coach in. Couldn’t be any prouder of how my guys stepped up.”

The Trojans had beaten Loyd Star 44-41 on Jan. 11 and 49-38 on Jan. 28.

Britt’s team came out with a confidence in handling any AC pressure as the Hornets led 14-6 after the first quarter and 22-16 at halftime.

Sophomore forward Colby Terrell scored 16 points to lead Loyd Star. Junior guard Blake Thornton chipped in nine points and Calcote scored five points. Casen DeHart and Craig Bass scored four points each and Julius Smith scored two points.

DeHart grabbed seven rebound while Terrell hauled in five boards. Calcote made a team high four steals.

Either the Trojans or the Hornets have won all four of the last Region 7-2A Tournament championships.

Amite County is coached by Adaiah Curry, a former Mississippi Valley State University assistant coach.

The region tournament had a different format as the semifinals were played on Tuesday and followed quickly by the championship games on Thursday due to Amite County recently losing a former player and student in a vehicle accident.

The funeral was scheduled for Friday and the tournament was moved up as to accommodate the Amite County High community in not playing games on that day.

The consolation game saw a young Bogue Chitto team take a big step forward with a 69-64 win over East Marion. LS had beaten East Marion 55-49 in the semis while Amite County beat Bogue Chitto 56-49 in their semifinal game.

The Bobcats (13-12) lost 79-50 and 65-54 to the Eagles in the regular season.

Junior guard Shomari Jenkins scored 26 points for BC while freshman point guard Devonta Thompson chipped in 20 points for BC coach Marc Howard. Junior forward Jay May scored eight points including a late 3-pointer that got one of the biggest cheers of the night from the Bobcat fans. Freshman wing Noah Magee added 12 points including another huge, late 3-pointer.

Bogue Chitto made nine 3-pointers in the win.

Loyd Star will host a playoff game next week in the opening round of the MHSAA 2A State Tournament while Bogue Chitto will play on the road in the first round.