Though it sounds cliché, it’s still true that basketball is a game of runs.

That was apparent to all the fans that packed Raymond High School’s gymnasium on Friday to see the MHSAA 2A quarterfinal boys’ basketball matchup between Bogue Chitto (23-4) and Pelahatchie (28-2).

In a game that featured the top two 2A teams from the southern portion of the state, it was the Chiefs from PHS that closed the game on 6-0 run to hold on for a 64-61 overtime win.

Those that had stayed past 10:30 p.m. to see the game’s conclusion saw one that went down to the last tick of the clock.

Bogue Chitto star senior guard Devonta “Bam” Thompson received a full court heave from junior forward Tripp McCaffrey in the final two seconds of the game.

Thompson gathered the ball in the same corner where he’d splashed in a 3-pointer to start overtime and put BC up 61-58.

His shot wasn’t good this time though, as the fans wearing red and black for Pelahatchie roared a cheer of relief.

Thompson ends his splendid high school career with a 27-point effort.

This is a veteran Bogue Chitto squad that just graduated one starter last season after losing in the 2A title game by two points.

The seniors in the program have a pile of great wins to look back on when they one day reflect on their high school careers.

As sophomores, they went on the road to a favored Velma Jackson team in the second round and won in overtime after trailing by six points with under a minute left in regulation. That BC team eventually reached the 2A semifinals.

Considering all that, it was a shock for the Bobcat fans that packed one side of Raymond’s beautiful new facility to see their team start the game in a 12-0 hole.

Pelahatchie, a school that lost in the 2A quarters by one-point last season, came out on fire against an ice-cold start for BC, which began the game by going 0-12 from the field.

Bogue Chitto and coach Marc Howard didn’t panic though. Howard did not call early timeouts and let his team play through the jitters, which included a bunch of missed baskets close against a smaller Pelahatchie team.

The Cats finally got on the scoreboard when the 6-foot-5 McCaffrey scored on a putback with 2:10 left in the first quarter.

Pelahatchie led 14-6 after the first quarter.

Forward Randy Crisler picked up his second foul early in the second quarter, which isn’t ideal for a Bobcat squad that only plays seven.

Soon though, good things started to snowball for Bogue Chitto.

A 3-pointer by senior wing Shakell Jenkins gave the Bobcats their first lead of the game at 21-20.

Thompson, who was named MHSAA 2A Mr. Basketball earlier in the week, then put together a quick 5-0 run just before halftime, with all those points coming via the free throw line.

That put Bogue Chitto up 29-20 at the break as the Cats closed the opening two quarters with a 29-8 surge that had Howard calling for schools’ fans that’d made the perilous trek down Dry Grove Road to Raymond to get on their feet and cheer for the team as they ran to the locker room.

Another Pelahatchie run was soon to come through.

The streak that Pelahatchie had to begin the second quarter was similar to how the Chiefs started the game.

Jenkins made a 3-pointer to put Bogue Chitto ahead 31-23 early in the third quarter, but the Chiefs reeled off a 18-4 assault to put them back ahead 38-33.

Pelahatchie was at a size disadvantage with its tallest player being Latterion Irvin, a junior forward that spent most of the first half on the bench with two fouls. Irvin was the region MVP for the Chiefs and his play, especially his rebounding, was a big part of Pelahatchie going up again in the third quarter.

As he did in the second, Thompson closed the third quarter on a mission to get his team back up.

Thompson scored eight straight points, with a corner 3-pointer splashing through to put Bogue Chitto up 41-38 after three quarters.

Early in the fourth quarter, Thompson put his team up 53-49, only to see Pelahatchie fight back to tie things at 53-53.

Thompson scored on his own offensive rebound and Bogue Chitto got the ball back and went back ahead 57-53 with 41.3 seconds left.

Pelahatchie made one free throw on its next possession and got the ball back after the second free throw was missed and went off the Bobcats.

The Chiefs fouled again and this time Irvin made both free throws to cut the deficit to 57-56, as the foul was on Crisler, his fifth and final.

Pelahatchie played for the steal, but Bogue Chitto beat the pressure to get the ball into the frontcourt, where Jenkins was fouled.

Jenkins made 1-of-2 free throws and Pelahatchie threw the ball in with 14.9 seconds left, trailing by two.

Senior guard Caleb Gray looked like he might pull a 3-pointer when he caught the ball on the wing in front of the Pelahatchie bench, but he instead dribbled past a Bobcat defender and avoided the closing forwards to loft up a left-handed floater that dropped with six seconds left, tying the game at 58-58.

Bogue Chitto flew down for a game winning attempt by Thompson that missed at the horn.

Thompson scored the final three points of his high school career to start overtime, a 3-pointer from the corner that put the Bobcats up 61-58 to start overtime.

PHS point guard Mickey Jenkins scored a tough layup at the basket with 1:29 left in overtime to make things 61-60.

The go-ahead basket came after a Bobcat turnover, where Magee ran down the man with the ball to block his shot off the backboard.

Junior guard Zion Grant of Pelahatchie caught the ball as it slammed off the glass and got the putback bucket to put the Chiefs ahead 62-61.

The Bobcats got the ball back with 36.7 seconds left but ended with a scoreless possession.

Pelahatchie missed two free throws but got the ball back on an offensive rebound and Irvin made his two free throws, setting up the Hail-Mary pass and shot to end the game for Bogue Chitto.

Jenkins and McCaffrey scored 11 points each for the Bobcats. Magee added six points on two made 3-pointers. Crisler, Isaiah Collins, and Jayden Poole scored two points each to round out the BC scoring.

Pelahatchie moves on to play Northside High (20-11) in the 2A semifinals. Bay Springs (25-4) will meet Leflore County (21-7) in the other semifinal pairing.