The Loyd Star girls’ team and the boys’ squad from Wilkinson County both qualified for the upcoming MHSAA 2A State Tournament with wins on Monday in the first round of the Region 7-2A Tournament at Bogue Chitto.

Loyd Star topped Wilkinson County 45-30 while the West Lincoln boys had their season end in heartbreaking fashion with a 61-60 loss to Wilkinson County.

“They had a one-point lead for the last 45 seconds,” said WL head coach Jay Case. “We got a steal with six seconds left and got it into the lane but couldn’t get a shot off.”

The Bears were led by junior Tyquarius Terrell with 17 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

Case, in his third year leading his alma mater, had five seniors on his roster, Carson Temple, William Wilson, Cevonte Lewis, Zackary Taylor and Baylor Sills, in 2023-2024.

The 6-foot-4 Taylor finished his basketball career with 14 points and 17 rebounds in the loss. Taylor grabbed 10 offensive rebounds in the paint for the Bears.

Junior Amias Smith scored two points and dished out a team high five assists. Temple also reached double figures in his final game playing for the green and white, scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds in 20 minutes of court time.

Junior guard Jai’Juan Fells scored 11 points for West Lincoln and pulled down eight rebounds. Freshman Maddux Johnson and junior Dereon Eley chipped in three points apiece to round out the WL scoring.

Wilkinson County only had two players in double figures, led by 25 points from Dwayne Herbert Jr. The Wildcats also got 16 points from Ladarius Galtney.

West Lincoln ends the season with an 8-15 overall record. They had split their meetings with Wilkinson County during the regular season. The program has momentum in the right direction after winning four combined games over the previous two seasons.

“We’ve made a lot of progress over the last three years,” said Case. “We were competitive in the majority of our games this year.”

Coach Russell Cruise and the Loyd Star girls’ team led 13-3 after the first quarter in notching their third win of the season against Wilkinson County. The Hornets (11-10) were up 27-9 at halftime.

Loyd Star moves on to face top-seeded Bogue Chitto on Tuesday night.