Three times, Murrah seemed willing to give Warren Central a victory — or at least a chance at one — on Tuesday night.

When the Vikings wouldn’t take it, the Mustangs shrugged their shoulders and headed back to Jackson with a win and the No. 3 seed in the Division 4-6A tournament.

Murrah missed two free throws at the end of regulation and two regular shots at the end of the first overtime, then survived when Shaun Walton’s 30-footer at the buzzer was just off the mark to beat Warren Central 72-71 in double overtime.

“It’s a little furstrating. But it’s encouraging to see our guys fight like they did,” Warren Central coach Bruce Robinson said. “We didn’t quit. We played hard. We did things in terms of emotion, in terms of body language, that we’ve talked about wanting to do all year. So I’m very encouraged.”

The win left Warren Central as the No. 4 seed in the division tournament — it’ll face host Greenville next Tuesday — and Murrah as the No. 3 to face Clinton.

That wasn’t the worst arrangement in the world, WC coach Bruce Robinson said, since it means there’s no chance it’ll play Greenville in an elimination game. The first-round losers still get to play a consolation game, with the winner of that one advancing to the state tournament.

“Now somebody else will have to worry about an upset,” Robinson said. “The worst thing that could happen in our division is that Greenville gets upset by the fourth-place team and then the second- or third-place team has to play them at their place. That’s scary, because we know we can beat them.”

Tuesday’s game was the third time this season that Warren Central (11-16, 1-5 Division 4-6A) has played a double-overtime game, including one against Greenville in January.

It had several chances to win, thanks to Murrah’s foibles, but couldn’t quite get over the hump.

The Vikings held the ball for just over three minutes at the end of regulation to wait for the last shot. Mario Doyle finally took it, but he was short on a 12-foot jumper from the lane.

Murrah’s Pat Wiggly was fouled grabbing the rebound, but missed two free throws with 1.8 seconds left to send it to overtime tied at 57.

“I was surprised he allowed that to happen. I wouldn’t have let somebody hold the ball that long for one shot,” Robinson said of Murrah coach Timothy Speech. “I thought (Doyle’s shot) was going to go down.”

Murrah had another chance to win at the end of the first overtime, but missed two shots from inside 10 feet in the waning seconds. Warren Central got a rebound with about 5 seconds left, but couldn’t get a shot off before the buzzer.

In the second overtime, the Mustangs took an early lead and again let Warren Central hold for the last shot with about a minute left. WC worked it toward the post with under 10 seconds left, but backup point guard Jalen Allen sent a pass into traffic that was stolen.

Murrah’s Jonas James was fouled and missed both free throws to give the Vikings one last chance. Walton got a good look at a long 3-pointer, which bounced off the rim as time expired.

Walton finished with 16 points for Warren Central, while Doyle scored a game-high 26 — 24 of them in the second half and overtime. Chris Stamps added 14 points.

Eric Thornton led Murrah (6-13, 2-4) with 24 points and Jonas James scored 15.

“I thought it had a chance. I really did,” Robinson said. “If you’d have told me we’d have three people in double figures I’d have thought that was one we won. But our defense let us down a little bit.”

(G) Murrah 43, Warren Central 33

Murrah went 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the last 1:14 and held Warren Central to two field goals in the fourth quarter to fend off the Lady Vikes (14-12, 3-3 Division 4-6A).

Murrah’s win created a four-way tie for first place atop the division. Warren Central coach Jackie Glass said it shows the parity among the teams heading into next week’s division tournament at Greenville.

“I think everybody’s even. It depends on who shows up to play,” Glass said.

Warren Central trailed 27-26 heading into the fourth quarter Tuesday, but only made 2 of 7 field goals and committed a half-dozen turnovers in the final period.

Murrah’s Jonickua Jones hit a 3-pointer and Emery Wilson followed it up with a 2-point basket to put the Lady Mustangs ahead 36-28 with 2:40 left, then they sealed the deal with their sharp free throw shooting down the stretch.

Wilson led Murrah (17-9, 3-3) with 18 points and Jones scored 11. Shae Bracey led Warren Central with 13 points and T.T. Sims scored 11.

“This one hurt because we would’ve been number one if we’d won. But there’s some good because we got a good look at them,” Glass said.