By Cody Thomason
The Vicksburg Post

It came down to the charity stripe on Monday night in the matchup with St. Aloysius and Central Hinds. With less than two minutes left and St. Al holding a three-point lead, Central Hinds had refused to be put away. Phillip Upshaw drained two free throws for the Flashes, but Central Hinds quickly scored twice and St. Al held just a one-point lead with 28 seconds left.

Upshaw was fouled twice in the remainder of the game, and with the pressure of the entire gym on him, he coolly swished all four attempts at the line to put the game away.

St. Al’s boys took home the victory with a final score of 61-56. Coach Eddie Pickle was very proud of his team’s resilience.

“Best win since I’ve been here,” Pickle said. “This one meant the world to us tonight.”

It was a productive day on offense for the Flashes, who came back from a 21-14 deficit at the beginning of the first quarter. Upshaw led all scorers with 20 points, going 9-for-9 from the line, and Braxton Chewning scored 18, including two 3-pointers.

“Phillip Upshaw played the game of his life,” Pickle said. “He made the free throws down the stretch and that’s what matters.”

Pickle loved the guts and effort his team showed in closing out the game.

“The guys showed some pride tonight, could’ve got down when they came back and cut the lead, and quit,” Pickle said. “They keep fighting, doesn’t matter if they are 50 points behind or 50 points ahead, they are going to keep fighting. I love that about this bunch.”

The second quarter was big for the Flashes, as they held Central Hinds to just five points in the period. The offense hit four 3-pointers as the Flashes surged to take a 30-26 lead at the half.

“Outside shooting is all we can do, we don’t really have an inside game,” Pickle said. “Our guards, if they don’t penetrate, they have to have the outside shot.”

The Flashes’ win could also have a huge impact on the future of their season. They played at Riverfield Academy Tuesday night with a chance to still climb as high as the No. 3 seed in next week’s District 3-AAA tournament.

The Flashes also travel to Central Hinds on Thursday for a rematch.

“We have to win one of the next two to take third place in the seeding, which gets us away from Hillcrest’s side of the bracket, which is where we want to be,” Pickle said. “We want another opportunity at Hillcrest in the finals.”

(G) Central Hinds 54, St. Al 10

It was a tough night for the St. Aloysius Lady Flashes, as they fell to Central Hinds by 44 points.
Central Hinds’ Makenzie Hankins led all scorers with 14 points. For St. Al, Grace Upshaw scored six points, and Taylor Chewning and Elizabeth Keen scored two apiece.

“They are very quick and they just beat us all around, offense and defense,” St. Al coach Mary Miller Martin-Nez said.

The best stretch for St. Al the came in the second quarter when it scored six points, but overall it was just a tough day offensively.

“They played some very good defense and it was hard for us to set up our offense, and so none of our shots fell through,” Martin-Nez said.