St. Aloysius’ Drew Mazzanti looks to pass as Wesson’s Johnny Butler defends during the Red Carpet Classic in January. Mazzanti will lead the Flashes into the Division 7-1A Tournament today at St. Al. (C. Todd ShermanThe Vicksburg Post)

Attracting the Division 7-1A Tournament was not something Flashes coach Paul Hayden set out to do.

He was at a meeting in Jackson and one of the other coaches asked if the Flashes would be interested since it had been a long time since St. Al had hosted a division tournament.

“It’s supposed to go on a rotation,” said Hayden, whose boys team will open division play today at 5:30 p.m. against archrival Cathedral. “Some of the coaches asked if I wanted it. If I didn’t, they were going to give it to Natchez.

“I said, hey, why not. I’ll make y’all travel this time.'”

The result is a three-day, six-team tournament with the top two going to a state playoff satellite game.

The Flashes hosted the Catholic Schools Tournament, a regular season classic that draws four teams, but this is Hayden’s first division tournament.

“There’s a lot of stuff that hopefully will come together,” he said.

St. Al (9-20) will play back-to-back games starting with the boys against Cathedral, a team the Flashes have beaten twice this season, including a 10-point victory in Natchez on Friday night.

“They aren’t as strong as they normally are, but that doesn’t mean anything,” Hayden said. “They would love to knock us out of the tournament. Our guys have to be focused.

“Like any coach will tell you, if you’ve beaten a team twice, the third time is always the most difficult.”

With a win tonight, the Flashes will meet the Mississippi School for the Deaf on Thursday night. MSD, led by freshman Ro’Derrick Brown of Vicksburg, beat St. Al twice this season.

“We can’t look ahead to anything,’ Hayden said when asked of the potential second-round matchup.

Enterprise and Bogue Chitto play in the final game of the night for the right to meet top-seeded West Linclon on Thursday in the semifinals.

“It’s really up for grabs,” Hayden said.

The girls’ side of the bracket may be a little different. Top-seeded West Lincoln and Bogue Chitto are the favorites, Hayden said.

St. Al will open tonight at 7 against Enterprise, with a date with West Lincoln looming.

“It’s going to be tough. Bogue Chitto and West Lincoln are by far tops in the district,” Hayden said. “They are two of the better teams in 1A. They can play.”

Hayden said his team matches up well with Enterprise. Both teams, he said, are very young.

“He’s got about four seniors, but the majority of his players that give him a lot of minutes are young,” Hayden said.

The Lady Flashes (4-20) split with Enterprise, beating the Lady Jackets by five at home.

Admission to the tournament is $5 per day.