RIDGELAND — A sea of second-half turnovers turned what might have been a good holiday treat into a big lump of coal for the Warren Central Vikings Tuesday.

The Vikings (6-6) blew a 15-point halftime lead behind 18 second-half turnovers as Murrah (6-7) rallied for a 74-64 win on the final day of the Ridgeland Holiday Classic.

WC coach Jesse Johnson stared long and hard at the final game stat sheet.

“Turnovers killed us,” Johnson said. “I need to find some senior leadership. This was all about turnovers.”

Kourey Davis led WC with 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Murrah’s hot-shooting second half played a part as well. After making just five field goals in the first half, the Mustangs hit 12 shots in the third quarter alone. Five were 3-pointers, including four from Jerriel Dawson.

For WC senior guard Cory Davis, Murrah’s shooting was a big key.

“Thirty-one points in the third quarter,” Davis said. “Just poor execution on our part.”

Murrah coach Marlon Dorsey, who is in his second game back from a two-month suspension for using a weightlifting belt to discipline players at practice, was happy with his team’s comeback.

“I knew we would come back,” Dorsey said. “We were just trying to do too much early on. We relaxed and stayed with our game plan.”

WC’s Cory Davis hit a 3-pointer to end the first half and give the Vikings a 35-20 lead. The lead quickly vanished as the second half began.

Murrah went on an 11-2 run as WC turned it over five times and the Mustangs dropped three 3-pointers and a2-pointer to make it 37-31.

Dawson’s third 3-pointer of the quarter gave Murrah its first lead, 45-42. His last trey of the quarter made it 51-48.

Warren Central hung on despite 10 third-quarter turnovers. Two baskets by Eric Howard tied the game twice in the fourth quarter, the last at 61-all with three minutes left.

Gerald Glass tied the game for the final time at 64 off a layup. Murrah’s Josh Carroll answered with a 3-pointer to put Murrah up 67-64.

Instead of an answer, Johnson saw another string of turnovers, including an unguarded bounce pass to no one in particular with 53.2 seconds left.

Dawson hit four free throws to close out the game.

Dawson finished with 26 points to lead Murrah. Carroll had 25 and Daniel Francis added 17.

Devin Johnson had 12 points and Cory Davis had 10 points and three assists.

Warren Central’s boys and girls will join Vicksburg at next week’s Mendenhall Holiday Tournament.