Things started about as rough as they could have for Warren Central Friday night, but it didn’t much matter. In the end, it was the way the Vikings finished that ultimately did them in.

WC (9-13, 1-2 Division 4-6A) allowed Ridgeland to start the game on a 10-2 run and ended by watching its slim three-point lead quickly whither away in a 56-46 loss.

“You’ve got to play tough competition just to get ready for that division race. That’s why we play teams like Ridgeland and we go through the JPS (Jackson public school) schedule,” Warren Central coach Bruce Robinson said. “We’re going to play tough teams, and when you play tough teams you’re not going to win all your ballgames because you’ve got a tough schedule, but iron sharpens iron.”

The Vikings slow start never bothered them, as they fought back to end the first quarter with just a two-point deficit. But after a back-and-forth contest in which neither team could fully take control, Ridgeland (21-3, 5-1 Division 3-5A) sealed the deal with a 10-0 run that came solely from the free throw line.

“That 10-0 run was the difference in the ballgame,” Robinson said. “The ballgame was a 10-point ballgame late in it, and I told my kids we’re probably going to be in a dog fight, and some things you have to fight through.”

Robinson was visibly upset by the officiating throughout the night, at one point walking down to the baseline to talk to an official and plead his case.

“I just think there was a little bit of discrepancy in the foul calls, and I really hate to say that,” he said. “When you grab our guys and it’s a no-call down there, we may have to be a little tougher to play through that and it shows.”

Shunterrance Walton knocked down a step-back jumper with less than one second to go in the third quarter to give Warren Central a 33-31 lead, but Ridgeland went on to score the next 14 points. It was a pile on that proved to be insurmountable for the Vikings, who next go on the road to take on Clinton in a key division game.

Walton led the Vikings with 13 points, with Mario Doyle contributing 11 in the loss.

WC is clinging to third place in its division right now and Robinson said he hopes to even his team’s division record against the Arrows Tuesday night.

“We know it’s going to be tough going over there to play a tough Clinton team,” he said. “It’s something about Warren Central that brings out the best in every team. Warren Central gets the best of all the teams that they play. It’s no longer that we’re a gimmee.”

WC 50, Ridgeland 46 (OT)

Warren Central never lost its composure, even in times of extreme adversity, as it battled back to close out an overtime game over Ridgeland Friday night.

Shae Bracey and T.T. Sims both scored 15 points for the Lady Vikes (13-10, 2-1 Division 4-6A) in the win.

WC fought from being down 39-34 in regulation to tying things at 39 with a Sims floater before trading baskets with the Lady Titans. The Lady Vikes then threw away an inbound and a chance to win the game with 3.6 seconds left to force an overtime, which they thoroughly controlled in the win.

Bracey and Sims both knocked down free throws with less than two minutes remaining to ice things for Warren Central, which goes on the road for a two game stretch at Clinton Tuesday and Greenville Friday.