With four minutes left Tuesday, the St. Aloysius Flashes were down by three points and in position to spring the first big upset of the MAIS Class AAA North State boys’ basketball tournament.

By the time the clock hit zero, the opportunity had evaporated into the night.

St. Al did not score in those last four minutes, while Indianola Academy hit 10 consecutive free throws in the same span. The run at the line allowed Indianola to close out the game and the Flashes’ season with a 45-30 victory in a first-round game at Leake Academy.

“The guys played extremely hard and executed our game plan. We just missed too many shots,” St. Al coach Eddie Pickle said. “This has been our biggest issue over the last four or five games. There are times we couldn’t throw it in the ocean.”

Indianola Academy advanced to the second round to face Starkville Academy on Thursday.
St. Al finished the season with a 10-16 record. It advanced to the North State tournament by winning one game in the District 3-AAA tournament, but lost its next three. Despite the loss, Pickle said he was optimistic about the future of the program.

“Absolutely I am optimistic,” he said. “The growth these kids have made is more than most people expected. I am so looking forward to getting an opportunity to work with them in the offseason.”

Tyler Lewis led St. Al with nine points in Tuesday’s game. Braxton Chewning, Jaylen Whitaker and Thomas Trichell all scored six points.

Shade Smith led Indianola Academy with 18 points, and T.K. Bolden scored 16. The Colonels were 16-for-16 from the free throw line in the game, while St. Al was 0-for-6.

St. Al only trailed 25-22 at halftime, and 33-28 heading into the fourth quarter. It was 33-30 with four minutes left when the Flashes went cold, and Indianola was able to pull away with its sharp free throw shooting.