Warren Central nearly let a big lead and a big win slip away in the fourth quarter, but recovered just in time.

Daniel Smothers finished with 14 points and Jalen Glass scored 11, and the two combined to go 5-for-6 at the free throw line down the stretch as the Vikings held on to beat Murrah 51-48 on Tuesday.

The Vikings (13-9) won their sixth consecutive game despite letting most of a 10-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter. Murrah got within two in the final minute before the sharp free throw shooting of Smothers and Glass allowed them to escape.

Jabari Bowman added 12 points for Warren Central, and P.J. Mims scored 10.

Joe Dupree led Murrah (9-9) with 17 points and Jamaal Esco scored 13.

(G) Murrah 58, Warren Central 46
Timishia Smith hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter as Murrah raced out to a 17-point lead on Warren Central and then cruised to a victory Tuesday.

Smith finished with 15 points, all on 3-pointers. She hit one more in the second quarter after helping stake the Lady Mustangs to a 22-5 lead at the end of the first.
Sanaa Nelson added 12 points and Cianna Jones 11 for Murrah (13-10).

Aniya Sanders scored a game-high 26 points for Warren Central (8-12), with 14 of those coming in the fourth quarter. Zykerri Segrest added 10 points.

(G) Hillcrest 73, Porter’s chapel 40
Jazmyn Ellis scored 19 of her game-high 26 points in the first half to lead Hillcrest Christian to an easy win over the Porter’s Chapel Academy Lady Eagles (12-11).

Brittnee Martin led PCA with 14 points and Anna Grace White had eight points and six rebounds. The Lady Eagles, however, shot just 31.8 percent (14-for-44) from the field and went 10-for-23 at the free throw line.

Lauren Denton added 13 points for Hillcrest, and Amber Scott scored 12.

(B) Vicksburg 79, Germantown 58
The Vicksburg Gators hit five of their 10 3-pointers in the third quarter as they outscored Germantown 28-11, blowing open a fairly close game and sending them on to a region win.

Devan Kiner and Jermiyah Brown hit four 3-pointers apiece and finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively, for the Gators (13-8, 3-1 Region 4-5A). Darius Johnson and Leonard Sims scored 11 points apiece and Gregory Jenkins scored eight.

It was the second time in three games that Sims has scored in double figures, after he’d scored a total of 28 points this season before that. He had nine points in the second half against Germantown.

Hayes Crumpler hit five 3-pointers and led Germantown (5-16, 0-5) with 17 points. Dequanta Peoples added 10 points and David Jenkins scored nine.

Vicksburg will play at Ridgeland in another Region 4-5A game on Friday, and can clinch the No. 1 seed in the upcoming region tournament with a victory.