CARTHAGE — Leake Central’s Avontae Jones hit a 3-pointer with just over three minutes left, and the Gators held on to beat Choctaw Central 58-55 in overtime in a critical Region 4-4A matchup Friday night.

The win clinched the regular season district championship for Leake Central (19-1, 8-0 Region 4-4A) and the No. 1 seed in the Region 4-4A division tournament two weeks from now at Kosciusko.

“This is twice that both of our games with Choctaw have gone to overtime. In the first game, I thought both teams played pretty badly, but tonight both teams played pretty well,” Leake Central coach Carl Wilbanks said. “Choctaw is a solid team, and this was a big win for us.”

Leake Central came out firing in the first quarter as the Gators ended the opening period on a 11-3 run to take a 18-8 lead. Midway through the second quarter, Choctaw Central went on a 14-3 run to cut the Gators’ lead down to one point at 23-22. Leake Central held a slim 29-28 advantage at halftime.

In the second half, it was back-and-forth. Choctaw Central stormed back in the third quarter and took a 41-35 lead midway through, but Leake Central ended the quarter on an 8-2 run to tie the game at 43-43.

In the fourth quarter with 43 seconds and the game tied 53-53, Leake Central had the ball and held it until six seconds left, when Ca’Lexis Campbell’s potential game-winning 3-point shot bounced off the rim, and the game went to overtime.

In overtime, Jones hit the 3-pointer with just three minutes left, and Campbell hit a pair of free throws with 47 seconds remaining to give the Gators a 58-53 lead, which they held onto from there.

“It was back-and-forth all night. We got the lead, and they missed, and we came down and wanted to run clock,” Wilbanks said. “It was a great basketball game. We haven’t been playing well the last couple games, and I thought we peaked too early, but we played well tonight and need to keep this going heading into district tournament.”

Campbell had a game-high 22 points to lead Leake Central, while Jones and Anthony Hopkins each had 11 points for the Gators.

“We came out strong in the first half, but we played well defensively the whole game, and that was big,” Campbell said. “When we got into overtime and got the lead, we just needed to hold the ball and play defense, and that’s what happened.”

Thomas Tangle had 15 points to lead Choctaw Central, while Hayden Jones added 12 points for the Warriors (21-4, 5-3).

“It’s always a battle when we play each other, and down the stretch things didn’t go our way,” Choctaw Central coach Brent Farmer said. “Defensively, we’re not where we need to be, and we have to get that fix, but we will learn from this and get better.”

In the girls’ game, Choctaw Central beat Leake Central 91-43.