With the way Demondre Graham was scoring, it was only natural Southeast Lauderdale would turn to him for the game-winning shot.

Graham didn’t let his team down, sinking a field goal with two seconds remaining in regulation to give the Tigers a 61-59 advantage against Morton in the boys’ championship round of the MHSAA Region 5-3A tournament Friday at Clarkdale. 

Morton was unable to come up with a miracle shot of its own, and Southeast Lauderdale captured the divisional championship against a team to which the Tigers lost twice in the regular season.

“When it goes through the net, it just felt good,” Graham said. “Words can’t describe how good it feels. We’re district champs.”

Tigers head coach Centel Truman said Friday’s win — and the resulting No. 1 playoff seeding — was huge for a program trying to make a playoff run.

“First of all, I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to be here,” Truman said. “I want to thank my administration, because without them supporting us, this wouldn’t have been possible. To all the fans who were here, it means a lot to the community for them to support us, and then I want to thank the players. They fought their butts off. We’ve been going through adversity all year with injuries, and we had people step up and do different things. I’m so proud of the guys for doing what they’re doing this year. Hats off to Coach (Jerrial) Dawson at Morton, he does a phenomenal job with his players, so I know they’ll make a run this year.”

Southeast Lauderdale trailed for much of the first half before trying it 30-30 with 2:55 in the second quarter off an and-one by Graham. It took its first lead, 34-33, with 1:21 remaining before the half on a field goal by Derrius Ramsey. The game was tied 36-36 at intermission, and there would be several more lead changes in the second half.

Morton led 51-44 in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, but Southeast Lauderdale went on a 15-8 run to tie it 59-59 with two minutes remaining. The Tigers then dribbled a minute and a half off the clock but couldn’t get the game-winning basket on that possession, giving the ball back to Morton. The Panthers turned it back over, though, when they stepped out of bounds after inbounding the ball, and after several more timeouts, Graham hit his game-winner to send Southeast Lauderdale to the playoffs as a No. 1 seed.

“We called a play for No. 11 (Eli Walker) earlier, and Coach Dawson did a good job of taking it away, so we ran the play for Demondre, and before we left the huddle he said, ‘I got you, Coach. It’s game over,’” Truman said. “He has supreme confidence, so I knew when he got the ball he was going to make it.”

Graham finished with 24 points for the Tigers, while JT Landrum had 17 points and Ramsey scored eight.

Southeast Lauderdale lost its first matchup against Morton 47-35 and its second one 53-50, and Truman said his players were more prepared Friday than they were in the regular season, as they had some key injuries in the first game and had to shake off some rust in the second game.

“The last time we played them we had just gotten everybody back, and we lost to them by three, so this is the second time with everyone being healthy,” Truman said. 

The Tigers (14-10) will host Seminary Tuesday in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs, and Truman said as good as Friday’s win felt, it’s not the only time he wants to see his team hoist a trophy.

“We can’t just settle for this one,” Truman said. “We’ll enjoy this one over the weekend and get ready for Tuesday.”

Said Graham, “It’s one step closer to the state championship.”

UNION GIRLS 33, FOREST 31 

Twins Kamyia and Keirra Russell led the way for Union as the Lady Yellowjackets edged Forest to win the girls’ championship game of the Region 5-3A tournament Friday at Clarkdale.

Kamyia Russell scored 12 points for Union, while Keirra Russell added seven points, and the Lady Yellowjackets got a key defensive stop at the end of regulation to secure the victory and the No. 1 seed.

“It means a lot,” Union girls basketball coach Kelcia Bufkin said. “They know what they can do, and I think it’ll just give them more motivation to go back to the Big House this year.”

Bufkin also said she was impressed with her team’s defensive effort throughout the game, especially inside.

“I thought we battled,” Bufkin said. “Forest has some really good post players who know how to rebound and get in there and put it back up, but I think our players responded well when we zoned them.”

Union will host Seminary next week in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.

ENTERPRISE WINS TWO

The Enterprise girls and boys both won their consolation games to secure the No. 3 seeds out of Region 5-3A, as the Lady Bulldogs beat Southeast Lauderdale 52-43 and the Bulldogs edged Clarkdale 60-58.

Triniti Burns led the girls with 14 points, while Derryon Gray had 21 points for the boys. Will Harris added 16 points for the Bulldogs.

Enterprise will travel to Crystal Springs next week for both the girls’ and boys’ first-round contests in the Class 3A playoffs. The Clarkdale boys will play at St. Andrew’s next week in the first round, while the Southeast Lauderdale girls will play at St. Andrew’s for their first-round game.