JACKSON — At around 9 a.m. Saturday, Kemper County High School junior Matt Dale’s cell phone buzzed in the room at the Cabot Hotel where he and his teammates stayed ahead of their MHSAA Class 3A state championship game contest against Forest High School.

Dale reached for his phone to read the message. His mother, Lanita Dale, kept it simple.

“She told me to win the ring for her and bring it back to Kemper County,” the 6-foot-6 center said.

Mission accomplished.

Kemper County defeated Forest 54-50 Saturday afternoon at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson to win the 3A state championship and complete the trifecta against its in-division rival.

“It’s very tough to (have) to play Forest four times,” Kemper County head coach John Alan Darnell said following the win. “They’re so big, they’re so good… to beat them three times, it’s just amazing and just shows you how special my guys are.”

Darnell said given the number of times he’s faced the Bearcats this season, he expected his opponent to provide a formidable challenge.

Forest did not disappoint.

The Bearcats jumped ahead to a 4-0 lead early in the first quarter after baskets by junior Howard Smith and senior DeMikal Chesser, a 6-foot-7 center. Kemper County was able to get on the scoreboard with a field goal by junior Malik Jones with 5:35 seconds remaining in the opening period following a Forest turnover. The Bearcats pushed their lead to 7-2 after a 3-pointer by senior Latrevius Pinkston. Kemper County grabbed the lead with just under 2:30 left to play in the first quarter, courtesy of a basket by junior Gus Nave. But Pinkston would hit another shot from beyond the perimeter to give the Bearcats a 10-9 lead at the end of the frame.

“Pinkston, man, how many big shots did he make?” Darnell said.

Kemper County opened the second quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers by Dale to regain the lead and extend it to 5 points. Senior Dimitri Wren enkindled the Wildcats after a 4-point play and a field goal on Kemper County’s next possession to give his team a 21-12 lead. Forest’s Smith and senior Jabril Parker rallied the Bearcats to get within 3 points of tying, and Smith nailed a 3-pointer as time expired to tie the score at 23 at intermission.

“My heart stops whenever Pinkston and Howard Smith shoot the ball,” Darnell said. “I think every time they shoot, the ball it goes in. Every time they missed, I exhaled.”

While Pinkston and Smith, with six points and seven points respectively, carried Forest in the first half, Darnell turned to Nave, his point guard, to do the heavy lifting in the second half.

Nave did not waste much time. After Parker gave Forest a 25-23 lead early in the third quarter, Nave took over behind a volley of third-quarter shots, the first of which fell with 6:12 seconds remaining in the period to tie the score at 25. Nave would go 3-for-3 from the field to give Kemper County a 36-29 lead.

“I started off slow, kind of pressing since it’s a state championship game, and there were a couple jitters,” Nave said. “Through the game, Coach just told me to stay with it, and that’s what I did.”

Forest would get within 2 points of tying, but Dale scored a basket and made the and-one following a hard foul to give the Wildcats a 39-34 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Nave was just getting started. Pinkston made a 3-pointer, which was followed by a Parker field goal and another Pinkston 3-pointer to tie the score at 42 with 5:10 remaining in the contest. Nave drew a foul and hit one of his two free-throw attempts to give his team a one-point lead. He drained a field goal on Kemper County’s next possession as part of an eight-point fourth quarter.

Leading by 3 points with under a minute remaining, junior DJ Clayton sank two key free throws to keep his team ahead as the Wildcats would win 54-50.

“I just asked God to be with me at that time because I needed to make them,” Clayton said. “It feels really good. I feel like everyone doubted us going into the game. We believed in ourselves, and we knew we had a chance to win it all. It’s a great feeling.”

Dale, who finished with a double-double behind 20 points and 15 rebounds, will have another trinket for his mother, besides a state championship ring. He was named the C SPIRE Player of the Game.

“It feels really good to be able to do this for her,” he said. “I’m ready to go hug her right now.”

Nave led Kemper County in scoring with 20 points while also adding 10 assists, and the Wildcats as a team shot 18 of 44 (40.9 percent) from the field.