CARTHAGE — Leake Central High School point guard Nigel Goss remembers how his season ended last year in the Mississippi Coliseum.

“It was rough,” he said. “As the leader of the team, I’m going to do whatever it takes to get back.”

If the Gators played like they did in a 77-39 win against West Lauderdale on Tuesday night, they will make the short trip down Mississippi 25 to play in the Big House for a second year in a row.

Last season, Leake Central lost to eventual 4A state champion Corinth High School in the semifinals.

“I thought we were very sluggish in the first half, but defensively we kept pressing and creating turnovers,” Leake Central coach Carl Wilbanks said. “We are completely different from last year. We were big and able to be balanced. This year we have to rely on our speed and jump shots. When we are on, we can play with anybody.”

Leake Central got going midway through the first quarter, going on a 13-0 run to take a 17-6 lead at the end of the period, never looking back after that. Walter Primer had a game-high 19 points to lead Leake Central, while Decquin Bounds added 18 points for the Gators (12-1). Casey McQueen had 13 points, and Isaiah Burked chipped in 11 points for Leake Central.

“We starting to get in tune for district play, because it starts Friday,” Wilbanks said. “Our division is kind of wide open this year, and we’ve got Noxubee County Friday — and they return the MVP of our league, so we’d better be ready.”

Zack Merrell had 12 points to lead West Lauderdale, while Stone Fielder added 10 points for the Knights (6-8).

“That one is my fault. We looked terrible,” West Lauderdale coach Duran Clark said. “We will not look like that again, and that starts (Wednesday) in practice.” 

WEST LAUDERDALE 65, 

LEAKE CENTRAL GIRLS 42

Mallory Thompson had 25 points has the Lady Knights raced past the Lady Gators. 

Maggie Wooldridge added 14 points for the Lady Knights (10-5). Emya Luckett had nine points to lead Leake Central (4-11).