By TAYLOR DENMAN

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Trinity Episcopal boys basketball checked off a district 5-AA title off its list Thursday night with a 60-51 win at home over Wilkinson County Christian Academy.

Trinity now moves on to the first round of South State and is set to face Tallulah Academy as a No. 1 seed on at Glenbrook Academy Feb. 9.

Trinity went 1-1 against Tullulah last season.

“It should be a good game,” Trinity head coach Chris Bunio said. “They have some good scorers on that team, but we have athleticism so we should be able to take care of them.”

The Saints’ game against WCCA was fast-paced. WCCA took advantage of fastbreak points and rotated the ball well early on. The pace, perhaps, tired out Wilkinson County, Bunio said he adjusted on defense to stop a potential run.

“I saw they were getting pretty gassed so we decided to switch it up on defense,” Bunio said. “We switched to man and it seemed to work out for us.”

Kevontaye Caston led the charge offensively with 15 points and four rebounds. Sophomore Demond Fleming racked up 14 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Spencer Adams finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, despite only playing three quarters after Trinity’s lead was comfortable.

Adams was pleased with his performance on both ends of the court, still buzzing after his first district title.

“It makes me feel like a beast,” Adams said. “It feels good.”

C.J. Chatman scored 10 points and recorded four rebounds, and was a part of a play at the turning point of the game.

Chatman hauled in a rebound and saw his man sprinting up the court and heaved a cross-court pass that gave Trinity a 24-15 lead with two minutes remaining in the half.

Trinity then picked up the pace and beat WCCA at its own game.

“Even though they ran, we ran too,” Adams said. “That tired them out.”

Trinity finished the season 9-1 in district 5-AA play and is 14-5 overall. Bunio won the district title in his first season as Trinity’s head coach.