Trinity Episcopal boys and girls team open MPSA State A Tournament play today at Delta Academy in Marks.

Trinity’s boys meet DeSoto at 5:30 p.m. today, while the Lady Saints face Wayne Academy at 4 p.m.

Trinity’s boys defeated DeSoto by 17 last year in the first round of state.

&uot;This is our third year to be at State, so I’m looking for guys like (Bobby)&160;Craig and (William) McGehee to step it up,&uot; said Trinity coach David King.

Trinity, 24-6, finished third at State last year, but lost Marcus Calcote, Will Darsey, Troyce McDaniel, Zach Jex and Adam McClain to graduation.

&uot;I’m just thankful we have the opportunity to be back here,&uot;&160;King said.

Desoto, which is located in West Helena (Ark.), is 12-12.

The contest will be a meeting of old friends as Australian foreign exchange student Kris Thomson will be going against Desoto guard Ayser Chans, who was a friend of Thomson’s while both were growing up in Australia.

DeSoto starts three sophomores and two juniors. They finished fourth in their district and fourth at the North A State.

Sophomore guard Derrick Deaton leads DeSoto in scoring with 14 points a game, while junior Justin Privey averages 13.

Australian Ayser Chans averages 12 points.

DeSoto’s tallest player is 6-foot-2.

&uot;It’s going to be a question of who can run up and down the court the fastest and shoot the best,&uot; King said. &uot;They’ll be a tough team for us to face. And Kris is still a little hobbled by a leg injury he received against Glenbrook, but he’ll want to play well against his buddy.&uot;

Trinity’s girls finished fourth in the State A Tournament, playing top-seeded Riverdale close until the final quarter, falling 55-36.

The Lady Saints lost to Tensas 49-42 in the consolation finals.

&uot;The girls played their hearts out,&uot;&160;Hall said. &uot;I saw so many good things. They are really jelling. They go out there believing they are going to win and that’s huge.&uot;

Tensas opened state play Monday with a 69-45 win over Kemper Academy.

Robin Rae Burns led the Lady Chiefs with 21 points.

Tensas faces top-seeded Delta Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Wayne Academy is seeded No. 2 out of the North Central.

&uot;They are a well-coached team,&uot; said Trinity coach Melanie Hall. &uot;Their top three players are seniors and they play well together. They play man-to-man defense most of the time, but they will play some zone.&uot;

Wayne Academy is 20-6 on the season, losing to Macon Central in the finals of North A State.

The Jaguars are led by three seniors who all average around 15 points a game.

The three seniors are point guard Coco Williams, post player Jaime Kittrell and forward Cayla Cooley.

&uot;We finished third at state last year and basically have the same type team,&uot; said Wayne coach Dale Bowen.

Hall said Wayne Academy’s three seniors are a talented trio.

&uot;They have a quick point guard (Williams) who is very quick,&uot; Hall said. She likes to pass, but she will shoot. They like to set screens for her. Their small forward (Cooley) is a left-hander who likes to pull up and shoot the jumper or pass it to the 6-foot-2 girl (Kitrell) inside. Most of the big girl’s points come inside. She has real good hands and gets a lot of her points with offside rebounds.&uot;

The winner of the Trinity-Wayne game will meet Calhoun Academy Thursday at 7:30 p.m.