NATCHEZ &045; The dust is really starting to clear in time for the District 4-AA tournament, and Trinity Episcopal’s Saints are glad to be sitting where they are after Tuesday.

A pretty solid fourth seed.

Consider the history of a team that’s been snakebitten this season after losing two players to ineligibilities that took away a good 40 points a game. Then on Tuesday senior Wyatt Craig went out with a knee injury and may be lost for the season, yet the Saints found a way to make things interesting against a Columbia Academy team that’s also fighting for a high seed in the tournament.

The Cougars pulled away at the end for a 65-58 win after the Saints had two players foul out in the fourth quarter.

&uot;Our kids are just playing their hearts out,&uot; Trinity head coach David King said. &uot;We’re making mental mistakes, but we’re overcoming them with hard play. I just can’t be any happier with the way we’re playing defense. Nobody is feeling sorry for us because we lost three starters. We’ve got to keep on keeping on.

&uot;We’re always relied on our athleticism, but the last two years I’ve really been proud of them. We’ve had to rely on our defense and out-hustling teams.&uot;

The Cougars had to scrap just as hard to fend off the Saints after losing their big man to foul trouble at the start of the fourth quarter. The Cougars had to break away from a tie score with under three minutes left in the game and got some key defensive stops &045; one huge steal from Warren Lott &045; to finally put the game away and keep the ball away from Stevan Ridley.

Ridley had 21 of his game-high 26 points in the second half.

&uot;I tell you what, that kid is tough,&uot; Columbia head coach Reid McCay said. &uot;He’s tough, and Coach King is one of the best coaches I’ve coached against. He does a great job. But it was very important for us to win tonight. This was the most important game of the year to date for us. We wanted to be second (seed).&uot;

The Cougars (6-4, 15-7) battled in the second half on both ends after inside man Dustin Hafer went to the bench with his fifth foul, and they came up big on defense. Ridley put in a bucket with 2:32 left that tied the score at 54, but Travis Pace answered on the other end with a bucket to keep the Saints from taking their first lead of the game.

The Saints were called for an offensive foul on their end, and the Cougars got another bucket when Stringer put in a basket for a 58-54 lead.

Lott then picked Trinity’s pocket near halfcourt on the next trip down and put in an uncontested layup for a 60-54 lead with 1:48 left and plenty of momentum.

&uot;I thought the offensive foul was a bad call, but I thought the play before that I thought we took an offensive foul that should have been called,&uot; McCay said. &uot;So it evened out. I’m proud of my kids. We didn’t shoot free throws very well, but we shot them well at the end. We didn’t want them to get the lead. I was worried about how they’d respond to (Hafer leaving), and they responded pretty well.&uot;

The Saints (6-4, 14-8) couldn’t get the deficit back within three after that point, but Hayden Butts canned a 3-pointer right after to trim it back to three.

They had to put Columbia on the line after a couple of misses to stop the clock, and the Cougars hit five of eight in the final 1:30 to seal it.

Pace hit two with 1:16 left to put the lead at 63-57.

&uot;There were a lot of big plays in that game,&uot; King said. &uot;Everybody in this league has scorers, and I don’t think we could have defended any better. Reid’s club always plays so well and so disciplined, and they made enough plays at the end to win it. They’ve got really good guard people.&uot;

The Saints battled at the start of the fourth quarter to tie it up quickly after Columbia held a 43-38 lead at the end of three. Ridley started the half with a three-point play and tipped in a basket later at the 6:31 mark to tie it up at 45.

Columbia answered with a bucket from Stringer to start a 7-2 run that Orry Thomas finished with a bucket at the 4:30 mark for a 52-47 lead, but Ridley and the Saints battled back to tie it again.

Columbia led 37-30 with 5:39 left in the third on a bucket from Stringer, but Trinity got six straight points from Ridley to trim the lead to 37-36 with 3:48 left. Hafer had three fouls in the first half and picked up his fourth 11 seconds into the second half.

Pace led Columbia with 21.

&uot;(Hafer) did that last time we played Trinity,&uot; McCay said. &uot;I put him in too early in the third quarter, but they were getting some momentum. Travis Pace is just a junior, and he was clutch for us tonight. He was clutch for us last year in the state playoffs as a sophomore, so he’s a seasoned junior.&uot;