NATCHEZ &045; This one had disastrous potential to it, and Trinity head coach David King knew it.

And to be honest, he may not have been alone.

The Saints had little energy left after two hard-fought wins this week to get to the South State championship, where powerhouse Brookhaven Academy was there to gladly meet them. Four quarters and a whole bunch of running up and down the floor later the Cougars came away with an 82-40 win to claim the South title.

The Saints, however, have little to agonize over after the win. The No. 4 team out of District 4 is heading to the state tournament as the No. 2 team out of the South next week at Brookhaven Academy.

&uot;Our legs were dead after these last two games,&uot; Trinity forward Tripp Bryant said. &uot;They’re a good team &045; a real good team. I don’t think we were there that much leg-wise, but we still tried to fight. I think we have a pretty good chance of at least getting into Overall if we played with all the heart we played with the last two games.&uot;

The blowout loss put the wraps on a week where the Saints weren’t expected to be here &045; or maybe even get past the first round of the tournament. They pulled upsets in the first two rounds and managed to keep the score close in the first quarter to the Cougars before things got away from them.

The Cougars did what they do best in running the floor and passing it deep.

&uot;There’s absolutely nothing for us to be ashamed of,&uot; King said. &uot;Our kids &045; they’ve given me everything they’ve got. When you’re matched up against a team like that and you’re not playing your best, it’s going to be a rout.

&uot;But we’ll hold our heads up high, find out who we’ll play, drive North somewhere after church tomorrow and get some game film and try to find a way to win one more and get to Overall. That’s always the goal of our program.&uot;

It’s the goal of Brookhaven’s program as well, and this year it may be to win the whole darned thing. The Cougars did it with their passing game on the offensive end with some unselfish play on everyone’s part and good fundamental passing.

The Cougars (31-1) led 19-12 at the end of the first quarter but really got into their rhythm at the start of the second. Cole Hodges buried a 3-pointer to spark a 9-2 run that ended with a bucket from Alan Gray on a pass from Hodges.

&uot;I thought Trinity did a good job,&uot; Brookhaven head coach Dale Watts said. &uot;They came out and played us hard in the first quarter. I don’t think we were doing very well. There was a point right there where we finally got into the flow of the game and played like we really needed to play.&uot;

The Saints had a one-point lead in that first quarter, but after that the Cougars just pulled away. The Saints got a 3-pointer from Stevan Ridley to end the Brookhaven run, but the Cougars merely started another when Seth Davis hit the first of two baskets at the 3:09 mark to start a 10-2 run to end the half.

Gray hit two free throws with 29 seconds left for a 38-19 lead at the break. The Cougars stayed in their man defense and held Ridley to just that 3-pointer after he had three buckets in the paint in the first quarter.

Ridley led the Saints with 15 points.

&uot;They’ve got five great basketball players, and we didn’t have much in the tank to start the game,&uot; King said. &uot;But we gave them all we had. We were just out-manned out there. They’re the best team in the MPSA. It was just a combination of a lot of things &045; the key factor being they’re much better than us.&uot;

The Cougars kept with the transition and the long passes downcourt &045; both resulting in wide-open layups. The third quarter featured plenty of that with the Cougars scoring 25 points to Trinity’s eight &045; Seth Davis accounted for 10 points and Winborne 11.

Brookhaven led 63-27 heading into the fourth quarter.

&uot;I’m sure it (wore them down),&uot; Watts said. &uot;We’re a transition team. We like to get up and down the court. They had two hard games, and I’m sure their legs kind of left them.&uot;

Winborne led the Cougars with 23 points, and Hodges and Seth Davis each finished with 16 points. Both teams will face either Winston Academy or Leake Academy in the first round of the state tournament, depending on the outcome of Saturday’s North final.

&uot;I think we’re playing real well,&uot; Watts said. &uot;I still think we’ve got some areas for us to play better. We’ve got five guys who can run, pass and shoot. Leake is really good. I think next week’s state tournament will be really good. I hope we’re ready for it.&uot;