GRENADA — Trinity Episcopal’s road to the MPSA Class AA state championship came to an end Saturday night as the Saints lost to the Brookhaven Academy Cougars 62-54 in the championship game of the Class AA State Tournament.

The key to Brookhaven Academy’s win was the inside presence of Corey Dickerson. Trinity had no answer for the Cougars’ post player as he led all scorers with 28 points. The Cougars also got solid performances from Blaine Roberts and Sawyer Wallace, who scored 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Brookhaven Academy, the South No. 4 seed, took a 16-12 lead on the South State champion Saints at the end of the first quarter. By halftime the Cougars had a 32-27 lead. The Cougars’ defense was another factor in their win as they held Andrew Johnson to 10 points and Brandon Daggs to just five points.

And with the state title on the line, the Saints weren’t able to muster up a rally in the second half to get back in the game.

Jordan Dossett led Trinity with 14 points and connected on four three-pointers while Matthew Freeman had 11 points. The Saints made eight three-pointers in the game to five for Brookhaven Academy.

Trinity (27-7) will be the Class AA No. 2 seed when it plays in the first round of the Overall Tournament at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton. The Saints will take on Class A No. 3 seed Delta Academy on Tuesday.

Jefferson County boys 63, Morton 43

COLUMBIA — In a must-win situation, the Tigers made sure their season would not come to an end on Saturday night as they turned to their defense to defeat the Panthers in the third-place game of the Class 3A South State Tournament.

Seniors Percy Turner and Kadon Day once again stepped up for Jefferson County (25-11). Turner led all scorers with 26 points and Day finished with 21 points. The Tigers broke a tie ball game after one quarter of play with a 16-8 advantage in the second quarter.

“Last night we didn’t execute well in the fourth quarter. Our legs got tired,” Tigers head coach Marcus Walton said. “Tonight we wanted to dictate early. Once again our defense was the key. Plus our kids really wanted it tonight.”

After a back-and-forth third quarter, the Tigers put the game away by outscoring the Panthers 18-7. With the win, Jefferson County advance to the Class 3A Boys’ State Tournament in Jackson and will take on the loser of the Aberdeen-Humphreys County game Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

“I like to give credit to the Lord for getting us to this point and keeping us healthy. I also want to thank the community for staying behind us,” Walton said.