NATCHEZ — The Open Session Foundation hosted a basketball tournament Saturday for students involved in the program and alumni from high schools in Adams and surrounding counties.

The tournament was a fundraising effort with the proceeds of the event going toward renovations of the Sadie V. Thompson School, which the foundation hopes to utilize as its headquarters in the future.

“We didn’t really establish a goal (for fundraising),” executive director Sharonda McKenzie said. “We set up the notice only a week in advance.”

For an event that was arranged in such short time, McKenzie said it was definitely a success.

The foundation raised approximately $600 Friday night, the first day of the fundraiser, MacKenzie said. She projected they would raise approximately that amount Saturday night, mostly on concessions.

This was the first basketball tournament the young program has hosted, but OSF founder Tony Nichols said he was satisfied with the modest turnout at the event.

“It’s for a good cause overall,” Nichols said. “Next time, we know to get our paperwork in to the school board earlier and notify the teams earlier.”

The crowd in the gym grew when the adult basketball games began. The first game Saturday night was between Adams County alumni and Franklin County alumni.

Adams County won the game 69-52. Isaiah Thompson had five 3-pointers to lead his Adams County squad with 15 points.

“I’d definitely come back next year,” Thompson said.

Nichols said rounding up teams was easier than he anticipated because of the rivalries between the counties, which still last long after the players have graduated high school.

“I thought a rivalry game would be really interesting,” Nichols said. “It’s for bragging rights for your county. Being from Jefferson County, any time we played Adams County or Franklin County, it was wild.”

There was a strong amount of intensity displayed on the court, which was officiated by MHSAA referees. Nichols said he hopes to get more former college players involved in the annual tournament in the coming years.

The games event featured halftime entertainment from musicians and dance teams.

The games featured Adams, Jefferson, Franklin and Claiborne counties. Next year, Nichols said he will relegate the last place team for this year’s tournament and replace them with Wilkinson County.

Nichols said he hopes the relegation and “replacement” rules of the tournament will make the intensity of the games increase year-to-year.

“The games are more intense regardless of the talent,” Nichols said.

The OSF is a program that aims to develop life skills for youths, targeting at-risk minority teens. The program plans to offer classes in a six-month enrollment period for various applicable subjects, ranging from agriculture to health and job interview skills.

One of the important provisions Nichols hopes to be able to contribute funds toward is a computer lab.

“A lot of kids don’t have access to get to the library,” Nichols said. “I think a kid without Internet at home is at a disadvantage.”

Nichols said his work in law enforcement for the past 16 years inspired him to start the program in June 2015.

“I believe if we can change the life of one kid in our program, that would mean a lot,” Nichols said. “