BENTON — The Centreville Academy Lady Tigers came up just short of pulling off a huge upset in the girls’ quarterfinals of the 2019 MAIS Class AA State Tournament at Benton Academy.

Coming off a disappointing showing at the Class AA South State Tournament last weekend, Centreville tried its best to get over back-to-back losses to Brookhaven Academy and Clinton Christian Academy that resulted in the South No. 4 seed.

And the Lady Tigers pushed North No. 1 seed Central Holmes Christian School to the limit, but the Lady Trojans held on for a 46-44 victory Wednesday afternoon to advance to the semifinals and put an end to the Lady Tigers’ season.

Central Holmes Christian School will take on South No. 2 seed Brookhaven Academy Friday at 4:15 p.m. The Lady Cougars took care of North No. 3 seed Tri-County Academy in relatively easy fashion with a 59-28 win Tuesday night.

Led by first-year head coach Brandy Hall, Centreville Academy finished second at the District 4-AA Tournament and won its first two games at South State by double digits over Newton County Academy and Glenbrook School.

Columbia High boys 65, Franklin County 62 (Tues. night)

MEADVILLE — Tajarius (TJ) Monroe led Columbia High School with 23 points as the Wildcats hung on for a 65-62 win over the Franklin County High School Bulldogs Tuesday night in the first round of the MHSAA Class 3A State Tournament. Monroe shot nearly 50 percent from the field, going 9 for 19, which included three 3-pointers. He also pulled down 11 rebounds. Ziquae Amos added 14 points and Darius Stewart chipped in with nine points.

Columbia, the Region 8 No. 3 seed, led Franklin County, the Region 7 No. 2 seed, 18-15 after one quarter of play and doubled its lead to six points, 36-30, when halftime arrived. The Wildcats had a 52-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter, when the Bulldogs tried to get one last rally going.

But it wasn’t meant to be for the Bulldogs, who only outscored the Wildcats 17-13 in the final eight minutes and saw their season come to an end.

Seminary boys 80, Wilkinson County 65 (Tues. night)

SEMINARY — The Region 8 No. 2 seed Seminary High School Bulldogs defeated the Region 7 No. 3 seed Wilkinson County High School Wildcats 80-65 Tuesday night in the first round of the MHSAA Class 3A State Tournament.

No other information on the game was available. Wilkinson County finished with an overall record of 5-19.

Jefferson Davis County girls 58, Jefferson County 11 (Mon. night)

BASSFIELD — The Jefferson Davis County High School Lady Jaguars dominated  the Jefferson County High School Lady Tigers in the first half en route to a 58-11 win Monday night in the first round of the MHSAA Class 3A State Tournament.

Jefferson Davis County, the Region 8 No. 2 seed, didn’t let Jefferson County, the Region 7 No. 3 seed, get into any kind of a flow offensively throughout the game. And in the first half, the Lady Jaguars turned defense into offense.

By the time the first quarter was over the Lady Jaguars had a 29-4 lead. They didn’t score as many points in the second quarter, but they still outscored the Lady Tigers 15-3 for a 44-7 lead at the half. When the third quarter had come to an end, Jefferson Davis County enjoyed a 54-9 advantage and Jefferson County knew its season was over with.

Tylertown boys 60, Franklin County 27 (Mon. night)

TYLERTOWN — The Tylertown High School Lady Chiefs eliminated Franklin County High School from the MHSAA Class 3A State Tournament with a 60-27 win over the Lady Bulldogs Monday night in first-round action. No other information on the game was available.