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MADISON — Devin Collins led Clinton Christian Academy with a game-high 21 points and Javy Whitehead added 17 points as the Warriors overcame an early deficit to defeat the Wilkinson County Christian Academy Rams 88-39 Monday night in the first round of the 2021 MAIS Overall Basketball Tournament at the Madison-Ridgeland Academy gym.

“We jumped on them 10-5. They called a timeout. After the timeout, the game changed,” WCCA head coach Ken Perry said. “They were more athletic. We turned the ball over and they scored every time we turned it over. Before we knew it, it was 40-18.”

By the time the first quarter was, the Class 3A No. 1 seed Warriors led the Class 1A No. 3 seed Rams 26-14. After going up 40-18, Clinton Christian ended the second quarter on a 14-3 run to take a 54-21 lead into halftime.

The Warriors didn’t let up on either end of the court in the third quarter as they outscored the Rams 19-7 for a commanding 73-28 advantage. They finished off the game with a 15-11 edge in the fourth quarter.

Trey Alexander finished with 15 points and KJ Sykes chipped in with 14 points for Clinton Christian. Roderick Bailey was the only player to score in double figures for WCCA with 11 points while RJ Fisher had seven points and Jacob Sessions added six points.

“They were quick. Quick hands. Quick feet. I can see why they were the state champions in their class,” Perry said. “They were just better than we were.”

District 3-1A champion WCCA, which came in second at the Class 1A South State Tournament and third at the Class 1A State Tournament to advance to Overall, finished its season with a 22-4 season.

“We had a good season. We had only two seniors. We were young. Twenty-two and four is not a bad year at all,” Perry said. “Especially with the COVID restrictions. We had no summer workouts.”