Basketball region play tips off on Coast Tuesday
High school basketball region tournaments will begin across South Mississippi on Tuesday.
The Region 8-4A Tournament takes place in Vancleave this week and should feature some of the week's better competition on the boys and girls side.
Bay High, the Sun Herald's No. 1 team, is the No. 1 boys seed in 8-4A with a record of 21-5 and Pass Christian (18-7) is the No. 1 squad on the girls' side. The tournament's games will be played on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
The Bay High boys will play the winner of Moss Point-East Central at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday with hopes of advancing to the title game at 8:30 p.m. on Friday.
The Bay High boys will be the heavy favorite to win the region title, but head coach Randy McCrory isn't taking anything for granted.
“It's tough to beat teams three times,” McCrory said. “East Central and Moss Point, both teams are capable. Coach (Robert) Johnson does a real good job at Vancleave. They're really improved.”
Pass Christian appears to be the team most capable of beating Bay High after topping the Tigers 44-41 on Dec. 2 in the Pass.
“That's a rival school for us and they're real athletic,” McCrory said. “They can beat anyone.”
Picayune (19-7) is the No. 1 seed for the Region 7-5A Tournament, which will be played at Pearl River Central. Hattiesburg (10-14) holds the No. 1 seed in girls. The games will played on Tuesday and Friday.
The Region 8-5A tournament will take place at West Harrison with the Pascagoula boys (20-6) and Pascagoula girls (16-10) serving as the top seeds. The games will be played on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
The Harrison Central girls and boys will both roll into Biloxi, site of the Region 8-6A tournament, this week as the top seeds. The Red Rebels (18-7) have won nine of their last 10 games while the Red Rebelettes (19-3) have won eight of their last nine.
The 8-6A games will be played on Tuesday and Friday.
George County (18-6) will play host to the Region 7-6A tournament and be the No. 1 side on the boys side. The Rebels are 18-6. The St. Martin girls will be the No. 1 seed in Lucedale with a record of 16-11. The games will be played on Tuesday and Friday.
Region tournament schedules
Region 8-6A Tournament
Site: Biloxi
Tuesday's games
4 p.m. — Biloxi girls vs. Gulfport
5:30 p.m. — 1. Harrison Central boys vs. 4. Hancock
7 p.m. — 1. Harrison Central girls vs. 4. Hancock
8:30 p.m. — Biloxi boys vs. Gulfport
Friday's games
4 p.m. — Girls' third-place game
5:30 p.m. — Boys' consolation game
7 p.m. — Girls’ final
8:30 p.m. — Boys’ final
Region 7-6A Tournament
Site: George County
Tuesday's games
4 p.m. — 1. St. Martin girls vs. 4. George County
5:30 p.m. — 2. D'Iberville boys vs. 3. Ocean SPrings
7 p.m. — 2. Ocean Springs girls vs. 3. D'Iberville girls
8:30 p.m. — 1. George County boys vs. 4. St Martin
Friday's games
4 p.m. — Girls' third-place game
5:30 p.m. — Boys' third-place game
7 p.m. — Girls' championship
8:30 p.m. — Boys' championship
Region 8-5A Tournament
Site: West Harrison
Tuesday's games
4 p.m. — 1. Pascagoula girls vs. 4. Long Beach
5:30 p.m. — 2. Long Beach boys vs. 3. West Harrison
7 p.m. — 2. West Harrison girls vs. No. 3 Gautier
8:30 p.m. — 1. Pascagoula boys vs. 4. Gautier
Thursday's games
5 p.m. — Girls' third-place game
6:30 p.m. — Boys' third-place game
Friday's games
6 p.m. — Girls final
7:30 p.m. — Boys final
Region 7-5A Tournament
Site: Pearl River Central
Tuesday's games
4 p.m. — 1. Hattiesburg girls vs. 4. Pearl River Central
5:30 p.m. — 1. Picayune boys vs. 4. Pearl River Central
7 p.m. — 2. Picayune girls vs. 3. Stone
8:30 p.m. — 2. Hattiesburg boys vs. 3. Stone
Friday's games
4 p.m. — Girls' consolation game
5:30 p.m. — Boys' consolation game
7 p.m. — Girls' title game
8:30 p.m. — Boys' title game
Region 8-4A Tournament
Site: Vancleave
Tuesday's games
5 p.m. — 3. Vancleave boys vs. 6. St. Stanislaus
6:30 p.m. — 4. East Central girls vs. 5. Vancleave
8 p.m. — 4. East Central boys vs. 5. Moss Point
Thursday's games
4 p.m. — 1. Pass Christian girls vs. Vancleave-East Central winner
5:30 p.m. — 1. Bay High boys vs. Moss Point-East Central winner
7 p.m. — 2. Moss Point girls vs. 3. Bay High
8:30 p.m. — 2. Pass Christian boys vs. Vancleave-SSC winner
Friday's games
4 p.m. — Girls' third-place game
5:30 p.m. — Boys' third-place game
7 p.m. — Girls' title game
8:30 p.m. — Boys' title game
This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 4:36 PM with the headline "Basketball region play tips off on Coast Tuesday."