WEBB — The West Tallahatchie High School Choctaws boys basketball team will travel to Columbia Friday night to face the East Marion Eagles in a second-round state playoff tilt.
Saturday’s game will tip off at 6 p.m.
East Marion, 17-6 overall, is the Region 8-1A champion, while West Tallahatchie, 17-9, finished as the Region 5-1A runner-up.
Both squads advanced in the postseason by winning Tuesday night first-round playoff matches at home.
West Tallahatchie took the wind out of the Piney Woods Tornadoes, 64-48, in Webb, while East Marion smashed Ethel 73-33 in Columbia.
West Tally led Piney Woods 21-6 at the end of the first quarter and skated to a 31-16 halftime advantage. Sophomore Jayden Sample led the Choctaws with 16 points, including 3-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe. Senior Drexel Miller added 14 points and senior Lavoriontaye Willis had 12.
The winner of Saturday’s West Tally at East Marion match will advance to the Class 1A quarterfinals round to face the victor of Saturday’s Taylorsville Tartars at McAdams Bulldogs scrap.
The Choctaws have faced McAdams in the quarterfinals of the 2022 and 2023 state playoffs, losing by razor-thin margins each time — 63-61 and 51-48, respectively.
Taylorsville (14-18), the Region 7-2A runner-up, moved on to the second round after topping Simmons 64-52 Tuesday night, while Region 6-1A champion McAdams (22-6) beat Sacred Heart 53-42.
The Class 1A boys quarterfinals games will be played Thursday night, Feb. 22, at Itawamba Community College in Fulton. Tipoff of the contest on West Tally’s side of the bracket will be at 8:30 p.m.
The Choctaws came up just shy of their bid to win the Region 5-1A championship, losing in hearbreaking fashion, 61-59, to the South Delta Bulldogs in the title game Friday night.
South Delta finished 10-0 in region play while West Tallahatchie went 7-3.
