Ridgeland survives overtime in semfinal win over Pascagoula

Ridgeland will get another chance at a 6A state title matchup with Olive Branch, after knocking off Pascagoula in a 70-60 overtime semifinal thriller on Thursday afternoon.

The Titans jumped out to a nine-point lead at halftime and seemingly had all of the momentum. Pascagoula stormed back in the third and took the lead in the fourth quarter, before Ridgeland answered and tied the game up at the end of regulation.

It was a dominant overtime period for the Titans, as a 12-2 run propelled them to a semifinal win and into their second consecutive state title game. 

“That’s a tough team over there, and it was a back-and-forth game,” Ridgeland Head Coach Terron McIntyre said. “We put in the work over the offseason to get here, we have been so close and we were so close last year. It’s hard to win here, so to grind it out and get back here and win, I’ll take that.”

6A Mr. Basketball winner Phil Nelson scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds in the win. Nelson’s senior leadership has propelled Ridgeland to a 29-5 record and now to a second consecutive berth in the 6A title game.

“Coming into the game, we knew it was going to be a dog fight,” Nelson said. “I knew they were going to gameplan to faceguard me, but teammates just kept me involved and we played with energy and just closed it out in the end.”

The scoring balance was also a huge factor for the Titans in the win, as four players scored in double digits, including junior Ashton Manuel leading the way in the scoring column with 21 points.

“We have the 6A player of the year, but all of our guys can put the ball in the goal,” McIntyre said. “Our guys can really shoot the ball and I think that’s the difference between this team now. We have five guys that can really score the basketball.”

Now, Ridgeland will shift their focus to a familiar foe in the 6A title game, as they will take on Olive Branch. The Titans lost in last year’s state title game in a 59-56 heartbreaker to Olive Branch and have been using the pain of that loss as motivation to get them back here and to get another chance at the title.

Ridgeland has also played one of the toughest schedules in the state this year, which has prepared them to make another run and get another shot at a state championship. 

“We played everybody in the state, we played the toughest schedule in the State of Mississippi,” McIntyre said. “We did use it as motivation because it was such a close loss. It does feel better to get another chance to go at them (Olive Branch).”

With the win by Ridgeland, Madison County teams finished a perfect 5-0 in the MHSAA semifinals between the Ridgeland boys, Madison Central boys, Germantown boys, Canton boys, and Canton girls all earning victories.

The MHSAA 6A state championship will be played on Saturday night at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson, with tip-off scheduled for 8 PM. Tickets can be purchased on GoFan or at the gate, if still available.