JACKSON — The spark finally ignited.
When it did, the Starkville High Sachool boys basketball team exploded on its way to a state title.
Raphael Leonard had a steal for the go-ahead basket, and Jesse Little hit 3 of 4 free throws as part of a 7-of-12 effort down the stretch to lift Starkville to a 43-40 overtime victory against Madison Central in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A State title game at Mississippi Coliseum.
Tyson Carter, who was named player of the game, led Starkville (26-5) with 14 points, while Leonard, who was saddled with foul trouble for most of the game, had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Leroy Buchanan led Madison Central (20-10) with 21 points.
Leonard’s steal on Buchanan in the backcourt and layup with 2 minutes, 27 seconds to go gave Starkville a 37-35 lead. Little, who missed 3 of 4 free throws in the fourth quarter, reversed his fortunes with the game on the line to help push the margin to 40-35 with 1:19 left.
Starkville hit 3 of 6 free throws from there, which was enough to hold on in a wild finish. Buchanan took the inbounds pass after Keith Harris hit 1 of 2 free throws with 13.9 to go. He missed the first 3-pointer, but Grayson Gunter grabbed the offensive rebound. Buchanan missed a second trey, but Javion Gordon rebounded that miss. Gordon tried to back peddle to the 3-point line as time wound down. He managed to get to the 3-point arc, but his shot was well short.
Starkville, which last won a state title in 2010, defeated Meridian 53-47 to reach the Class 6A State title game. It entered the game having won two of three meetings against Madison Central this season. The Yellow Jackets won 71-58 on Feb. 6 and 78-53 on Feb. 20. The second win came in the title game of the Region 3 tournament in Starkville.
Neither team could pull away in the third quarter. Madison Central matched its biggest lead of the first half on two free throws by Keenan Barnes that made it 24-18 with 2:16 left in the quarter.
Leonard, who picked up his third foul 41 seconds into the third quarter, sparked the Yellow Jackets when he returned with 2:16 to go in the frame. He assisted Little on a drive to the basket and added two free throws.
But Starkville still couldn’t gain any traction, as it committed four turnovers that were largely unforced in the quarter.
Madison Central led for all of a deliberately paced first half. The Jaguars, who beat the Yellow Jackets 59-52 on Jan. 23 in the first of the four meetings, attacked the basket off the dribble in the second quarter.
Madison Central’s Trey Smith had all of his three offensive rebounds in the final two minutes to help build a 20-16 halftime edge. Smith had two offensive rebounds in a sequence that led to a leaner by Buchanan. He added an offensive rebound putback just before the final horn of the half to make it a four-point game.
Starkville relied on its guards for 13 of its points in the first half. Leonard picked up his second foul (both offensive) with 2:49 to go in the second quarter and didn’t play the rest of the half. Forward/center Jamal Williams also had two fouls in five minutes in the first half.
Both teams relied on perimeter attacks in the first half. Madison Central was 6 of 20 from the field (1 of 7 from 3-point range), while Starkville was 5 of 19 from the field (26.3 percent), including 1 of 6 from 3-point range.
n Horn Lake wins girls title: Alexyse Thomas scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Horn Lake past rival Olive Branch 52-42 to win the Mississippi Class 6A girls state championship on Saturday night.
The Lady Eagles (29-4) claimed their second straight Class 6A championship, which is also their second in school history.
Olive Branch had beaten Horn Lake in their three meetings in the regular season and district tournament.
Horn Lake trailed 22-19 at the half, but outscored the Lady Quistors 16-8 in the third quarter to take control.
Rodneyshia Martin scored 13 points for Horn Lake. Tae’lour Richardson added 11.
Myah Taylor and Mahogany Vaught led Olive Branch (32-2) with 12 points each. Myah Leflore scored 10.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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