MHSAA 2A boys basketball playoffs: Ingomar beats Bay Springs 61-45 to advance to championship

Cody Bost, Jack Denton combined for 33 points for the Falcons in the semifinal

For the third time in the last five seasons, Ingomar's boys will play for a state championship.

With a fast start behind the shooting of Cody Bost and a strong second half from Jack Denton, the Falcons raced past Bay Springs 61-45 in the Semifinal Round of the MHSAA Boys Class 2A Basketball playoffs at Mississippi Coliseum on Tuesday afternoon.

Ingomar (26-9) will face Bogue Chitto at 4 p.m. Friday for the Class 2A State Championship.

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“Thought we started the game pretty locked in defensively and at the end we were fortunate enough to make plays,” said Ingomar coach Jonathan Ashley. “Cody shot it really well for us enough. He’s put the work in to put himself in those positions, and it worked out.”

The Falcons jumped out to an 18-3 lead at the end of the first quarter. Bost made 3-of-5 three-point attempts in the opening frame.

In the second quarter, every time Bay Springs cut into the Ingomar lead, the Falcons had an answer. Ingomar held a 34-25 lead at halftime.

Ingomar opened the third quarter on a 9-1 run to stretch their lead out to 43-27 to put the game out of reach. From that point, the Ingomar lead never dwindled below nine points.

“This team has really started playing ever since we were out for 10 days due to the winter storm," Ashley said. "We got back, went to work and became a team that’s tough to score on, and they’ve bought into that. Jack is more athletic than he looks, uses his feet well, and is strong as a bear. With Bogue Chitto, they're talented offensively and going to be more athletic than we are.”

Denton had a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Ingomar, while Bost added 16 points for the Falcons.

“In warm-ups I was feeling it," Bost said. "So I decided when I got in the game when I got an open shot, I was going to take it. And I was hitting them. We’ve preached to come out to good starts in the game. It was really important — we did and they didn’t, and that ended up being the difference. On Friday, we’re going to bring it.”

Jaxton Moore had 14 points to lead Bay Springs, while Class 2A Mr. Basketball winner Dalyn Pierce added 12 points for the Bulldogs (19-8).

Assistant coach Maurcita Arrington had stepped into the interim head coach role since the passing of head coach Corey Mackey on Jan. 30th due to a blood clot that formed during an emergency surgery.

“We lost our leader," Arrington said. "But one thing I told the guys is a wounded dog isn’t a dead dog, and one thing Coach Mackey would preach is to fight. We fought to the end, just came up short.”

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