Mississippi's MHSAA high school boys basketball state championships conclude with seven new champions crowned

March 9, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

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Mississippi's MHSAA boys basketball state championships concluded this weekend with the state crowning new champions across the organization's seven classifications.

The Starkville Yellowjackets took the state's top-level Class 7A trophy with a 40-36 win over the Germantown Mavericks on Friday night at Jackson's venerable Mississippi Coliseum. Starkville beat the defending state champions despite losing point guard Terrell Warren Jr. in the third quarter when the Yellowjackets' star fouled out early.

It was the second straight night that one of the MHSAA title games came down to the wire. In the Class 6A finale on Thursday night, the Pascagoula Panthers edged the Terry Bulldogs by a single bucket in a 56-54 outcome. The championship is the first in Pascagoula's history and set off a wild celebration on the court in Jackson.

History made in Jackson! 🏆🔥

In a nail-biter from start to finish, Pascagoula defeats Terry 56–54!
For the first time in 49 years, Pascagoula reaches the championship — and brings the title home!#Pascagoula #Panther #MHSAA #StateChampions #MSHoops #HighSchoolBasketball pic.twitter.com/JKNLZrQnf4
— Civic Pictures (@CivicPictures84) March 7, 2026

The only other close game came in the Class 1A title tilt as the Calhoun City Wildcats held off the Leflore County [Itta Bena] Tigers, 65-59, to take the hardware home in the MHSAA's small school classification. The championship ended a 38-year title drought for the Wildcats who last won a state championship in 1988.

There were no repeat champions in Mississippi this year, but there were several teams making consecutive appearances in the state finals. In addition to Germantown's loss in the Class 7A title game, the Class 5A Holmes County Central [Lexington] Jaguars, Class 4A Morton Panthers, and Class 2A Pelahatchie Chiefs were all taking another shot at the title in their respective classifications.

Morton was the only one to prevail in a 67-55 win over the Leake Central [Carthage] Gators, helping to erase some of the painful memories from last year's 48-43 loss to the Raymond Rangers in the Class 4A championship game. The win marked Morton's first championship since 1998, and it came after the Panthers rallied from a 36-31 halftime deficit, eventually outscoring the Gators, 36-19, in the second half.

Unfortunately for Holmes County Central and Pelahatchie, there was no storybook ending to rival Morton's fairytale finish. Holmes County Central lost to the Columbus Falcons, 52-38, one year after losing in similar fashion to the Canton Tigers, 53-35. And Pelahatchie fell to the North Side [Shelby] Gators in a 51-39 loss after coming up short in a 46-44 decision agains the Bay Springs Bulldogs a year ago.

Complete brackets from all of the postseason action in the Magnolia State are included below.