Matt Vines

MARKS, Miss. – The Riverdale boys basketball team was seven seconds away from donning their Cinderella dresses and pulling the upset of the Class 2A MAIS Tournament on Wednesday night at Delta Academy.

The No. 4 seed Rebels led with just seven seconds left in overtime, but No. 1 seed Lee Academy (Ark.) drove the length of the court and made an off-balanced 3-pointer to send Riverdale home with a 51-49 loss.

“It was heartbreaking,” said Riverdale coach Trey Pittman. “Our guys played so hard and so smart.

“These guys went from losing to Union Christian Academy two weeks ago when we were struggling to competing with the best teams in the (MAIS) during the playoffs.”

Four seniors played their final basketball games in a Riverdale uniform — Hayden Hillman, Will Jones, Kyle Guillory and Ryder Huddleston from the 11-man roster.

Riverdale, which pushed its previous two opponents to the brink in a six-point loss to South Class 2A champion Claiborne Academy and a five-point loss to a No. 1 seed in Woodlawn Prep, ends its season at 10-14.

The No. 1 seed Lady Rebels fought through illness and No. 4 seed Lee Academy in a 56-46 win in the first round of the Class 2A MAIS Tournament on Wednesday.

Riverdale (24-3) trailed midway through the third quarter, but the Lady Rebels found their resolve and closed out Lee Academy to continue their season.

The Lady Rebels face No. 2 seed Delta Academy, the host school, on Friday at 2:15 p.m. in a semifinal matchup.

“We finally made some shots,” Pittman said. “The girls are fighting some illness right now, and we had our worst defensive game of the year.

“But we live to play another day, and we’ll get to face a long-time rival Delta Academy on their home court.”

A win in the Class 2A semifinal sends Riverdale to Saturday’s Class 2A championship game at 2:15 p.m. and would secure Riverdale’s place in the overall state tournament this coming week.

A loss means Riverdale would need to win the third-place game (Saturday at 1 p.m.) to march on to the overall tournament.