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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

state champion Lanier, top-ranked in The Clarion Ledger poll and rated
17th nationally by USA Today, advanced to 31-3. The Bulldogs aim for
their 14th state title and Lanier coach Thomas Billups’ sixth gold ball
against fifth-ranked Provine, 25-5. The Rams will be making their
fourth appearance in the state championship game, and first since 1999 when
they were defeated by Lanier 65-60.

Mississippi Educational Television will broadcast ALL ten final games
of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Boys and
Girls Basketball Championship live on the state network.

“After a year of collaboration and coordination, we are extremely
pleased to be able to bring this massive production to life,” Marie Antoon,
MEB executive director said. “We believe this is yet another way we
can use our networks to serve our mission to entertain, educate, inform
and inspire the citizens of Mississippi. Now those who can’t make it to
the tournament in person won’t miss any of the action because they can
tune in to see the incredible talent from across the state.”

The airing of the tournament is made possible through funding provided
by The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi.

“We appreciate the support from the Partnership for a Healthy
Mississippi as they continue to promote healthy activities for our youth. They
are also making it possible for MEB to televise the state football
championship games this fall,” said Antoon.

Radio personality Russ Robinson will provide play-by-play coverage of
the tournament while Kim Salter, Greg Flynn and Bryan Eubanks team up to
provide color commentary.

BROADCAST SCHEDULE

THURSDAY, MARCH 6
Class 4A
Girls 6:30 PM
Boys 8:00 PM

FRIDAY, MARCH 7
Class 1A
Girls 1:00 PM
Boys 2:30 PM

Class 5A
Girls 6:30 PM
Boys 8:00 PM

SATURDAY, MARCH 8
Class 2A
Girls 1:00 PM
Boys 2:30 PM

Class 3A
Girls 6:30 PM
Boys 8:00 PM

About Mississippi Educational Broadcasting
An agency of the State of Mississippi, Mississippi Educational
Broadcasting encompasses a network of commercial-free television, radio,
learning and community outreach services designed to empower and enrich the
lives of Mississippians through the creative use of technologies to
deliver programs and services that educate, entertain, inspire and inform.
In addition to educational programming and Mississippi-specific
productions, MEB provides access to National Public Broadcasting and National
Public Radio programming. Visit http://www.etv.state.ms.us

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.