The semifinals of the 2026 MHSAA Basketball Tournament were held on Thursday, March 5, 2026. Photo by Keith Warren

Columbus earns spot in 5A boys championship

March 5, 2026 Basketball, Basketball Championships, Championship Results, Championships, News 596 Views

Game summary by ChatGPT

Columbus High School earned a spot in the class 5A state championship Thursday when it defeated Natchez High School 75-40.

Columbus seized control early, leading 21-9 after the first quarter and 39-21 at halftime, then kept adding on with a 17-12 third quarter and a 19-7 fourth.

Michael Hood Jr. scored 21 points to lead Columbus, and Davie Verdell added 16 points.

Natchez was led by Daylan Haywood’s 16 points, while Randall Newell scored 12.

The semifinals of the 2026 MHSAA Basketball Tournament were held on Thursday, March 5, 2026. Photo by Keith Warren

Game

Natchez High School vs Columbus High School — Final — 03/05/26

Line Score

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
Natchez High School	9	12	12	7	40
Columbus High School	21	18	17	19	75

Team Totals

Team	POINTS	FGM	FGA	3FGM	3FGA	FTM	FTA	AST	REB	REBO	REBD	STL	BLK	FOULS	MIN	+-	TO	EFF	NET
Natchez High School	40	15	51	4	19	6	15	4	30	12	18	3	0	17	0.0	0	13	23	0
Columbus High School	75	30	49	5	12	10	21	14	36	9	27	5	1	12	0.0	0	12	91	0

Player Box Score — Natchez High School

Player	POINTS	FGM	FGA	3FGM	3FGA	FTM	FTA	AST	REB	REBO	REBD	STL	FOULS	TO	EFF
Daylan Haywood #3	16	5	19	2	10	4	7	3	6	2	4	1	1	4	7
Jaylen Davis #11	0	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	2	0	2	1	2	1	-2
Kameron Morgan	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	-2
Kyrin Johnson #15	2	1	2	0	0	0	2	0	8	2	6	1	5	2	6
Randall Newell #21	12	5	10	0	0	2	4	0	8	5	3	0	2	0	13
TEAM #1000	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	1	0	0	0	1
Tydarrius Bailey #10	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	0
William Johnson #2	8	3	12	2	7	0	0	0	2	1	1	0	5	3	-1

Player Box Score — Columbus High School

Player	POINTS	FGM	FGA	3FGM	3FGA	FTM	FTA	AST	REB	REBO	REBD	STL	BLK	FOULS	TO	EFF
Benjamin Latham #10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Cam Aaron #4	3	1	3	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2
Courtney Perry #5	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	2	0	0	1	0	4
Davie Verdell #24	16	7	14	0	2	2	6	3	8	2	6	1	1	2	3	16
Jace Buckley #11	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	4
Jawaun Thomas #21	4	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	5	1	4	0	0	3	0	7
M Leach #3	8	3	7	2	6	0	0	3	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	10
Michael Hood Jr #22	21	8	8	0	0	5	7	2	8	2	6	0	0	0	1	28
TEAM #1000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	2	2	0	0	0	1	3
Timarion Bush #30	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tylan Brown #2	9	4	6	0	0	1	2	5	2	1	1	2	0	3	5	10
Tyson Sims #1	9	3	4	2	2	1	4	0	3	0	3	0	0	2	1	7