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14 SOUTHERN SENIOR MAGAZINE | Winter 2020-2021 came back to school in October, they practiced on the concrete floor that was under the former gym flooring. They would play their games at the old Lyman High School until after the winter break. In his second year, Lewis’ girls’ team was unbeaten and hosting the South State tournament at Harrison Central with a 25-0 record. In the first round, they beat Morton, who was coached by legendary Coach Durward Smith, but then lost to Northeast Jones and Brandon on back-to- back nights. That made Harrison Central the number 4 seed from south Mississippi for the state tournament. His team beat promptly defeated the number one seed from the north, South Panola, and then played Starkville in the semi-finals in Pearl, at the gym that was referred to at that time, as ‘The House of Champions”. Starkville was led by Dot Easterwood, who would go on to become a legend at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, and she went on to play in the World University Games for the U.S team in 1973. She later became Dot Murphy and coached many years on the football staff for her husband Gene Murphy at Hinds Community College. “If you remember at the time, high school girls’ basketball ball had 6 players with two on one end of the court playing offense and defense and the same on the other end with two, what was referred to as rovers, that took the ball back and forth on each end. Well, one of our rovers was a great outside shooter and she makes a shot from half court right at the end of the first half. Everyone, including me, thought it counted and would have tied the score. The officials said otherwise,” Lewis explained. “Looking back, I’m not real proud of how I reacted.” Lewis said he followed the officials all the way to their locker room ‘discussing the call’. In his defense, let’s just say he “wanted to make sure they didn’t get lost on the way and the accommodations were in order that night for the guys in stripes”. Harrison Central lost to Starkville by two points in the semi-final game for the state championship. HCHS lost the consolation the next night and finished the year with a 26-4 record. The boys’ team that same year lost only six games with three losses against Bert Jenkins’ Gulfport Commodores (state champions). HCHS finished with a 24-6 record and won the Gulf Coast Conference Championship. Many basketball fans and sportswriters said HCHS was probably the second-best team in the state. Lewis’ team also played Roland Ladner’s Hancock North Central Hawks five times that season, winning all five games. At the Bay High Tournament, an annual event held just before the district playoffs, brought about an event Lewis will never forget.