Pickens County boys reach regional final

HANCEVILLE — Deion Curry had a team-high 17 points Wednesday to lead the Pickens County High School boys basketball team to a 79-57 victory against Tharptown in the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 1A Northwest Regional at Wallace State Community College.

West Point High principal tapped to lead Meridian schools

West Point High School Principal Alvin Taylor has been named superintendent of the Meridian Public Schools.

Terry Brown elected secretary of PEER committee

State Sen. Terry Brown, R-Columbus, was elected secretary of the Mississippi Legislative Joint Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review.

South Carolina men beat Ole Miss to end skid

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Darrin Horn has had to play many roles during South Carolina’s month of struggles. On Tuesday night, he got to play the one he enjoys most — winning coach.

Sam Muldrow had 23 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1 minute, 2 seconds left, as the Gamecocks ended a five-game losing streak with a 79-73 victory against the University of Mississippi.

Table Talk’s Marszalek: Mississippi ‘captures’ Grant

The Friends of the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library concludes its Table Talk series Wednesday with a presentation by nationally-known Civil War historian Dr. John Marszalek.

MUW Career Services to host dining etiquette event

Mississippi University for Women’s Office of Career Services will host its annual dining etiquette event Feb. 23-24. This year’s theme is Dining at Its Finest.

Life Enrichment courses begin Monday

Mississippi University for Women’s Office of Continuing Education will offer 20 courses as part of its community Life Enrichment Program.

Help the ‘Lost Prince’ find a national trophy

Starkville High School thespians are calling on family, friends, and contributors for support in their bid to win a national trophy. The theater department must finance a trip for 33 cast and crew to the Southeastern Theater Conference national competition in Atlanta March 2-6.

MUW has access to latest standard of wireless offerings

Not only do Mississippi University for Women students have wireless access campus-wide, it’s also available through the latest wireless standard, which means maximum speeds.

“Though many other universities have a campus-wide wireless network, we are probably among the few universities who have implemented a full campus-wide wireless network based on the recently ratified wireless standard known as 802.11n,” according to Rodney Godfrey, MUW network administrator.

The new standard can provide a five-fold increase to wireless speeds depending on coverage and reception.

MSU pounds Lamar to complete sweep

STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State baseball team scored 13 runs in the first inning Sunday en route to a 17-2 victory against Lamar at Dudy Noble Field.

The Bulldogs (4-0) won all games in their season-opening series played before a total weekend crowd of 10,264.

Big second-half run sparks Florida women past MSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida women’s basketball team used a 28-7 run in the second half to pull away for a 78-63 victory against Mississippi State in a Southeastern Conference game Sunday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

MSU (10-16, 2-12 SEC) led 40-37 with 15 minutes, 52 seconds left in regulation, but Florida (15-13, 5-9) followed with its run to take control and earn a series sweep.

Mitchell helps Alabama men clinch share of SEC West

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Sophomore Tony Mitchell had a career-high 27 points, Trevor Releford had 17 points, and JaMychal Green 16 points Saturday night to lead the University of Alabama men’s basketball team to a 69-56 victory against the University of Arkansas.

Vicksburg boys defeat Starkville in Class 6A North State final

VICKSBURG — The Mississippi High School Activities Association defending class 6A and Grand Slam champions are going back to Jackson for more.

This time, though, the Starkville High School boys basketball team will go as a runner-up.

Jacolby Mobley had 12 points Saturday, but Vicksburg defeated Starkville 69-54 in the Class 6A North State final at Vicksburg High.

Phone scam targets Lowndes

The Columbus Police Department is warning residents about a new phone scam targeting customers of a local bank branch.

District: Missing laptops out for repairs

Three of four Columbus Municipal School District laptops reported missing were actually out for repairs.

EMCC basketball teams earn sweep

SCOOBA – In their final tune-ups prior to next week’s MACJC State Tournament, the East Mississippi Community College basketball teams closed their regular seasons Thursday by sweeping visiting Coahoma C.C. at EMCC’s Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.

The No. 13 EMCC men earned a 73-63 victory, while the women’s team won 55-38.

Green leads Alabama past LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. — A terrible start on the road against a Southeastern Conference rival is no longer enough to rattle JaMychal Green and his University of Alabama men’s basketball teammates.

Green had 18 points and Alabama beat LSU 67-56 on Thursday night, giving the Crimson Tide 12 wins in 14 games while extending the Tigers’ losing streak to nine.

Cadence CEO Mallory resigns

Lewis Mallory Jr., chairman and CEO of Cadence Bank, plans to retire from the company after the sale of the bank to a private equity firm is completed, the company said in a release.

Bond set at $3 million for suspect in Elbow Room shooting

Bond was set at $3 million for a California man charged with two counts of murder in a shooting at the Elbow Room Lounge in downtown Columbus early Wednesday.

Graham helps Ole Miss rout Auburn

OXFORD — Zach Graham has spent the majority of his career as a complementary player, content to knock down a few shots, play tough defense and do the things that usually go unnoticed in a box score or by the casual observer.