Top-seed Cooter is confident going into C2D1 play, but not overly so

The Cooter High School boy’s basketball program just completed the second-most successful regular season in Wildcat history, and it is the top seed in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 Tournament, which gets underway tonight at Holcomb High School. However, Cooter coach David Mathis is fully aware that having a great regular season – and without question, the Wildcats were great this year – won’t help Cooter (23-3) in any way come Wednesday at 6 p.m. when the Wildcats will open the postseason facing the winner of No. 4-seed South Pemiscot (14-12) and Holcomb (13-12).

“Wednesday will be a heavy-pressure day for us,” Mathis said. “We are, on paper, probably supposed to win, but (Holcomb coach Michael Scott Snider) does a great job with game-planning. And (South Pemiscot coach Jordan McGowan) does a really good job of game-planning.”

South Pemiscot and Holcomb will face off at 7 p.m., which follows No. 2-seed Bernie (20-6) and No. 7-seed Hayti (4-18) at 4 p.m. and No. 3-seed Neelyville (12-12) and No. 6-seed Campbell (8-17) playing at 5:30 p.m., all at Holcomb.

“Holcomb and (Cooter) have been rivals in baseball,” Mathis said of the sport that he also coaches at Cooter, “and in basketball, here lately, last year, we played in the (Tri-County Conference) championship game against them, so, they want to beat us.”

The Wildcats won both the Tri-County Conference regular-season (with an unbeaten record) this year, as well as the league tournament, which they also won a year ago.

On Jan. 10, the Wildcats took down Holcomb 79-60 at Holcomb, and won again, in Cooter, 74-66 in the conference tournament championship game a couple of weeks ago.

“To me,” Mathis said of possibly facing the Hornets again, “you walk in there and you have to beat Holcomb for a third time, and this time on their floor, that is going to be extremely hard to do.

“On paper, around the state, yeah, people will say it’s upset central, but it could happen.”

He said it could happen against South Pemiscot, as well.

The Bulldogs and Wildcats are located a long 3-pointer from each other and are definitely “rivals,” according to Mathis.

“Either one of those two teams will be a war,” Mathis said.

Mathis is worried about both of those teams, but for now, he doesn’t consider his team to be the favorite to win the District.

“If Bernie makes it through their side,” Mathis said, but acknowledged that is an unknown, as well, “you need to beat Bernie and Bernie is the king.”

The Mules weren’t in C2D1 a year ago, but advanced to the MSHSAA Class 2 State Championship game out of C2D3, before falling in the title game.

“It doesn’t matter if we are 23-3 and Bernie is whatever they are,” Mathis said, “Bernie is the king until somebody beats Bernie.”

The Wildcats last won a District title in 2020, when some of his nine seniors were getting varsity time.

This group of seniors has won 75 games over four seasons, which is the most for a class in Cooter basketball history.

“That whole class is athletic,” Mathis said. “We have an athletic group. We have a well-rounded team.”