By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

BAY ST. LOUIS — Many prep basketball coaches across the state of Mississippi are preparing their teams to play in the opening round of the state playoffs in either boys’ or girls’ playoff action over the next two nights.
Very few, though, are doing so in anticipation of contests on both Monday and Tuesday. But that’s exactly the case for one head man in the “Southern Six”.
Bay High’s Kelton Thompson sits at the helm of both the Tigers and Lady Tigers for the second consecutive season. His Lady Tigers are one of the top teams in South Mississippi, having won 16 straight games en route to a 25-5 overall record and a Region 8-4A Tournament championship. His boys’ squad has suffered a few lumps this season, but managed to finish in the fourth seed spot in their league tourney.
It marks the second consecutive season that Thompson, who guided the Tigers to the 2010 Class 4A state title, has gotten both teams to the Class 4A South state playoffs.

“I was content with just coaching the girls,” Thompson said, in an exclusive interview with SouthMiss6 Sports Sunday. “When the boy’s job came open, my former point guard on our state championship team, Demitry Johnson, was the boy’s assistant. He talked me into considering the idea, and the administration at all levels made it doable from a scheduling standpoint. That, combined with how special that boy’s program was to me, made the decision easier so it just happened from there.”
Last season, in his first in both jobs combined, Thompson led the Tigers to the elite eight for the first time in a decade. The team had only won 11 games total in the previous two seasons.
This year’s Lady Tigers seem to be a good bet to make the same type of run, as they have dominated their opponents since mid-December. Their last loss came to Class 5A power Wayne County.
The Lady Tigers open the playoffs Monday night at home, where they’ve lost only twice this season in the friendly confines of the Tigerdome. Only Class 7A perennial state powers Biloxi and Harrison Central have come into the Bay and left with a win this season.
“I’m really proud of both groups,” Thompson added. “Each team is at a different point in their process. The boys are young and inexperienced, while the girls are loaded with upperclassmen.
“The boys have had a tough year, and I didn’t make it any easier on them with our schedule. To get in the playoffs this early in the process is a sign of things to come. We are playing with house money from here on out.”

The Lady Tigers host McComb, while Thompson takes his Tigers on a long Mardi Gras road trip to face defending Class 4A state champion Raymond Tuesday night.
“Most of these girls have been with me all four years,” Thompson continued. “Their progress and development from the start to now is immeasurable. They have sacrificed a lot to get to where we are today. They have done it the right way…the hard way. They have put up with me every day for four years so that’s saying something in itself. I’m so happy for the success they are seeing from their work, but this is a group that has very high expectations.”

The Bay High girls’ program is one of the most storied and tradition-rich programs in South Mississippi, having won three state championships over a 20-year span under the direction of head coach Debbie Triplett before she retired early in the 2019-20 season after 27 years at the helm of the Lady Tigers.
Having a front-row seat to see Triplett’s accomplishments made the job attractive to Thompson
“That was a big part of it, the opportunity to coach this girl’s program at Bay High which had such great success under Coach Debbie Tripplett.” Thompson concluded. “She hired me in 2006 for my very first head coaching job here. It’s a great responsibility to make sure Bay High Basketball is up to standard, both the boys and the girls.”