Ferriday's Marcque Terrell guards Vinton's Keithan Rigmaiden during a Non-select Division IV semifinal game on Monday, March 10, 2025, at Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)

The high school basketball season for the Vinton Lions has been filled with excitement and historical accomplishments.

They won their first quarterfinal and semifinal games and were featured on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” Top 10 plays on Tuesday. But they have tried to tune out the excitement, stick to the plan and focus on preparing for their first chance to win a state championship today at Burton Coliseum.

“I think it comes down to your kids and their nature,” Vinton head coach Keith Kelley said. “My kids don’t get too high, too low. They’re pretty steady.“We’ve tried to keep this week as normal as possible — athletic period workouts, everybody’s at school every day, afternoon practices. State championship game preparation is the same as preparation for the quarterfinal game, the same preparation we had for the second-round game.”

No. 1 Vinton (23-5) will play No. 2 Franklin (24-5) at 6 p.m. today in the Non-select Division IV final. Franklin is the defending state champion and will make its third consecutive championship appearance. The Hornets beat East Iberville 41-37 in the semifinals.

While the Lions don’t have state tournament game history like the Hornets, Kelley said that his team was emboldened by their 52-50 win over Ferriday in the semifinals. Keithan Rigmaiden’s last-second 3-pointer made No. 4 on the “SportsCenter” countdown.

“Our shooting suffered in the first half,” Kelley said. “It put us in a little bit of a hole, but it was also an encouraging point.

“Hey, we’re shooting 24 percent from the floor, but we’re down by six. It was an encouragement to the players because they’re like, ‘Hey, we can do this.’ We came out in the second half and had a good third quarter. And then, you know the craziness of the fourth quarter.”

Kelley said the key for the Lions is a strong defense and improving offensively after shooting 36 percent from the field and 45 percent at the free throw line in the semifinals. Vinton is 17-0 when it keeps opponents under 50 points.

“I think we’re going to shoot the ball just fine from the free throw line,” Kelley said. “We spent a little extra time on it this last couple of days, but that’s just so that they can get back to feeling more comfortable there.

“Our formula doesn’t change much. It starts on the defensive end. We’ve got to be able to rebound the ball. We’ve got to be able to limit penetrations into the lane.”