BOONEVILLE -- Deonta Herman ended Ripley’s 13-0 run late in the first half.

The junior thwarted Corinth’s potential dethronement with a nice assist and a pair of free throws in the final 29 seconds.

Corinth withstood a near four-minute dry spell and a late Ripley rally to defend their Division 1-3A Tournament title with a 72-69 victory Friday night at Bonner Arnold Coliseum.

“There’s no secrets between us and Ripley, so we knew it would be a back-and-forth game,” said CHS Head Coach Keith Greene. “The kids gave a great effort and it’s great for them to go back-to-back.”

Belmont (27-1) won the girls’ crown in its first appearance, outscoring Ripley by 11 in the final quarter for a 60-52 decision.

Booneville and Kossuth split in the consolation round. Kiki Gwyn scored 18 points as the Lady Aggies bounced back with a 43-40 win. The Blue Devils got an Easton Cartwright three-pointer at the buzzer for a 65-62 win.

All eight teams qualified for the North Half Tournament and will match up against Division 4-3A in the opening round. The champions and runners-up will host, while the consolation participants will travel.

Wintery conditions have delayed the 4-3A event, which is now expected to be completed on Monday. Plans reportedly call for the boys’ games to go off as scheduled on Tuesday, with Monday’s girls’ slate put off until Wednesday.

Teams must make the championship round of the North Half to qualify for the State Tournament, meaning each team faces three elimination matches.

• Corinth (23-6) trailed for all but two minutes of the final half, but could never put the final nail in the Tiger (20-7) coffin. Ripley knotted the contest at 65-all with 1:09 remaining on an Acie Vance deuce.

The Warriors reclaimed the lead for good when Herman hit the first of two from the stripe with 1:04 left. Ripley missed on its trip and failed on a second-chance attempt when Rodrick Gaines came away with a steal.

Ripley fouled with 38.6 seconds remaining and sent Jacob Walker to the line. The junior, who led all scorers with 22 points, hit the first but missed on the back end.

Herman came away with the rebound, however, and as Corinth was pulling the ball back out to run some clock, spotted Walker under the bucket for his eighth assist of the night and a 69-65 lead.

Ripley cut it to a deuce with 16 seconds left, but Herman -- who was 6-of-8 from the stripe -- drained a pair of freebies with 12.7 seconds remaining.

Corinth scored the first nine points and led by 10 at the midway point of the first. Ripley cut the deficit in half after eight minutes, but Steven Polk’s eighth point of the half and consecutive buckets by Walker in a span of 28 seconds pushed the lead back out to 11 early in the second.

Ripley got it in gear at the midpoint of the second. The Tigers reeled of 13 straight points -- turning what was once an 11-point deficit into a five point lead -- on a Vance steal and dunk, the junior’s 10th and 11th points of the frame.

Scoreless since the 4:21 mark, Corinth closed with two Herman buckets in an 11-second span over the final 37 seconds of the half to get to within one at the break.

“When you got that long without scoring, it takes the wind out of your sails,” said Greene. “We were able to get to within one at the half and we carried that momentum over into the second half.”

Herman followed Walker’s game-high effort with 21 -- 19 coming after the first quarter. Polk added 12, including a big free throw with four seconds remaining.

Walker pulled down eight boards, aiding Corinth’s 21 second-chance points with four on the offensive end.

Vance, who was 10-of-22, bounced back from a scoreless first to finish with 21 points -- tying Tyyon Rutherford for team honors. Ripley failed to record a three-point field goal, missing all 11 attempts.

(B) Corinth 72, Ripley 69

Championship

Ripley 12 20 16 21 -- 69

Corinth 17 14 23 18 -- 72

RIPLEY (69): Acie Vance 21, Tyyon Rutherford 21, Jonathan Braddock 12, Rashawn Williamson 8, Craig Chunn 5, Isaac Bails 2.

CORINTH (72): Jacob Walker 22, Deonta Herman 21, Steven Polk 12, Jarvis Patterson 7, Rodrick Gaines 6, Eric Richardson 4.

3-pointers: (R) None. (C) Herman, Patterson.

Records: Corinth 23-6, Ripley 20-7

(G) Belmont 60, Ripley 52

Championship

Ripley 13 15 8 16 -- 52

Belmont 13 9 11 27 -- 60

RIPLEY (52): Shunquest Howell 13, Becca Ruckes 10, Jayla Chills 10, Mersades Carter 8, Anna Johnson 6, LaNaesha Cox 3, Anna Hamilton 2.

BELMONT (60): Anna Brooke Page 22, Morgan Pearson 16, Leslie Robinson 11, Mallory Torrence 6, Zoe Hammock 3, Angelia Allen 2.

3-pointers: (R) Carter 2, Howell 2. (B) Hammock, Robinson.

Records: Ripley 19-8, Belmont 27-1.

(B) Booneville 65, Kossuth 62

Consolation

Kossuth 17 16 20 9 -- 62

Booneville 19 12 21 13 -- 65

KOSSUTH (62): Tony Pams 18, Heath Wood 12, Daniel Cooper 12, Slater Smith 6, Keith Powers 6, Justin Whitaker 4, Blake Nethery 4.

BOONEVILLE (65): Easton Cartwright 20, Bo Brown 12, Ryshawn Burress 12, Jeiron Jones 8, Omar Leach 5, Keldrick Lesley 3, Kyle Stephenson 3, Tre Welch 2.

3-pointers: (K) Wood 2, Whitaker. (B) Cartwright 3, Jones 2, Leach, Stephenson.

Records: Kossuth 8-20, Booneville 20-10.

(G) Kossuth 43, Booneville 40

Consolation

Booneville 5 4 21 10 -- 40

Kossuth 9 7 12 15 -- 43

BOONEVILLE (40): Raleigh Downs 20, Hillary Miller 7, Nicki Whitten 5, Jasmine Allen 4, Hannah Hastings 2, Shannon Bell 2.

KOSSUTH (43): Kiki Gwyn 18, Katie Garvin 8, Mercedes Gwyn 7, Odyssey McGaha 6, Annaleigh Coleman 3, Haley Knepp 1.

3-pointers: (B) Downs 5, Miller, Whitten. (K) Gwyn, Garvin, Coleman.

Records: Kossuth 22-6, Booneville 15-13.